I love all kinds of wraps and taco shells, but they tend to be higher in carbs and calories and not necessarily the best option for my waistline. The traditional wraps and taco shells are definitely not approved for the Medifast/ Optavia plan so what do we do when we want to enjoy our once favorite foods? We start looking for healthier options. Lettuce wraps are great, but sometimes you want MORE than a flimsy piece of lettuce holding all that wonderful yumminess. Maybe something a little more sturdier and seasoned to your liking than just lettuce. This is when Michelle Gray from http://foodiqueen.blogspot.com/ introduced me to these delicious zucchini wrap! They are made the same way as homemade cauliflower crusts, except we are using a different yummy vegetable! Why should cauliflower get all the attention? They take a little less cooking time than the cauliflower crusts and there is no flipping halfway through since the goal isn't to get them crunchy. We want them to be soft so they can wrap around our food like a wrap or soft taco shell. These wraps are amazingly delicious so thanks for sharing the recipe Michelle!
Start off shredding your zucchini. I used about 4 medium sized zucchini and put them in the food processor. You could also use a hand grater, but watch those fingers! I happen to love mine and want to keep them! I put the zucchini in a cheese cloth and squeezed out any excess water, but Michelle only does this if her zucchini was frozen so it may not be necessary.
I like to use freshly grated reduced fat parmesan cheese. If you don't feel like shredding, you can purchase it already shredded.
Cumin and garlic powder are used in this recipe, but I used this seasoning instead of them. I love it on absolutely everything! It has onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato, lemon juice and lemon oil. Boy, that sure is a lot of seasonings!
If you want to make the wraps without using a Fueling, you can use almond flour instead. 1 1/2 tbsp of almond flour counts as 1 Healthy Fat. I got this from Amazon.
Add your grated parmesan cheese, almond flour or grinded up fueling, beaten egg, and spices of choice to a large bowl.
Mix it up good!
Spread about 1 cup of mixture on parchment paper that is lightly sprayed with cooking spray. I got about 4 cups of mixture and this recipe makes 4 servings. This makes 1 large wrap per serving.
You can also make 2 small soft taco shells if desired, by spreading a 1/2 cup of mixture per circle on parchment paper.
Let it cool for at least 5 to 10 minutes.
Peel the wrap away from the parchment paper. Be careful! Broken or torn wrapss are no fun!
The smaller shells already baked and cooling down!
Soft taco shells ready to be filled and eaten! Get in my belly!
What's my favorite wrap? Chicken Caesar of course!
4.5 ounces of grilled chicken breasts (3/4 Leaner Lean) with 1/4 cup or 1 ounce of reduced fat cheese (1/4 Lean). Cheese on everything because cheese is life!
1 cup of romaine lettuce (1 Green), a few parmesan puffs which work great as croutons, and an approved dressing of your choice. I used Wishbone Light Creamy Caesar Dressing. 2 tbsp of this dressing counts as 1 Healthy Fat. If you are using dressing as your Healthy Fat, you should not use the almond flour when choosing chicken, since chicken requires only 1 Healthy Fat.
Mmmmmm... my favorite wrap!
Wrap it up and enjoy!
I don't even miss the croutons ! The parmesan puffs give the crunch and extra flavor that the croutons once did!
Pure deliciousness!
This pizza wrap is my son's favorite wrap! Add 1/4 cup of Rao's marinara sauce as 1 Green. Then 1/2 cup 2% reduced fat mozzarella cheese (1/2 Lean), 1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese (1/4 Lean) and 1 ounce turkey pepperoni slices (1/4 Lean).
Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Wrap it up and enjoy! What's your favorite wrap? Tell me in the comments!
Zucchini Wraps
Recipe from Michelle at http://foodiqueen.blogspot.com/
Ingredients:
4 cups zucchini, shredded
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated reduced fat parmesan cheese
1 packet Optavia Honey Mustard Onion Sticks or Puffs grinded into powder form
Or
1/4 cup + 1/2 tbsp almond flour which counts as 3 Healthy Fats
1/2 tsp black pepper ~ I used 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
Combine shredded zucchini, egg, grated parmesan cheese, grinded Optavia fueling of choice (or almond flour), and spices in a large bowl until mixed thoroughly.
Drop 1 cup of mixture on prepared parchment paper. Spread mixture as thin as possible while forming a large circle for a tortilla wrap or two smaller circles (1/2 cup of mixture for each circle) for soft taco shells. The entire mix should make 4 large shells or 8 small shells.
Bake for 25 minutes for the larger circles. The smaller circles may need a few minutes less.
Let cool completely.
Peel the shells from the parchment paper very carefully.
Enjoy!
4 Servings with 2 Greens, 1/4 Fueling or 3/4 Healthy Fat (depending if you use the Fueling or almond flour), and 2 Condiments per Serving
