Falafel is fried chickpea dough: 333 kcal and 17.8 g fat per 100 g. The deep-frying roughly doubles the calories versus the raw dough. An NIH inpatient RCT (Hall et al., Cell Metab 2019) found ultra-processed meals drive +508 kcal/day overconsumption at matched macros. Baked or air-fried home versions cut the fat dramatically. Weigh the pieces before plating.
How should I track Falafel, home-prepared?
Falafel, home-prepared is a good source of magnesium. When tracking Falafel, home-prepared, the dry-vs-cooked distinction is critical. Legumes absorb roughly 2–3 times their weight in water during soaking and cooking, so 100 g dry becomes 250–300 g cooked. Always check which form the nutrition values refer to. A meta-analysis of 43 RCTs (Reid-McCann et al., Nutr Rev 2025) found plant protein matches dairy for muscle outcomes — so tracking precision matters just as much here. If you use canned legumes, drain and rinse to reduce sodium by about 40%. Weigh on a kitchen scale for the most reliable count.