Real Simple seriously has THE BEST recipes! They’re delicious, nutritious, and easy, which are all words that I like to hear when it comes to cooking.
I found a recipe for Mediterranean Salad with Chickpea Patties in the April 2009 edition of Real Simple magazine. I made a few minor changes to the recipe (I nixed the lemon-yogurt dressing for the salad), but, in my opinion, the meal still came out pretty awesome! 
Mediterranean Salad with Chickpea Patties
hands-on time: 20 minutes | total time: 20 minutes | serves 4
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup low fat yogurt (preferably greek)
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
Pita chips (optional)
- In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper just until coarsely chopped and the mixture comes together when gently squeezed.
 |
 |
- Form into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties and coat with the flour, tapping off excess.
- Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties, turning carefully, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Divide the greens, tomatoes, onion, and chickpea patties among plates. Drizzle with the dressing and serve with the pita chips, if using.
Definitely give this recipe a try! The chickpea patties are so yummy that you won’t even notice that they are “health” food! They reminded me a lot of a falafel!
For dessert, I had my usual English muffin (X2) with almond butter, chocolate and peanut butter chips. This is currently one of my favorite desserts! 
Sunday Recap: Exercise and Food
Sunday was all about checking things off our To Do list! Mal and I have been running around all morning and afternoon, but now we are settled at home and relaxing for the rest of the evening before the start of another busy work week.
Exercise
After grocery shopping at the best place ever (you’ll hear about it tomorrow! ), Mal and I hit up the YMCA for a quick workout. I ran on the treadmill for 35:00 minutes (3.95 miles/8:51 pace) then jumped on the elliptical for a 10-minute cool down. I thought about doing abs at home, but I was feeling lazy, so I hit the shower and ate lunch instead.
Food
Lunch was a BBQ chicken (sliced deli meat) sandwich with buffalo sauce and tomato slices on Arnold’s Sandwich Thins, which I finally found at the grocery store! These things are awe-some!
On the side, I had some sliced strawberries and two ♥medjool dates♥.
I also ended up having a mug of hot peppermint tea after I chugged down my glass of water.
(And if you’re curious…)
Food not photographed today:
-
Breakfast: Banana-peanut butter oats with flaxseed meal and hemp protein and an iced coffee
-
Pre-workout snack: A VeggieGirl blondie with a smear of almond butter
Yoga Challenge: Day 22
Yogis: We’re in the home stretch of the Yoga Challenge!!! How has your yoga practice changed since the first week?
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
I want to try those patties, they look so good!
Those patties are so simple and easy to make! I must try them as all the recipes for falafel I have are like 2 miles long haha
Your dessert has got me drooling!!! I must try that soon =)
I didn’t get to practice yoga on vacation but I’m looking forward to starting again tomorrow. I can tell it’s made such a different though in my confidence and attitude and it feels like less of a chore and more of a fun habit.
Those do look great!!! I’ll have to try them sometime!
I’ve got to get back on the yoga wagon I fell off this week!
Those patties look delicious! I’ll definitely be trying them out soon!
I REALLY want to try medjool dates, but for some reason they look like (brace yourself, I’m not trying to gross you out, just being honest
) cockroaches to me! I can’t get past it! Are they really that good? What do they taste like?
That dessert looks fabulous! So does lunch, I love sandwich thins!
I wholeheartedly agree – Real Simple DOES have the best recipes!!
Your dessert = epitome of holy yum perfection.
**My yoga practice has become even MORE invigorating, revitalizing, and enjoyable than when I first begun!!
I can’t wait to try the Chickpea recipe!! I make the Chickpea Cutlets all the time from Veganomican, but these look so much easier. Your salad looks so fancy it looks like restaurant presentation!
those patties are so easy to make and I bet they’re delicious! I’m looking forward to make them when I go back!
Mmmmmm. Those chickpea patties look delicious. I bet they are a great companion to the salad.
mmm looks good!
Real Simple has some of the best recipes I’ve seen! Those sound fantastic!
Those look really yummy….
two of the biggest differences
Those look really yummy….
Since the first week I have become much more flexible and my bends have improved a great deal. One HUGE thing that I noticed is that I am happier! I am not sure if it is from the yoga but I have such a bounce to my step lately….
The patties look so yummy! And so much easier to make than falafel! Ooooh, sandwich thins? They look good, going on my shopping list.
Today for yoga I did the 60 morning flow. My practice has become a little better. I’m able to flow through poses much easier. Today I really wanted to do yoga especially since I ran long yesterday. My body wasn’t in the mood for anything else.
The chickpea patties look nice and cripy – yum!
