Road Trip Day 6 (part 2)

Our evening visit to Sedona, Arizona from Williams, Arizona where we stayed for a couple nights!

Gorgeous!

Can't wait to go back one day... Sedona was one of our favorite places!  Beauty everywhere!

hehe, we had this kind of cactus for our appetizer at a {gluten free!} restaurant that night!

love us.  and nature.

to see more of our road trip pics, check out:

Cali Road Trip Day 1 & 2

Road Trip Days 3 & 4

Road Trip Day 5

Road Trip Day 6 (part 1)

Deconstructed Eggplant Falafel

Please allow me to introduce you to the most amazing meal.

High protein.


High fiber.


Lots and lots and lots of healthy nutrients.


Gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.

Please rotate this Eggplant Falafel into your monthly meal rotation.  Wait, how about weekly... it's that good.

I first saw this recipe from Joanne at Eats Well With Others.  She is an amazing vegetarian cook and takes mouth watering photos.  I took her recipe for Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Sauce and Tomato Relish and put a few subtle twists on it.  Now it's in a gluten free and vegan form and much heartier since I didn't puree the "stuffing" like she did.  

This is a perfect recipe to serve for guests as well, a lot of the prep work can be done at an earlier time and the presentation is just beautiful.

Ingredients:
Tahini Sauce:


3 tbsp water
2 tbsp tahini (found at specialty food stores) (you could sub hummus if you'd like)
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Eggplant "Stuffing":


1 large eggplant
few pinches salt
1/4 chopped onion
2 portobello mushrooms diced
2 Tbsp parsley
1 tbsp tahini
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chickpeas crushed (I used a potato masher and went to town.  you want it to be chunky so it gives the meal a "heartier" feel.  usually the chickpeas are processed to a paste... but I am still waiting on a food processor!)

Relish:


1 cup chopped tomato 
1/2 finely chopped cucumber
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt

Method:


1)  Preheat oven to 475 F.
2)  Prepare tahini by mixing water, tahini, lemon juice, cumin and garlic.
3)  Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and cut sides with a crosshatch pattern.  Place cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 7- 10 minutes until slightly tender and brown.
4)  Remove from the oven and carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving a 3/4-inch edge.  Place pulp in a medium sized bowl.
5)  Combine eggplant pulp with salt, onion, parsley, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne, garlic, mushrooms, and chickpeas in medium sized bowl.  
6)  Spoon the chickpea mixture into eggplant and bake for 25 minutes until the eggplant is tender and the chickpea mixture is lightly brown.
7)  To make the relish, combine the tomato, cucumber, parsley, balsamic, and olive oil.  (I was out of balsalmic vinegar so I mixed 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar with 1/4 tsp sugar to substitute).
8)  To eggplants with relish and drizzle with tahini sauce. 

Enjoy this amazingly refreshing and healthy meal!


(major hubby approved FYI  ;)

Tuesdays with Michelle: Housewarming Party!

  So today's "thought-provoking" post will be short and sweet.  


  Beau and I are hosting a housewarming party at our new house this Saturday!  We think about fifteen people or so are going to come!  (Yay!  I can finally make new friends!)  


  But anyways, I basically have all the food planned out except for a meat or main dish of sorts.  


  We have a spiral ham in the freezer- what are your thoughts on cooking a ham for a summer party?  I know ham will go well with homemade mac'n'cheese, but what about cold quinoa salad, "raw" tacos (no worries, not meat!), spinach artichoke dip, etc...?  I feel like that combo is kinda weird.


  Suggestions would be great!  

xoxo

Michelle

    

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip {refined sugar free}

  In the middle of May Beau and I flew back to my hometown in Connecticut and visited my parents and attended a friend's gorgeous wedding.  

  And thanks to Katie over at "Chocolate Covered Katie" I was able to make my parents this deeelicious chocolate chip cookie dough dip.  I tweaked Katie's recipe for (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip to ensure that it was as sugar free as possible.

  **Drool**

  Now that's what I call eye candy.

  I followed Katie's recipe, but changed a few ingredients: I used 2 packets of stevia and about 1/8 cup agave for my sweetener (instead of dates), 3 tablespoons of flax meal, and chopped up some 75% Chocolate Lindt squares in place of chocolate chips.  (These squares actually have more protein and fiber, but less sugar so the carb ratio is really good for those who need to moderate their sugar levels).

  Mom and Dad, who often don't get to enjoy sweets, loved it!  :)

  And lastly, here are a few pics of our visit home!

  Alfie, their new doggie they got at The Hotel for Dogs and Cats where I used to volunteer back in Florida.  (See my other post related to the hotel).   Alfie is such a sweetheart.  He is officially their third child.  He goes everywhere with them hehe.

  We went hiking in Bigelow Hollow and Alfie had a blast!  Not to mention I forgot how beautiful New England is in late spring...

  And last but not least a picture of the gorgeous newlyweds.

  (And me with our friends Heather and Chris's baby- Nate!  Such an adorable baby!)