Living and working in New York had its perks, one of my favorites things about my old office was the little office cafe/bar that sat less than 200 ft from my desk (slightly dangerous as I'm sure my coffee intake tripled while balancing Grad school and work). In the afternoon I'd wander over and check their salad selection and the one I ordered without fail was their falafel salad. It had a great combination of Greek flavors and was the perfect balance of light and filling. Whenever they were out I'd promise myself I'd learn how to make it myself so I wouldn't have to miss the cafe having it in stock. Having now moved away and no longer having access the delicious cafe falafel salad, I hoped for another way to fill my appetite for these delicious bites.
Luckily, a few weeks ago Nathan and I were walking through our local Whole Foods and we stumbled upon a booth (the booths in Whole Foods are the best and the people are always so nice!) sampling Eat Güd Falafel. I was instantly hooked. 1) Because I've been craving a good Falafel and haven't been able to find one 2) They're delicious, vegan and simple and 3) I can make these at home and put them on anything my heart desires! (more recipes to come :)).
A few fun facts about Eat Güd Falafel: it's free from top 8 allergens, gluten-free and non-gmo, plus the have lots of new flavors on the way!
Definitely check out their website to see where you can find Eat Güd near you!! I've already made this recipe 5x, I'm on my third bag, and I just found these falafel a few weeks ago!
So, one if the reasons I love this recipe is because it's very simple. Both in ingredients and assembly. I often make this salad while multi-tasking and it's amazing. Start by preheating your oven to 375-400 degrees. And combining your prepped veggies in a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over them and mix them up until they're fully coated. Add salt and pepper to taste, mix and transfer to your baking sheet. In the remaining olive oil (and maybe 1 table spoon more), repeat the process with your falafel. Coat each falafel in olive oil. This is important because you're baking the falafel, not using a deep frier, this is 1) healthier, but 2) dries them out more, so a good helping of olive oil prevents that.
Let them bake for 35-40min at 375-400, depending on your oven, until the veggies are nice and crispy and your falafel are nice and brown. Meanwhile, take your kale and use any remaining olive oil to lightly coat your kale leaves. This makes the kale more easily digestible and flavorful. You don't need a lot of oil! Use your hands to scrunch the kale up and in the oil.
After your veggies and falafel are done, take them out and plate them over your dressed kale.
Add your avocado, hummus (I use Trader Joe's Eggplant Hummus because it has the least amount of ingredients) and sprouts! Enjoy!!