Pumpkin Wraps with Hummus
OK I tried a couple of new interesting meal ideas I got from The
Biggest Loser (Australia) -- the wraps have been a great success, even
hubby liked them. In the version they gave on the show, she had grilled
chicken, grilled pumpkin (butternut squash), avodaco, red onions, baby
spinach and snow pea sprouts. Obviously I needed a switch for the
chicken so I thought of chickpeas -- then because I don't like avocado
(and it's high in fat) I figured why not make the chickpeas into a
low-fat hummus to replace the avocado! So my version is below. One
thing she did when slicing up the butternut pumpkin is to leave the
skin on, and slice it very thin. That way you can just grill or pan fry
and as soon as a fork pierces it easily, it's done. She put the red
onions on raw, but I decided to grill them with the pumpkin. A small
amount of non-stick spray before frying, and then I just add a tiny bit
of water whenever it seems to need it. The red onion cooked like this
had a lovely sweet flavor with the pumpkin and hummus. The first time I
made them I used the snow pea sprouts she suggested but I found the
stems to be too tough, I could barely chew through them. So I prefer
alfalfa or mung bean sprouts. In any case, here's my recipe:
PUMPKIN WRAPS WITH HUMMUS
makes 4 wraps
4 pieces of mountain bread (a paper thin flat bread, low calorie and low fat)
about 185 g (6.5 oz) pumpkin slices (leave skin on, slice thin)
1/2 large red onion, finely sliced
Baby spinach leaves and alfalfa sprouts
1 can chickpeas
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Char-grill
the onions and pumpkin over a high heat until tender when pierced with
a fork. While it's cooking, prepare the hummus: drain about half the
liquid from the chickpeas, pour the rest with the chickpeas into the
food processor. Add tahini, lemon juice, cumin and paprika. Blend until
smooth.
When pumpkin and onions are cool enough to handle, lay
each piece of bread flat and spread 1/4 of the hummus down the center
of each wrap. Top with pumpkin slices, onion slices, spinach and
sprouts. Roll carefully (these wraps are thin and tear easily, but once
you get the hang of it they're fairly easy to use) and wrap in cling
film or pack firmly in lunch box or other container.
Per wrap: 230.4 calories, 3.6g fat, 42.0g carb, 7.7g fiber, 6.5g protein
I have two for a satisfying lunch and just 460 calories.
So
I enjoyed those along with another recipe from the show, Cous cous with
lentils. I'll share that another time if you're interested. That was
also low in calories and quite good.
So -- with menus at around
1700 calories per day, I was closer to 69% carb than the 65 or lower I
usually strive for, but did well dropping 2 kilos (4.41 pounds) since
this time last week. Now -- can I keep it up? Next Thursday I'm off for
an overnight trip, 1 day business conference, and back Friday night.
Let's see how well I can eat this time. Wish me luck!