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03-05-2007, 11:22 PM
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#1
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Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New York
Posts: 66
Height: 5'4"
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Are Falafels healthy?
Hey everyone...
I 've been pretty good with this new lifestyle -- more veggies, exercising (finally).
However, my pitfall has been falafel sandwiches. I've gone quasi-vegetarian (only fish, no cheese) and love these things. I usually have them 3-4 times a week. I know that they are deep fried but they taste so good. I usually go to this really wonderful place and get whole wheat pita with falafels, salad, hummus, tahini sauce and hot sauce.. however I've heard varying comments on the possible calories and fat grams.
Any info would be much appreciated...
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03-05-2007, 11:52 PM
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#2
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Moderating Mama
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Woodland, CA
Posts: 11,712
S/C/G: 295/200/175
Height: 5' 8"
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Not particularly low-cal. From "Camp Shane" nutritional resources:
2. Falafel
Vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean that what you're eating is healthy. Falafels are chickpea-and-herb balls fried and covered in creamy dressing, which means that a falafel pita can contain up to 550 calories and 32 grams of fat.
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03-06-2007, 09:33 AM
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#3
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Powered by tofu
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 1,263
S/C/G: 207/203/140ish ??
Height: 5'4''
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I love falafel too, but the deep fried kind you get at restaurants are not what I would consider healthy due to the high fat content (anything deep friend just can’t be all that good for you!). What I like to do is get the falafel box mix and bake the falafel patties in the oven and eat in a ww pita with homemade hummus, romaine and a hearty helping of Israeli salad (cucumbers, tomato, red onion, minced garlic, peppers if you like, dressed with lemon juice and S & P). This meal is a little high on the sodium, but at least it’s low fat and much lower in calories, plus it’s darn tasty!
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03-06-2007, 11:30 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 220
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I agree with Shananigans - baked falafels are a great option! By the time I get all the veggies on, with a *little* bit of tzatziki and sometimes hummus, I can't even tell the difference! Yum!
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03-06-2007, 11:39 AM
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#5
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Moderating Mama
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Woodland, CA
Posts: 11,712
S/C/G: 295/200/175
Height: 5' 8"
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Sugarlove - if you like tzatziki but worry about the caloric load, trader joes makes a really good one that is fairly low cal - 2 tbsp for 35 calories I think, or a similarly low value.
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03-06-2007, 12:07 PM
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#6
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Just Me
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Maryland
Posts: 14,707
S/C/G: 364/--/182
Height: 5'6"
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I make my own tzatziki sometimes and it is pretty good.
I've also bought falafels and baked them in the oven. Even without frying, falafels seem to have a high fat content. I let DH have them but I only had a few myself.
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03-06-2007, 01:17 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Waterloo, Ontario
Posts: 597
S/C/G: 157/133.4/130
Height: 5'5"
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If you make your own falafel from scratch, you can control the fat content better than by using a mix. Plus no nasty preservatives.
I moosh up a can of chickpeas and add onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper, then bake in the oven. The only fat comes from the chickpeas themselves, which is pretty marginal.
Add homemade tzatziki with fat-free yogurt, and mmm-mmm good!
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03-06-2007, 01:53 PM
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#8
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back in the game
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 928
S/C/G: 311/180/170
Height: around 5'10"
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Mmmmm I love falafel. And everything that goes with it... hummus, tahini, tzaziki. Not low cal but yummy.
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03-06-2007, 02:48 PM
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#9
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Lovin' Zumba!
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 1,402
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How do you gals make your own tzatziki?
I think I'm going to try the homade falafels - I love them too!
Cindy
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03-07-2007, 12:14 PM
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#10
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Powered by tofu
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 1,263
S/C/G: 207/203/140ish ??
Height: 5'4''
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Here's a basic recipe from allrecipies.com that's pretty similar to how I make tzatziki: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tzatzik...II/Detail.aspx
You can either use Greek yogurt (sometimes you can find it a specialty stores like Trader Joe’s) or drain regular plain yogurt in a cheesecloth or coffee filter in your fridge for a few hours. I don’t usually shred my cucumbers, I just peel, seed, salt and “sweat”, then rinse and pat dry before throwing everything into the food processor. Basically the more water you can get out of your ingredients before you mix the better.
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03-07-2007, 02:10 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Yorktown, VA USA
Posts: 5,435
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I think you already know the answer - how could anything that is deep fried be considered healthy?
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05-11-2017, 10:08 AM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 4
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Although falafels are healthy[/URL] comprising of chickpeas which are a healthy source of protein and fiber. People generally consume it in wraps. Though these are low in calories but if you eat too many of these or wraps with some other high-calorie ingredient, then they can be harmful.
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10-10-2017, 02:41 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Manchester
Posts: 25
S/C/G: 210/205/165
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Depends on what you combine with it, becaus normally, it is served with bread and a very creamy sauce.
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05-28-2019, 02:11 AM
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#14
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 5
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I heard they are but never used one myself
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08-26-2019, 03:05 PM
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#15
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 10
S/C/G: 92
Height: 180
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OMG, I love falafel so much, specially the Syrian one. they really know how to cook
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