Roll With It

Officer Jake is pretty good about packing his lunch for work. After 20 years on the job, his stomach can't handle quite as many In-N-Out burgers and he's learned the value of maintaining a healthier diet. I've been working with him over the past several years to develop tasty and nutritious ideas that leave boring old turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks a thing of the past. Here is one of his recent favorites, a chicken-salad rollup, that incorporates protein, veggies, fruit and whole grain all in one. Sound "too-healthy-to-be-tasty?" Not so! Once I got him to try this (it took a little convincing - he thought it looked a little too "girly") he loved it and requests it often.    

Chicken Salad Rollups

> Whole wheat lavash bread (I get mine at Trader Joe's. If you can't get lavash, go for whole grain tortillas or any sort of flat bread.)
> Fresh spinach leaves (or lettuce if you can't get spinach)
> Golden raisins
> Chicken Salad (my recipe follows. Or buy prepared chicken salad at your local deli. The only problem with ready-made is you can't control how much mayo or other fats they put in the salad.)

Homemade Chicken Salad

Four cups finely chopped cooked chicken (I like to use either grilled or roasted, more flavor)
2 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 stalks of celery - finely diced
salt and pepper to taste

Assembly

Lay out the lavash bread on a cutting board. Spread the chicken salad in a thin, even layer over the entire lavash, all the way to the sides. Sprinkle golden raisins over the chicken salad. Arrange spinach (or lettuce) leaves over top. Tightly roll up the lavash and fillings into a tight roll. Cut roll into sections about 2 inches wide. Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It's best to make this right before packing the lunch - store too long and it gets soggy or the rolls come unrolled and you've got a grumpy police officer trying to figure out what-in-the-heck you put in his lunchbox.

Remember - real men DO eat rollups.

Comments

[Mrs. Fuzz]

thanks for sharing the recipe! That looks so delicious. I've been craving COSTCO's chicken salad lately, but I'm sure it's very fattening.

[Natalie]

Thanks for the "officer input" as well that he requests it. Anytime "healthy" gets thrown in to the food I make for my man, he immediately gets turned off. I make mostly healthy food and he still eats it all, but usually has to grumble before wolfing it down and struggles to admit that it's quite tasty. Silly man!

[Damsel Underdressed]

That sounds fantastic! I'm going to put the ingredients on my grocery list right now. I've been jonesing for a good chicken salad wrap.

[Kelsey]

Oo! I will have to try those. I've been trying to get my guy to eat healthier - when we first started dating, his lunches were white bread with velveeta singles! He now eats wheat bread sandwiches with meat and (real) cheese and vegetables on days he wants a packed lunch, but I am always looking for other things to send him to work with.