Prep Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　20 minutes plus soaking time for seeds

　　Turn soaked sunflower seeds into a creamy dressing for smashed chickpeas with onions, celery, capers, and dill, then stuff into pita pockets for an easy, delicious vegan sandwich.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　

For the salad:

½ cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes or in room temperature water overnight, drained and rinsed

　　3 tablespoons tahini

　　1 tablespoon liquid aminos

　　1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

　　2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

　　3 tablespoons lemon juice

　　1 cup canned no salt added chickpeas, rinsed and drained

　　¼ cup of each of chopped red onion and celery (half a small red onion and 1 large stalk of celery)

　　1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped (optional)

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or fennel fronds

　　Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

　　

To assemble:

4 medium 100% whole-wheat pita breads

　　Optional garnishes: sliced red onion, cucumber, tomato, avocado, and lettuce

　　

Step 1

Pulse sunflower seeds, tahini, liquid aminos, mustard, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice in a food processor to a coarse paste.

　　

Step 2

Mash chickpeas with a potato masher or fork in a mixing bowl, then mix with the red onion, celery, capers, if using, and dill; add the sunflower seed mixture and stir lightly to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

　　

Step 3

Cut pita breads in half and fill each with 3 tablespoons of the salad mixture, adding some greens, onion slices, tomatoes, and any other desired garnishes. Serve immediately or wrap with parchment paper for later.

　　From The 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution: The Definitive Food and Lifestyle Guide to Preventing Cognitive Decline © 2021 by Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, and Ayesha Sherzai, MD. Reprinted with permission by Harper One, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins, Amazon, or Bookshop.