Lentil Almond “Spring Roll” — Featuring Collard Greens

Lately, 2Chili has been into having a big salad for dinner, which has thrown my lunch routine off kilter a bit. I like my salads, but two per day was just too much salad, and I have been changing up my lunch routine a bit as a result.

I started making wraps on gluten free tortillas, and anyone who has used a gluten free tortilla knows this is a futile exercise! Tortillas need gluten to be pliable, and my wraps were dry and fell apart when I rolled them. After a few days of this, a light bulb went off: Collard greens.

Raw collards are durable, pliable, and easily roll, making a nice wrap. They also have lots of nutrition and don’t add many calories, like a traditional tortilla or wrap. While I’m not fond of southern-style collards, I do enjoy them raw. Collard greens are high in vitamins A, C, and K, B-complex vitamins, and are a good source of minerals like iron, calcium, copper, manganese, selenium and zinc. These green gems are truly good for you!

The filling for these spring roll type wraps came together a bit by accident. In my original wraps, I’d been adding lentils, mushrooms, olives, and shredded carrot, but it was messy because the ingredients didn’t bind together. I realized almond butter would help everything stick together and also add a nice flavor.

So, I give you what may look like an odd array of ingredients, but actually is quite tasty and filling!

Lentil Almond Spring Rolls

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Makes: 2 rolls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cooked lentils
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 10 Greek olives, chopped
• Small amount of shredded carrot (I just grab a pinch, which is probably close to 1/4 cup)
• 1-2 tablespoons almond butter of choice (start small and add if you need more to hold everything together)
• Salt and spice to taste – I use turmeric, cinnamon, and dulse powder, but go with what you like

Method:

• Add all  ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine
• Spoon into washed and dried collard green leaves, taking care to place them into the leaf in the way it naturally wants to roll
• Roll like a burrito and use a toothpick to close, if needed

You’ll notice in this photo that I placed the mixture in the collard leaves the way they wanted to naturally wrap. They will have a natural curl, so take care to place the filling in on the side that is already tending to curl for easiest rolling. I make my lunch in the morning, so I just roll these up and wrap in plastic wrap for easy portability.

Nutritional Info:

Based on 1 tablespoon of almond butter.