Let's Do Lunch: Greek Veggie Wraps

Back in April, as I do every year, I got really excited about Earth Day. It’s the time of year when I make environmentally-minded New Year’s resolutions, if you will. This year I had a two primary goals. First was to really focus on our garden by building raised garden beds and starting a compost bin (double check and mark.) Second was to kick the habit of buying lunch at work or getting carry out in favor of bringing my own lunch from home. Even with good intentions, this can be a difficult cycle to break but I’ve been doing really well with this goal so far. In hopes of inspiring others to do the same, I’ve been working on a series of posts full of lunches that are quick and easy, transport well, and relatively healthy. Oh, and of course, they also have to taste great so you won’t be tempted to buy something instead.

This is the first in my Let’s Do Lunch series: a fabulous greek veggie wrap inspired by….wait for it…. a hospital cafeteria. I won’t lie, most of the food in our various hospital food courts is mediocre at best. However, there is one place in our children’s hospital known as “the wrap place”. I’ve been frequenting the wrap place since my first year of med school. My friends and I used to go between lectures, sometimes (often) waiting in line for 30 minutes, but it was always worth it. They have peppy music playing, and the workers are friendly and a little bit sassy. They have daily specials that are usually pretty irresistible and usually not all that healthy. However, on the day when the special is the reuben (yuck), I get the veggie wrap instead. Every single time, I’m amazed at how something seemingly uninteresting as a veggie wrap can be so darn good. This is my recreation of the veggie wrap, hold the styrofoam container. Our whole family loved this meal and Caroline in particular was all over it. She ate hers in record time and we had to give her more! For the sake of easy morning assembly, I recommend getting all the ingredients ready to go (veggies washed, diced, etc.) and portioned into separate containers so that everything can be thrown together in a flash.

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

To assemble:
4 (10-inch) wraps or tortillas
Hummus
Cooked whole wheat couscous
Baby spinach leaves
Diced fresh tomatoes (or halved grape tomatoes)
Julienned or shredded carrots
Chopped banana peppers
Crumbled feta cheese

Directions

01
To make the dressing, combine the balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a jar or squeeze bottle with a closed lid. Shake well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and if necessary, adjust amounts of oil and vinegar to your liking.
02

Lay a wrap out on a work surface and spread with a thin layer of hummus. Top with a handful or two of couscous. Add a small mound of baby spinach leaves, a handful of diced tomatoes and a handful of carrots.
03

Top with a handful of the banana peppers, a sprinkling of the feta and a drizzle of the balsamic vinaigrette.
04

Fold the bottom edge of the wrap up.
05

Fold the sides of the wrap inward, and then roll the wrap up tightly to enclose all the fillings, burrito-style. (This may take a couple of tries but even the less than perfect wraps still taste good.) Store airtight and serve within 4-6 hours.

Let’s Do Lunch: Greek Veggie Wraps

Ingredients

Directions