Sunflower Collard Wrap Recipe

This is a lovely recipe for all occasions. If you feel like a dipping sauce, try a simple mix of one teaspoon of Dijon mustard plus two tablespoons of soy sauce and just a splash of sesame oil - you'll feel like you were just transported to a quaint restaurant somewhere along the beautiful east coast of South Korea. Rich in naturally occurring vitamin E, selenium, folate, easily-digested protein, lutein, and health-enhancing fatty acids, these wraps are guaranteed to nourish every organ system in your body.

Ingredients:

Sunflower Spread:

1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 tbsp water, as needed
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Wrap:

Sunflower Spread
1 cup chickpeas
8 oz sprouts
8 oz tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 avocado
1 bunch collard greens, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:

1. For the sunflower spread, combine the sunflower seeds, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Once the ingredients are all combined, SLOWLY add water - 1 tbsp at a time - until desired consistency is achieved. You can add sea salt and pepper, to taste, or even spice it up with cayenne, curry, or other seasonings. The spread also makes a nice dip for vegetables, as it is comparable to hummus.

2. Chop tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado into small chunks. Larger chunks are harder to wrap and keep together.

3. Now it’s time to assemble your wrap. Take one collard green leaf and lay out flat. Spread the sunflower spread along one half of the leaf – it adds loads of flavor and helps hold the wrap together.

4. Add your sprouts across the collard green. Next come the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado – put the vegetables on the half of the leaf that isn't covered in the sunflower spread, and be careful not to add too much that it's hard to wrap.

5. Once your vegetables are added, it’s time to wrap. Start rolling the collard green on the side with the vegetables, and roll toward the sunflower spread. Wrap gently but tightly. Even if it turns out a bit messy, rest assured that you'll have a mouthwatering wrap in your hands. :)

Please note: If collard leaves are not in your culinary wheelhouse, try substituting with steamed green cabbage leaves; if you steam green cabbage leaves just enough to soften them, they serve as delightfully sweet wrapping material.

Also, if you can't gobble up these sunflower collard wraps right away, splash a little fresh lemon or lime juice on the avocado chunks before wrapping so the avocado doesn't turn brown within a few hours.

To view a pictorial of this recipe, please go here: How to Make Sunflower Collard Wraps