Bean-free Beet Falafel (Vegan, Balances Vata and Pitta)

Falafel is one of my all-time favorite go-to meals! Falafel is typically made with chickpeas, parsley, onion, and spices and then deep fried. I came up with a more easily digestible, Ayurvedic, vegan Bean-free Beet Falafel that will be the perfect addition to your lunch or dinner!

Chickpeas are very difficult to digest for Vata types. They induce bloating, constipation, and dry skin. These days, we often buy our beans in a can. In Ayurveda, canned products are devoid of the prana, or life force energy, which is what allows food to act as medicine for our bodies. Without prana, these foods accumulate in the body as “ama” or undigested toxins. Deep-frying is also a major contributor to ama formation. Undigested food is the foundation of all disease in Ayurveda!

Using uncanned, fresh ingredients, these Bean-Free Beet Falafel are easy to digest, quick to make, and so delicious! Enjoy with a side salad, in a rice and veggie bowl, or in a whole wheat pita!

Recipes like this can help if you want to:

• Enhance fertility and reproductive health
• Soothe the nervous system
• Fight dry, oily, or inflamed skin
• Balance indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation
• Balance hot and dry emotions such as anger and anxiety
• Balance out inflammations in the digestive tract, hyperacidity, or ulcers
• Balance hormones, especially reproductive system
• Improve low blood pressure

Ayurvedic Healing Ingredients

Some of the Ayurvedic energetics of the ingredients in this recipe include:

Beets

Beets are high in Earth energy, due to their natural sweetness. The “sweet” taste calms both Pitta and Vata dosha. They are excellent liver cleansers and great for building the blood and reducing anemia. They help to increase menstrual flow and reduce cramping.

Bulgur Wheat

Bulgur is parboiled and dried cracked whole wheat. It retains all of the fiber and wheat germ in the whole grain, making it excellent for the digestion and easier to digest than processed whole wheat flour. It has a “warming,” Earth energy, which helps to calm the nervous system, heal constipation and diarrhea, and clear dry or inflamed skin. It also is typically parboiled, which means it does not require cooking. Simply soak for 4 hours in water to rehydrate.