Photo Credit: The Crunchy Radish/thecrunchyradish.com
You don’t have to be afraid of beans! Beans are healthy, versatile, and budget friendly – basically, they are perfect plant based food options. Nutritionally, beans are high in fiber, high in protein, and rich in antioxidants. As part of your diet, beans provide many benefits from decreasing risk of heart disease and diabetes, to cancer prevention and even weight loss and weight management. Flavor wise, beans offer variety and taste variance that make them good fits for numerous dishes.
The concept of taking the nutritional perfection of beans and pairing in a grab-n-go option is one that appeals to me because my clients express the need for convenience as a major factor in making healthy decision and maintaining a cleansing lifestyle. This week, I’m using slightly sweet cannellini beans as the base for a delicious collard wrap, freshening it up with layers of fresh vegetables, and acidity from fresh squeezed lemon.
I’ve chosen to lighten up this wrap with a plant-based wrapper. Collard green wraps provide substantially more nutritional benefit over wheat options. The collard wrap is beneficial for anti-cancer, the high fiber content promotes healthy digestion, and the collard is packed with vitamin A & C which keeps our hair and skin looking beautiful and builds collagen production.
Collard Green Wrap with White Bean Salad (Adapted from TheCrunchyRadish.com)
Makes 2-3 rolls
Ingredients:
2 cups organic cannellini beans, cooked
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
juice of half of lemon
1 T. chopped Italian parsley
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
5-6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
salt and pepper
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cucumber, julienned
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
3 collard greens
Directions:
Add white beans to a bowl and gently mash with a fork, then add celery to the white bean mix and stir.
In a small bowl, add dijon mustard, lemon juice, parsley, and whisk with olive oil until creamy. Add dressing to the beans and celery, add salt and pepper to taste, and gently mix until combined, add diced tomatoes and stir well.
Prep the collard greens by placing the leaf with the spine up. Cut off the bottom stem, and thin the spine of the leaf, starting at the botto, be careful not to cut through the leaf. Turn the collard wrap ver and scoop the white bean mixture down the spine of the collard leaf. Top with quinoa, cucumber, avocado, carrots, and bell peppers.
Fold the top and bottom flaps of the leaf toward the filling. Fold one of the two long sides inward and begin wrapping the leaf toward the open side. The final product should resemble a burrito. Repeat with the remaining leaves.
Slice in half and secure each wrap with a toothpick.
