Quinoa Collard Wraps

Hello, friends. I feel like I haven't posted in ages, though it's only been a week and a half. Maybe because the new year has come and I feel like I have a fresh start again. The new year always invigorates me and makes me feel like I can conquer the world (or at the very least, conquer some bad habits). One of my resolutions this year is an ongoing resolution I made in 2012: no more frozen/boxed dinners. I originally made this resolution to inspire myself to cook more meals and eat healthier foods. Not only are frozen meals usually loaded with sodium, but they never fill me up! I find myself gazing longingly at the refrigerator an hour after dinner, wishing that Lean Cuisines made bigger portions. Making myself cook my own food has significantly increased my creativity in the kitchen, and makes me feel great from the inside out.

After a tough morning at yoga (I knew all those holiday goodies would take their revenge), I came home and made myself a quinoa collard wrap. I found the recipe in the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook by Sara and Hugh Forte--the one I received as a Christmas gift. Nothing feels better than re-charging my body with wholesome foods and this recipe caught my eye immediately. Now, I must tell you, these wraps took some dedication. I thought I would just come home and whip some ingredients together and call it a day, but they demanded effort. First of all, there were a lot of ingredients. Second, my fingers kept getting stained red from the beets, so I was continuously stopping to wash my hands. Despite the amount of time it took to prepare the wraps, I do not regret making them. In fact, they were so tasty and healthy that I will probably make myself another one for tomorrow's lunch. 

Quinoa Collard Wraps with Miso-Carrot Spread: (makes 4 wraps)

1 cup coarsely chopped carrots

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1 small shallot, chopped

1 tablespoon white or yellow miso

1 teaspoon honey

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (the kind I used wasn't toasted)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

8 large collard green leaves

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 tablespoon tahini

Freshly squeezed lemon juice, as needed

2 cups grated raw beets

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 cup sprouts (I used micro-greens instead)

*Note: I cut the recipe in half because, obviously, I am incapable of eating four wraps in one sitting. The ingredients hold up fine in the fridge for one day, though I wouldn't wait much longer to use up the miso-carrot spread.

To make the miso-carrot spread, mix the carrots, ginger, shallot, miso, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sea salt in a food processor until fairly smooth. I do not own a food processor (it's a shame, I know), so I used a blender. Not quite as easy, but it still worked. In a separate bowl, mix the tahini with the quinoa and add a squeeze or two of lemon juice. Next, wash the collard leaves in warm water and dry them. Then, use a sharp knife to shave down the stalks so they are the same thickness as the rest of the leaves. Take two collard leaves and overlap them halfway to create a large surface to work with. Now, assemble the ingredients beginning with the miso-carrot spread, then add the beets, avocado, and sprouts onto the leaves. Fold in the ends, wrap one side of the leaf around the ingredients, and roll the wrap burrito-style. Make sure you roll these wraps tightly (but don't break the leaves!) because I found that the juice from the beets loosened up the ingredients after a few minutes.

I failed to read the directions correctly and only used one leaf to wrap my ingredients. Although it worked, eating the wrap got messy and resulted in beet juice all over my hands. Make sure you use two leaves, okay? Also, I recommend everyone to check out the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook, which is not exclusively vegetarian,I might add. Not only are the recipes healthy and the photos gorgeous, but there is some serious creativity with each and every dish in that book. Keep your eyes out for more Spouted Kitchen recipes here.

Feast your hearts out, loves!