Turkey Collard Wraps

Collard Wrap Assembly Line

Here at the Gardenhouse we eat a whole foods diet, mostly vegetarian, some game meat, fish and occasional organic meat.  Our diet has been influenced strongly by the ideals of people like Michael Pollan, Cynthia Liar, and Sally Fallon.  Even with this quality diet, I have joint pain.  A lot.   I know enough about nutrition to know that diet can affect inflammation and thereby joint pain.  In the past, I have tried eliminating allergens, going caffeine free, and dabbled with going without gluten and dairy.  I haven’t found a clear correlation yet, have you? 

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about the Paleo diet, maybe you have too.  I've personally seen how a traditional diet for the Quinaults can have amazing results; what's my traditional diet?  I decided to pick up the book, Paleo Solution and see what it has to say.  Honestly, Robb Wolf, the author, is completely annoying, but the actual content makes a lot of sense to me.  The Paleo diet suggests that grains, dairy, and legumes cause inflammation and should be avoided.  Of the ~200,000 years that humans have existed, only 10,000 of those have we been eating grains.  Have our body evolved enough in that time to digest them?  Well, I’m hesitantly curious.

So, we have been attempting going grain and dairy free (I don't feel so strongly about legumes).  We’re only a couple of weeks into it.  Give me a little while to tell you how my joints feel. Though, we are still questioning: Is this a more healthful way to eat?  Eating more meat certainly doesn’t seem more sustainable, and it certainly isn’t more affordable.  Is eating a Hunter-Gatherer type diet going to make my joints feels better?  Time will tell.  Until then, I’ve had to totally rethink the way I prepare meals.  I’ve found some pretty awesome recipes, keep checking back for more, but for now, lunch.

I first came upon a recipe like this in my third trimester, when my awesome friend Katie showed up to my work with lunch in hand.  The recipe has changed a bit, but still has the same idea.  It looks a little like this:

Collard Wraps

1 bunch collard greens (chard works too)  

1 cup Hummus

1/2 pound organic, oven roasted turkey, sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
1 bell pepper

1 handful of sprouts, we have kale and spinach in our yard

1 avocado, sliced

*parsley, 1 bunch (or other fresh herb)

Cut the stems off of the bottom of each collard green.

To assemble the wrap, place a green onto a large plate or cutting board. Place a few scoops of the hummus on the bottom (stem-end) of the green. Put 2 slices of turkey down to help reinforce the wrap.  Add your other filling ingredients on top. Fold the long ends in slightly (about an inch on each side) and then tightly roll. Stick with a toothpick; serve or refrigerate right away. 

My pregnant sister was here yesterday, and is advised not to eat cold lunch meat so, we pan-fried it in some coconut oil.  WOW!  If you are feeling really ambitious, try pan frying the whole wrap.