Veggie Wrap
June 5, 2017 by Nicole Collins
We're going on a healthy streak!
I'm generally a pretty healthy eater, but I feel like the past couple of weeks I've fallen off the wagon. Between vacations and holidays, I've eaten a lot of delicious things. There's no doubt about that. But I've probably had more sweets and carbs in the past month than I've had all year. Oops.
In fact, I actually made another one of those Cookie Butter Pies to take to a friend's house on Saturday. For anyone keeping track, that's the second pie in the course of one week. #sorrynotsorry
So, I'm getting my life right, and I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm committing the next couple of recipes I share with you will be totally good for you AND totally delicious. That way, none of us have to feel guilty about eating more pie. :-) You're welcome!
I haven't always made the best decisions when it comes to food. It's just been within the past 2 years that I actually started paying attention to what I was putting in my body. Back in the day, I used to load up on pre-fried freezer snacks, every single lunch and dinner ended with dessert, and I ate until I was miserable.
But then, one morning, I was up at some ridiculously early hour on a Saturday (I get it from my mama). You know, when there's only infomercials on tv. And, I caught an infomercial for the 21 day fix plan. It changed my life. I learned about portion control; I started paying way more attention to carb intake; I figured out that food can be good and good for you at the same time; and I'm proud to say that I lost (and kept off) a total of 53 lbs.
I'm telling you this story, because today's veggie wrap is the evolved version of a wrap that I used to make when I thought I was being healthy (in between french fry and Little Debbie binges).
Old me used to take a jumbo white flour tortilla, smother it in bottled ranch dressing, put a couple veggies in the center, cover all the veggies up with an Italian cheese mix, wrap it up, and then serve it with white cheddar Cheez-Its on the side. I might as well have just dropped it in the deep fryer. Thank goodness I grew out of that!
Today's version of the wrap is 100 times more delicious than my old way, and it won't give us a false sense of security.
We start with a whole wheat wrap. There are a lot of choices out there for whole wheat wraps. We need something big enough to hold all the veggies we're going to stuff inside, but we don't want to clock in at 45+ carbs per wrap. There's no shame in picking up every item in the grocery store until you find the nutrition label that makes you happy. That's certainly my approach! I actually like a wrap that I found at Aldi made by their Fit and Active brand. They have whole wheat or multigrain, they're a fairly decent rectangular size, and they're only 16 carbs and 90 calories per wrap! Ding, ding, ding! It's very similar to the Flatout brand of wraps (but they taste even better in my opinion).
For the glue, we're using roasted red pepper hummus. Hummus is a healthy fat, so we can feel good about letting it help us keep our wrap together. Some people are afraid of hummus because a standard serving size is 2 tbsp, but it's way too easy to eat half a container of the stuff. Portion control people! We're using exactly one serving in this recipe, so nobody has to feel bad about it in there.
For the veggies, we use some fresh spinach, some seeded cucumber and tomatoes, and some alfalfa sprouts. I LOVE alfalfa sprouts. When I have a pack in my fridge, it pretty much goes on any and every sandwich or wrap I make. I love the fresh green and earthy taste of them. Don't skip the step of seeding the cucumbers and the tomatoes though. We don't want a runny, goopy wrap. Ewww...
For the finishing touch, we crumble a little feta cheese over the veggies before we tuck and fold it all together. “TTF. Tuck, tuck, fold.” (← Multiplicity anyone?) Anywho, feta cheese is without a doubt my favorite cheese in the whole universe. I love the sharp saltiness that it adds to a dish. I had the best soft Aussie feta that I got from the farmer's market in Florida, but that's another story for another day.
Once this wrap comes together, we get a little bit of everything in one bite: crunchy, creamy, salty, earthy...yum, yum, yum! And, there are no Cheez-Its served on the side of this one. Sorry folks! This wrap is actually very filling on its own, but go for some fresh fruit if you need an accompaniment. 'Tis the season, after all.
To anyone going on their own personal weight lost journey, YOU GOT THIS! Stick with me, because I've got lots more good stuff coming your way.
Let's eat!
Veggie Wrap
Serves: 1 wrap Print
Ingredients:
1 whole wheat wrap (I used a rectangular wrap roughly 8 inches)
2 tbsp roasted red pepper hummus
¼ cup cucumber, seeds removed and julienned
¼ cup roma (plum) tomato, seeds removed and julienned
¼ cup spinach, shredded
¼ cup alfalfa sprouts
1 tbsp crumbled feta
Directions:
Spread the hummus all over the bottom of the wrap, leaving about a ½ inch border. Stack the remaining ingredients in the order listed: cucumber, tomato, spinach, sprouts, feta in the lower third of the wrap (closest to you). Bring the left and right sides over the filling, bring the bottom end over the filling, and tuck and wrap to complete the roll (like wrapping a burrito). Slice in half, and serve immediately.
Recipe notes:
*We remove the seeds in the cucumber and tomatoes so the wrap doesn't spray all over us when we bite in to it. These veggies still hold a lot of moisture though, so these are best served immediately.
*I used a rectangular whole wheat wrap that I found at Aldi, which is comparable to a Flatout wrap.
*You can substitute your favorite flavor of hummus in these, but I really like the extra zest that the roasted red pepper hummus gives.
