I've recently discovered my new favorite lunch of all time... collard green wraps! This replaces unnecessary carbs sandwiches and gives you a much fuller feeling without all of the guilt! You can use collard wraps for just about anything and they hold up really well so they're great for those on-the go-lunches!
Since collard greens are a bit bitter and are very tough, it's important to first trim the stems and then blanch the leaves. By trimming the stems, you allow the collard greens to become more pliable to form into wraps. By blanching them, they become a lot easier to eat and digest. Start off by preparing a bowl of ice water. Then, bring a large pot of water with some salt and lemon juice to a boil and then lower to medium heat. If making more than one wrap, add one collard green leaf at a time. Blanch each leaf for about 30 to 40 seconds, until becoming bright green. Immediately transfer the leaf into the bowl of ice water, pat dry with a towel and allow to cool. Continue until you've finished with all of the leaves. The blanched leaves will hold up well in your fridge for about 2 days.
Now comes the fun part. Choose your filling! For this one, I spread about 1/4 of an avocado on the leaf as a base. Then, I added about 1/4 cup of black beans and seasoned it with some salt and pepper. I highly recommend grating some veggies rather then chopping them because it will hold up better in the wrap. For mine, I just graded some carrots and cucumber and chopped up some red onion. I finished it off with some crushed red pepper and fresh squeezed lemon juice. All that was left was to fold up my wrap and lunch was set! Some other options for fillings are hummus, peanut sauce, tuna or chicken salad, salmon, tofu, broccoli, cauliflower... The possibilities are endless!
Makes 1 Serving
Recipe:
1 Collard Wrap
1/4 Avocado
1/4 Cup Black Beans
1/2 Carrot, Shredded
1/3 Cucumber, Shredded
1 Tbsp Chopped Red Onion
1/4 Tsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Season to taste with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
* Blanch collard greens one at a time for about 30-40 seconds, until bright green. Transfer to a bowl of ice water, pat dry with towel and allow to cool completely.
Recipe:
1 Collard Wrap
1/4 Avocado
1/4 Cup Black Beans
1/2 Carrot, Shredded
1/3 Cucumber, Shredded
1 Tbsp Chopped Red Onion
1/4 Tsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Season to taste with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
* Blanch collard greens one at a time for about 30-40 seconds, until bright green. Transfer to a bowl of ice water, pat dry with towel and allow to cool completely.