Photo: GetSelfSufficient/Flickr

I’ll get right to the point: I made this falafel sandwich from Green Kitchen Stories last night for dinner, and it was the best thing I’ve made all summer.

Why? Well, for starters, it was delicious. Really, REALLY delicious. But if you need more reasons to make this, preferably tonight, I offer the following:

1. If you’re a vegetarian, your sandwich options are generally pretty slim. Imagine, for one minute, the prospect of visiting a deli counter when you can’t eat roast beef, or turkey, or chicken breast, or ham. (When I was a vegetarian, I practically lived on peanut butter sandwiches – plus an occasional grilled cheese, if I was lucky.)

Now imagine you’re a vegan – and suddenly, your sandwich options dramatically decrease even further. Not only is cheese off the table, but often, so are falafel balls, which are often held together with eggs.

This sandwich, however, is completely vegan – even the yogurt dressing. A nice touch for those of us trying to cut back on animal products.

2. Still: if you’re not a vegetarian, or a vegan, I promise you, this meal does not feel lacking in any way. It’s so filling and protein-heavy that you won’t miss the meat – my carnivorous boyfriend gave the meal a perfect ten.

3. It satisfies any craving for heavy, comfort-food falafel while managing to be healthy, relatively low on carbs , and oddly refreshing. Pistachio and mint make these falafels summery and different – I imagine a couple of them would be  wonderful alternatives to croutons on a salad.