I’m excited about the chickpea patty recipe!!! I have a can of chickpeas in the cupboard that’s just waiting to be used
I think I’m relying more heavily on yoga for my daily exercise, rather just just a small addition to it.
I saw these in the issue with the lemons on the front, right? They look really good. Have you tried the ones from Veganomicon before? They are awesome and I often sub other beans.
Those chickpea patties look delicious!
Day 20: Sadie Nardini’s 70min Yoga Cardio + meditation
Day 21: 70min of Vinyasa Flow + Core Yoga
Day 22: Challenging 70min of Sadie Nardini’s Fire Detox
I plan to make these for lunch tomorrow. Yummy!
I agree with Veggiegirl–your dessert is all kinds of awesome. And those chickpea patties also look fabulous!
I was too late to the game to be part of the 30 day yoga challenge, but I’d love to be part of another one if a new one is starting up. I am TRYING to do yoga everyday, even if for a little while. When I get into a practice like that, it feels soooo good. Kudos to everyone who has stuck with it.
Those chickpea patties look fabulous! I’m definitely going to try them out
Thanks for the recipe!
The chick pea patties look great! I confess, I’m lazy when it comes to my falafel. I’m usually all about “make it yourself”, but a company called Sahara in New Zealand makes this fab falafel mix that you just form into patties and bake in the oven. They’re delish and usually form part of my dinner two or three nights a week. It’s not exactly cooking, though, so I should give this recipe a try! I just bough Medjool dates for the first time this week; I’ve tried another type of date before and wasn’t impressed, but the Medjool dates are YUMMY. I still like prunes better, but I like that I think I would find it impossible to eat more than 2 in one sitting. I’ve never tasted a natural food that’s more like candy! It’s like eating marzipan icing or something. In regards to the comment above, they do look a bit like cockroaches, heh. However, I think I’ve become immune to the “unattractive factor” of a lot of “healthy” foods. Porridge, quinoa, split pea soup, dal, lentil salads and dried fruit all look gross to some people, but they taste so good that I barely notice any more.
I almost bought the sandwich thins a few week ago when I went to the U.S., but I decided against it. Last time I went, I decided I was going to buy them, but the store was all out! I was so sad!
Lunch looks delish by the way!!
Anything Mediterranean is A-OK in my book!!
I must try that Chickpea pattie recipe! It seems so simple & delicious!
This reminds me I need to make lima bean burgers soon!!.. So delish!
Real Simple IS a great mag–my sister has a subscription, so I always indulge in a little magazine reading when I visit her house:)
those patties look fabulous, real simple is amazing sometimes!
My Yoga practice has been a lot different from the beginning because I can do almost all the downloads, that I downloaded now without skipping a beat! I need to step it up a notch! I am going to try something new and different this week:)
Oooh, the chickpea patties look great. Especially if they are like falafel, which I love.
Those look delicious!
Since the yoga challenge started, my practice has changed by becoming increasingly challenging as well as more consistently performed. I love the strength benefits that I have gained, and now I am always looking for yoga DVDs or classes that will challenge me. Many of my instructors have talked about working on “the edge”, and that is something that I strive to do. Also, now I feel “off” when I miss a day of yoga. Even if it’s only 20 minutes, doing yoga everyday makes me so much happier. Saturday, I did Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga 1 DVD. It definitely warmed me up, and I think my arms a tad sore from all of the planks and chatarungas.
The twists definitely are helping, I can tell after snowboarding again this weekend! Plus, I am able ot hold the poses longer and deeper each time. I love the “stretched out” feeling!
Ooo those chickpea patties look SO good! I love falafel.
These chickpea patties look absolutly amazing! I think I may just need to try them….
I saw these in RS and thought they looked so good. I’m so glad to see a review on the blog!
I am making those chickpea patties tonight, but how much cumin is needed? Its not mentioned in the ingredients, but is in the directions. I checked Real Simple’s website and it didn’t list it? help
@Lisaa: Weird! So sorry! I copied this from another person’s blog. It’s 1/4 tsp of cumin.
Thanks Tina!! that was my guess.
How do those chickpea patties stay together? I find that they just fall apart. I’ve tried them twice. Any thoughts?
Thank you!
This is more like refried chickpeas, they do not stay together when you fry them. Still tasty though.
nice! this is the first link that shows up on google when i search for “chickpea patties”. i am going to try these tonight!
Hi Tina! Just came across your site while searching for a recipe for Flalafel.
I’m going to try this recipe tonight. These chick pea patties sound so simple and yummy. Thanks for the info. I am a yogini vegan. I’ll be checking back with you again for more healthy recipes. Peace & Love! Cindi
{ 6 trackbacks }