Ready for a reset? These collard green wraps are great for meal prep and will make you feel ultra healthy! Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan
So the summer is indulgent, right? I mentioned in this month’s HH newsletter that I think the summer is the hardest time to avoid indulgences. During the holidays I am aware of every cookie, keeping track and getting those workouts in.
Between vacations and backyard cookouts the margs (or green drinks as my Grandma would call them) and all the chips…. yaaaaaaa…..I lose track, and it can leave me feeling just a little-bloated come Monday. I’ve been making these collard green wraps which literally make me feel like a healthy living rockstar.
Is that a rubber band around that thing? Well, funny you should ask. Yes, it is! Here is the deal, every single time I’ve seen recipes for collard green wraps in the past they looked complicated.
I’m not about to chop a million vegetables to go inside leaves that I have to wash, cut, boil and prep. No, thank you. Hard pass.
I’ll just take some celery and hummus to get on with my day thank you very much. Then it dawned on me, what if I could make them ahead of time and just have them to pull out of the fridge for an easy snack or part of lunch.
Now that I can do! The container above is the actual container I stored my wraps in, not a food blog prop. I wanted to show you that you guys can totally do this! I’ve made these a few weeks in a row so now I’ve got it down, I have the tricks that will save you time and make you successful.
First, use REALLY hot water to wash your leaves. Backup, first, pick a bunch of collard greens from the store with large leaves that are not ripped. Then, wash them in SUPER hot water.
This is how I skip parboiling step, and it softens them just enough without being too extreme or needing to boil water. Gurl, ain’t nobody got time to boil water, chop a million veggies, make wraps, etc!
Next, you will need to trim off the stem, and then trim the stem’s thickness, so it lays as flat as the leaf. (Here is a great tutorial.) You will see that she boils her leaves, I don’t find that necessary, but if you have time for that more power to you.
However, if you have sensitive teeth, you may decide it’s worth it because these babies are super crunchy. Watch out chips. I’ve got my collard green wraps!
After that, it’s all about the ingredients. I spread two tablespoons greek yogurt hummus (which I added one tsp turmeric too), then a handful of shredded carrots, a small handful of shredded red cabbage, and a few slivers of cucumber.
Roll those bad boys up and rubberband them to keep them together as shown. (Use new rubber bands to avoid contamination.) No fancy ties, no craziness, just refreshing crunchy portable wraps all week!
I chose not to roll up extra carbs like quinoa or protein like deli meat in them because I wanted to eat them as a healthy snack, especially when I’m starving before dinner. Some days I ate them for lunch and just paired them with whatever protein I had in the fridge, usually deli meat.
It worked out great and I literally felt so healthy that I was glowing every time I ate one! Or at least that is how I pictured myself. When I ate them though, in my mind I was the girl in the Lululemon or Lorna Jane ads with the perfect body, hair, and life.
In reality, I had zero makeup on, never showered after I worked out, and was still sweating from drinking too much coffee….
So that is your one dish meal for the week, let me know if you try them!
Easy Detox Collard Green Wraps
Easy Detox Collard Green Wraps
Ingredients
- 8 Collard Green Leaves Large – un-ripped
- 8 ounces shredded carrots
- 8 ounces shredded red cabbage
- 2 cucumbers cut julienne
- 1 cup Greek yogurt hummus or other hummus*
Instructions
- Wash collard green leaves in HOT water. My fast version of parboiling them.
- Slice off the stems of the collard green leaves. Trim down the stems so they are same thickness of the leaves.
- Slather collard green leaves with 2T of hummus each.
- Add in 1-ounce carrots, 1-ounce shredded carrots, and a few cucumber strips to each wrap.
- Fold-ins and roll up like a burrito. If you are meal prepping and not eating them right away, use a rubber band or tie to keep them closed
Recipe Notes
- For a spicier wrap try my sriracha hummus!
- For paleo or vegan-friendly wraps try my buffalo paleo hummus!
Like this recipe? You may also like:
- Meal Prep Recipes
- How to Detox the Right Way
- Anti-inflammatory Instant Oats
- Change Your Lifestyle One Week At A Time
- Don’t make these healthy eating mistakes!
Totally in for these! I’ve never made collard wraps, but I like how they are sturdier than romaine lettuce!
Carrie this fit chick recently posted…Recipes, Round-ups and Q+A
Oh ya TOTALLY!
These look awesome, and I would also like to feel like the girl from the Lululemon ad lol. I used to make collard greens wraps with deli meat all the time. I am totally going to try these for lunches next week.
Emily @ Pizza & Pull-ups recently posted…Weekend recap 6.12.17
Right? ha ha
Love this idea! So perfect for me right now! You could even dip them is hummus, salsa, or guacamole. =)
Yes! I dipped mine in TJ’s peanut vinaigrette one day, that was DELICIOUS!
So gross. And a rubber band, really?
Have you ever heard that certain leafy greens need to be cooked before eating?
Do you wonder why?
Nutritional powerhouses like kale, collards, spinach, chard, and beet greens all contain oxalic acid. Oxalic acid occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables, but when it comes to leafy greens, it’s present in higher concentrations.
The problem with oxalic acid is that it binds with calcium and other minerals (like magnesium and iron) in order to be excreted from the body.
Calcium and magnesium are precious minerals our bodies need to function and grow properly. We are generally low or deficient in these minerals because modern-day agriculture practices have led to mineral-depleted soil. If we eat raw kale or other leafy greens raw, we just further the problem.
The rubber bands were produce rubberbands that I also washed in hot soapy water, but you don’t have to use rubberbands :). Also, as a Dietitian I’m very aware of oxalic acid and phytates which bind minerals preventing ABSORPTION. These are also present in other foods that we commonly consume such as tea and coffee, which also prevent absorption of minerals such as calcium and iron. Yes, cooking can reduce the content of oxalates in our food but if you are eating a produce-rich diet I do not believe you should have to cook all your super greens. Eating a produce-rich diet that contains a variety will provide you with enough vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants, it will also ensure that you don’t overconsume oxalates or any other anti-nutrients. Mineral depletion is a theory that is unproven but if you are concerned you can always take a multivitamin to help feel in the gaps. Let’s not scare people away from super greens for the sake of a theory.
How long do they last I in the fridge once prepared?
Mine lasted all week! The most perishable thing is the hummus so watch the date on your hummus otherwise as long as you keep them in a Tupperware or ziplock bag they should last a week!