Saturday, October 17, 2015

Healthy Eating Part 2 - Lunch

I find wraps to be really convenient foods to eat - they travel well, don't make much of a mess, and you can eat them on the go pretty easily. So far all of my lunches this year have been wraps.

The tortillas are easy to make in batches - I've used white flour but also sprouted spelt flour from the bulk barn (spelt is more nutrient-dense than regular wheat and the glutens break down easier; sprouting activates enzymes that aid digestion, increases vitamin content, and reduces phytic acid).

I've used a few variations on fillings, based on vegan athlete recipes such as those found in Brendan Brazier's Whole Foods To Thrive.

My favourite so far is based on the Indian Spiced Lentil-Hemp Patties found in Whole Foods to Thrive (recipe here). I don't shape them into patties or fry them though, I keep the mixture as is and scoop it into my tortilla.

Another good one from that book is the African Yam and Bean patties (here's a variation of that recipe). Same deal as the Lentil-Hemp patties - I don't make patties but keep it as a mushy mixture.

The common thing here is just trying to get as complete a protein load as possible with some carbs (I always eat raw veg like carrots and cucumbers on the side), so coming up with a wrap filling isn't all that complicated. Rice and beans is a common staple of many diets around the world and works well enough for these purposes too, and leaves a pretty blank canvas for aromatics and herbs/spices.

As with my smoothies, I can make up the tortillas and fillings on the weekend and then have them ready to go for my lunches all week. Fast and easy.