Balancing school, work, and other life demands is usually quite time consuming. This is one of the many reasons I’m a fan of out-of-the-pantry recipes. I suppose they’re the equivalent of “Just add [insert select ingredients]!” mixes for those not afflicted with Belly Monsters Syndrome. Falafel patties are great for those days when I just don’t have time to get to the store.

I like to know I’m not eating all kinds of weird chemicals, and I have to do it on a budget. When I go to a health food store, I stock up on gluten free flours that I buy in bulk to save money. I always have lemons on hand for my daily lemon-hot water, but you could just as easily use bottled lemon juice if that’s what tickles your pickle.

While this is not your traditional falafel, you can treat it as such. I like mine with lemon tahini dipping sauce, but do as you wish. You can shape them into smaller patties or cut them up to add them to wraps.

Falafel Patties

Ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour
2 tsp parsley flakes
3/4 tsp garlic salt (or garlic granules and salt)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp lemon juice
Oil for frying

Directions
Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium or large bowl and mix well. Mix in lemon and hot water. Let sit for about ten minutes for the water to get absorbed a little. The batter should be fairly thick, but not solid.

Lightly oil a frying pan. Over medium heat, drop batter by tablespoonfuls and spread it a bit with the back of the spoon. Cook for three minutes. Flip and cook for an additional two minutes.

For my lemon tahini dipping sauce, I just mix tahini and lemon at a 2:1 ratio, but experiment and see what you like.