Easy Salad Wraps
Back to school is an exciting but often stressful reality for students, moms, and student wives. One of the easy things to let slide in the first weeks of school is our nutrition. We’re too busy, tired, or broke to make healthy decisions we say, so we settle for microwave meals packed with sodium – low in calorie, maybe – but equally low in nutritional substance. If you’re like me, you also have the added struggle of finding a way to keep your husband from defaulting to Taco Bell by giving him a lunch he’ll enjoy but that will also fill him up.
I’d like to share with you my solution to this problem: Salad Wraps! They are easy to eat on the go, nutritious, customizable, and you can make them up to 3 days in advance. I’ll usually make 4-6 at a time for the 2 of us. My husband takes them to work and constantly gets asked where he bought that!
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need:
- Tortillas- I like the Spinach or Tomato Basil ones, just make sure you get ones that are large.
- Lettuce- Romaine works great and is very nutritious, I also add some spinach if I have some
- Carrots- baby or regular are fine
- Apples- any crisp apple will do
- Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and 1 or 2 combinations of these is good
- Nut/dried fruits- use whatever you like. My mix has pecans, dried cherries, cranberries, and blueberries
- Grilled Chicken Strips- you can use fresh, but I really appreciate how convenient frozen ones are as they thaw out within a few hours in the fridge or lunch box
- Clementines are also a seasonal option, though I don’t normally add berries if I use them. They go great with green apples
First rinse your fruit and lettuce and set on a towel to dry. You want to minimize moisture, so pat them dry. Then slice your strawberries, apples, and carrots.
I like the speed of using a mandoline slicer, but the slicer side of a cheese grater bell works well too. Or you can cut thin (about 1/2cm) slices with a knife.
Next spread out squares of wax paper on the table with a tortilla on each and put a layer of lettuce on first. My romaine leaves were pretty small so I used two, but if they are really big use one. Then spread your fruits and carrots out, putting strawberries on the lettuce so they won’t make the tortilla soggy. Add dried fruit and chicken strips. I put more chicken in my husband’s, since he needs more to get full.
Once you’ve added all your ingredients, put another 2-3 Romaine leaves on top, depending on their sizes. Shoot for keeping your chicken and strawberries between the leaves. The other things can touch the tortilla without problems.
Next you roll up your wrap. I try to keep the bottom of the wrap free of toppings so I can fold the bottom up first. (I don’t worry about closing the top.) Fold the bottom edge up, then fold the right side over to the middle left.
Then fold the left over as far as it will go to the right. Wrap the wax paper around it making sure the bottom doesn’t get folded until last.
Tape the seam of the wax paper horizontally so it stays shut with one or two pieces of tape, and tape the bottom shut. Lastly, fold the top over and tape it shut. If you customize wraps for different people (more chicken for my husband), mark the top tape. This also helps you know which side is up. I use masking tape because it sticks well but is easy to remove.
There you have it – Three days of healthy lunches for two people! Customize to what you like! It doesn’t have to be repetitive if you use different flavors of tortilla and different fruits and such. Hope you enjoy!
