Hummus Veggie Wraps

I have found a new go-to lunch that is super quick, easy to prep, and tastes delish. My husband even likes them (using the word “likes” very loosely here when there is no meat added) The first time I made them, he unrolled them and stared blankly asking “where’s the meat?” If you are in love with a meat eater like I am, then add some chicken breast and then all is right in the world.

Make brown rice and black beans ahead of time and chop a variety of veggies and mix together. Spread hummus on a whole wheat or tortilla shell and add a few spoonfuls of rice/bean/veggies. I make a batch big enough for 5-6 wraps so it’s on hand and ready to go when the craving for a hummus veggie wrap hits. You know how those veggie cravings hit you. They can be wicked! 😀

If I’m eating them fresh, I saute the veggies for a few minutes and add them to the warm rice and beans. I have also eaten them cold with raw veggies which is very refreshing in the summer. I think they are good either way.
You can change it up by using different types of veggies and hummus. I have been on a roasted red pepper hummus kick lately and so far I am not tired of it.
One thing I’ve learned on my holistic journey is that I will NOT be a food photographer anytime soon. But here is a pic of the unwrapped wrap so you can see the deliciousness inside.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1-2 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 cups chopped veggies of your choice (my favs are carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, avocado, red and green peppers)
2 tbs hummus
1 whole wheat or whole grain tortilla
Cook rice and mix with black beans, and veggies. Spread hummus on wrap and top with rice/black beans/veggie mix. Enjoy!

My low sugar challenge

sugar
Sugar is a tricky thing. It’s in everything. It’s addicting. It tastes so damn yummy.
I also have WAY too much of it. Deep down I know my whole family does. It’s just. So. Hard.
I have been reading a few books that have given me some motivation to cut sugar. I will probably never be 100% sugar-free. Not happening. But I would love to reduce added sugar as much as possible and save the sweets for special occasions. The trouble with special occasions is there is always something special. Maybe we are exceptionally special people? Every time I turn around we are on a road trip, at a softball game (concession stand!) birthday party, wedding, date night, holiday, cookout, or bonfire… You get the idea.
Turns out I’m not the only one. I have read different statistics but they are all staggering. Americans recommended consumption is 25-40 grams of sugar per day (about 6 tablespoons) However most consume about 82 grams a day – double to triple what we should be consuming! One USDA statistic reported that Americans consume between 150 and 170 pounds of refined sugar in one year. *Hop back to the 1700’s. You had to be wealthy to eat sugar & even then you only got around 4 pounds per year. By 1900 it was around 90 pounds a year.
So – long story short, as time goes on, sugar consumption increases.
If you read labels to look for sugar, you better expand your vocab. There are a lot of names for sugar!

  • Most things ending in “ose” (Glucose, Fructose, Maltose, Sucrose)
  • Syrup (corn syrup, carbo syrup, malt syrup, rice syrup)
  • The more obvious – things labeled sugar (Date sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar)

You get the idea. It may not always be easy to spot. I look at sugar on the nutritional label – check for regular and added sugar and check serving size. Sometimes it looks like there are 10g of sugar, but that is per serving and there are 2 servings in the package.
Now that I’ve gotten a little wiser, I have decided to eliminate as much added sugar as possible and avoid sweets for 7 days. One week. Should be a piece of…cake.
I found an app to help me. I had to pay for it but at this point I am weak and sugar is strong. It’s called Sugar Stop. You set your goal to what type of sugar you want to avoid, you choose the length of your challenge, and you invite friends to join you on this uphill journey. They have a diary, water tracking, and a FB support group. They also have hypnosis sessions to help you out. My favorite part is the Panic button. If you get desperate, hit the panic button and you can choose between a 10 min hypnosis on crushing your cravings, read about things you could eat instead and ways to distract yourself, or refresh with a glass of water. Because of course downing a good ole’ glass of H2O will surely make you not want that deliciously enticing, mouth-watering chocolate chip cookie. Hold please, let me wipe my drool.
So day 1 starts now. Wish me luck. I will be back after the 7 days to let you know how I did. Since I’m putting this in writing, I really don’t want to fail!
*Kolp Institutesugar

Chickpeas for the win

Sunday afternoon. 3 pm. Got home early (rain out) after 2 days of non-stop softball. I almost made it through the weekend without eating concession food. (I just can’t pass up a corn dog when I see one…and popcorn…and skittles) Sigh. We also camped this weekend so I ate s’mores and lots of other “camping food.”
I needed groceries so we were skinny on dinner choices. I found a recipe for Roasted Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) and just so happened to have a can in the pantry. I love it when that happens! I got the recipe from the How Not To Die Cookbook. Surprisingly good! I could almost use them as a chip substitute when I crave something crunchy.

My photo is boring. Honestly I didn’t have enough energy left in me to be creative or clean up the counter first. There are several other recipes out there (Pinterest) but most use oil which I’m trying to cut down on. This recipe called for date syrup which I actually made myself and it was super easy. Blend pitted dates, water, and lemon juice. Viola. Date syrup. I over cooked them slightly but I liked them a little more crispy. So, if you’re craving something crunchy, give it a try. Super quick and easy.