Wrapping It Up

I have never been a person to “cut carbs.” I am a proponent of moderation. However, if you have a tendency to overeat or consume large portions, you have to be more conscientious of what you put on your plates (use smaller plates). How do we replace empty calories with better ones. At the Pinnacle Challenge retreat, our chef made a very tasty dinner wrap. (Other fitness professionals would turn their noses up at the idea of having a wrap, since the tortilla alone is about 350 calories. Although I consider that to be quite a hefty tortilla, I am more concerned about the quality of ingredients in that wrap. As for the caloric content, as many of my clients can attest to, I always tell them to eat half of what they would normally consider consuming, in order to control their portions.)

Instead of using a tortilla or lavosh (which I consider to be a better alternative to a flour tortilla), Chef Sandy used a collard green leaf! The collard green leaf is much more solid than any other leafy green, so it didn’t break apart. It also provides greater nutrition, rich in vitamins and minerals that promote mental acuity (vitamin B), muscle recovery (for the athletes), blood clotting (vitamin K for the accident-prone), heart health (anti-oxidants), and bone health (calcium). For those of you who might consider the green’s texture too tough, cut off the rigid stem (you can chop up the stems and throw them into a vegetable soup). My system digested it perfectly fine.

You can fill the leaf with other healthy greens and a little protein (chopped peanuts, seasoned tempeh, two ounces of sliced poultry, black beans, etc). Our leafy green wrap was filled with fresh carrot strings, herb salad greens, cucumber strings, diced tomatoes, grilled turkey slices, and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Yum!

If you have any other recipe suggestions, please share them with me!

Tags: collard greens, healthy recipe, nutrition, superfood