No cook wraps and Smoothies

First of all, tortillas are from Aztecs – who knew.  The Spanish conquistadors (in 1519) changed their name to tortilla (from the Nahuatil tlaxcalli) – apparently from the word torta and meaning “small cake”.   Also, in an interesting side note – the reason tortillas have lemon (besides being tasty – I thought that was the only reason) – is that lemon is added to the corn prior to grinding to help remove the husk.  At any rate, with our over 100 degree days in Baltimore – no cook wraps and smoothies make a nice change of pace, taking a little of the heat off (you can always add hot sauce to bring more heat, if you want) and these recipes are (relatively) healthy. 

Cabbage and Avocado Wrap:

4 Tomato Tortillas (or whatever tortillas you have)

2 cups bagged cabbage (sliced thin with carrots)

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1/2 red pepper thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons plain yogurt, or tofutti or sour cream

1 Tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, dill, whatever you have in the house)

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Ripe Avocado sliced

Mix all ingredients (except avocado).  Shmear the avocado on the tortillas uniformly (if you can).  Then divide the cabbage filling between the 4 tortillas.  Then roll the wrap and cut on a bias (to make it look pretty) and then put some lettuce on a plate and put 2 halves of each tortilla on a bed of lettuce and voila – lunch is served. 

Hummus, Bean, Cucumber and Red Pepper Wrap

1/4 cup Hummus

1/4 cup beans (your choice)

6 slices of cucumbers diced

3 slices of tomatoes diced (optional)

1/4 of a red pepper sliced

Take the hummus and shmear it on the tortilla to 1 inch of the edges.  Then put the beans on (the hummus goes down first so that the beans are held in place).  Add salt and pepper if your hummus isn’t spiced, if it is, then add less salt and pepper to taste.  Add the cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers to the middle of tortilla in a vertical line.  Then roll the tortilla.  Cut the tortilla on a bias and then enjoy. 

You can use many fillings, tuna salad, salmon salad, egg salad, roasted vegetables, cheese – if you want to do a meat dish, you could use pregrilled chicken with grilled zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms (you could do this without the chicken as well). 

Smoothies:

Just as the tortilla is versatile and can have whatever types of fillings you like, so can a smoothie.  If you like bananas and strawberries or blueberries and peaches – use the fruit you like.  Then you can also use the liquid you like – you can use orange juice, yogurt, sour cream, milk, rice milk, soy milk, tofutti – whatever you prefer.  

Blueberry and Peach Smoothie

Half a package of Frozen Blueberries

Half a package of Frozen Peaches

1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt (if you want the smoothie less sweet – use plain yogurt)

1/2 cup of low fat milk

Puree all ingredients until the chunks have disappeared – then pour and drink.  The frozen fruit allow you to not put in ice cubes – ice cubes thin out the smoothie – I like my smoothies thick – so this is good for me. 

Peach and banana Smoothie

1/2 a bag of frozen peaches

1 frozen ripe banana

1-2 cups milk depending on how thin/thick you want

Puree – and enjoy.  This recipe is less sweet than the previous one, because there was no added sugar (the vanilla yogurt had sugar). 

You can do smoothies with strawberries and any fruit you like – and you can add chocolate powder if you like, and you could add pureed butternut squash or pureed carrots to the peaches and bananas and you will have a delicious and nutritious smoothie.

Do you have a favorite wrap or smoothie?  Tell us about it – we want to know.