There is an innate drive within every mama to feed her young. It occupies more of my brain than I ever thought possible — this obsession with every little ounce of nutrition that Hank gets. Now that he's eating solids and finger foods, it's so much fun to make food for him and see him try new foods.
This recipe came to me from my friend Audrey, who is also a mom to a little boy (a little older than Hank). I made these for Hank but ended up eating about half of the batch myself — they were that good! He ate two of them happily and I froze the rest to pull out as needed and heat up in the toaster oven.
falafel chickpea nuggets
Drain and rinse 1 can of chickpeas (garganzo beans) and mash with a pastry blender.
In a food processor, finely chop 1/2 of an onion, some fresh or dried parsley, and 1 clove of garlic.
Blend the onion mixture with the mashed chickpeas.
In a separate bowl, combine:
- 1 egg*
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 dash pepper
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 T. olive oil
Then combine with the chickpea mixture.
Slowly mix in 3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs.
Shape the chickpea dough into nuggets by rolling balls of dough and then flattening them between the palms of your hand. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and pan fry the nuggets, draining on a paper towel.
*Note: children under 1 can have reactions to the proteins in egg whites, so use caution especially if food allergies run in your family. Use 2 egg yolks in place of the whites if necessary.
recipe adapted from superhealthykids.com