Hey all!
As I mentioned in my last post, this is a nonstop week, and next week is looking exactly the same. What does this mean? Meals on the go!
With that in mind, I thought I’d share part of yesterday’s desk lunch with you.
Some people hate to eat at their desks: I’ve never been among them! In fact, I count myself lucky when I have the chance to eat at my desk (as opposed to a mind-numbing business lunch, or lunch on the go between clients, etc.). Sure, I’d rather be eating at home, but if I can take thirty minutes to appreciate my meal, the New York Times, a blog or two, or even some email writing, I’m happy.
Yesterday, I got to appreciate a new recipe while playing a brief round of blog catch up. My raw zucchini wraps were part of Sunday’s marathon of food prep. I’ve been searching for an easy raw wrap recipe for a long for a long time. Wraps are one of my favorite lunch foods, and while I often use sprouted grain wraps to make them, they get boring after a while! Given my general fondness for zucchini, I thought that the zucchini wraps I stumbled on in this book
Would be a perfect template. A few tweaks, and my own raw zucchini wraps were born:
Raw Zucchini Wraps (yields 2-4)
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 cup water
3/4 cup flax seeds
1/3 tsp salt
Dash pepper
Blend all ingredients in a Vitamix, starting on the lowest setting and turning the dial up slowly. When the mix is smooth, spread it at about 1/4″ thickness onto two paraflex sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for at least four hours (I needed 5ish).
Using a knife, separate wraps from the paraflex sheet. Cut in half, and store them in an airtight container and in the fridge. They ought to keep for at least a week. The color ain’t pretty, but they’re quite tasty!
You can use these as wraps for avocado sandwiches, guac and veggies, hummus, nut pate, or any other filling you fancy! I kept it simple yesterday with julienned veggies and some creamy dressing (forgive the little tear in my wrap — I never said I was good at dehydrator recipes!):
Alongside a hefty salad, these were a tasty and fun meal.
A creative and enjoyable lunch is a lovely way to add some brightness to the start of the work week. May you all have at least a few lunches in the coming days that make you smile!
xo
Pretty! For somebody without a dehydrator, it seems like you could almost use the zucchini mix as a sauce with a regular wrap. Did you sample the batter? How was it?
That sounds great.
Great, can’t wait to try this! Thanks!
those look amazing! i <3 zucchini everything. Finally bought my first spiraler and can’t wait to make some pretty zuke noodles.
What kind of dressing did you use? Looks great
wow, i thought these were large sheets of kelp at first.
Those are so creative! Are they flimsy? I wish I had a dehydrator so I could try them!
Those look so tasty!! Even for my non-veggie loving self.
Yum!!! Looks delicious!
Such a fun idea! I am not in love with zucchini on its own, but I think this meal would win my heart (and taste buds).
Between you and Gina (the Fitnessista) I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a dehydrator in my kitchen sooner rather than later! These look great and would add another choice for lunches.
Thank you for the inspiration
Whoa, this looks awesome! I guess I’ll have to get my oven ready…
Thanks for the recipe, looks great!!
I hope things slow down soon!! XO
Wow, looks like I’ll be having a very busy day this weekend.. looks easy (gulf) and healthy.
Looks delicious! I am a huge advocate of packing your own lunch to bring to work, especially when even take out salads can be filled with sugar and calories! These look great =) If only I had a dehydrator!
adding this to the recipe collection…so easy! thanks for the post.
I love to bring my own lunch to work so this is a great post for me. I have so many things to try from your site! Thanks as always for the great ideas.
I love that these are flexible enough to “wrap” things in. That has been my biggest quest! Thanks!
they look amazing!! You are so creative!!
I am thinking of doing a 2 week raw food challenge in the summer time, I think it will be fantastic!! 
I might come bug you for some tips!
It definately looks good Gena. I don’t have a Vitamix or a dehydrator… but they are on my wish list for the fam to consider
I also love eating at my desk.. a) I am not crazy about eating out and b) like you I want to catch up with my reading.
I usually always bring my own lunch salad to work, but wraps are a good idea! My favorite one I used to buy back home whenever I ate out for lunch is made with avocado, tofu, and chili sauce - might need to recreate that!
I love all things zucchini as well - this looks fantastic!
I love love love the Art of Living Raw Food book! I just ate lunch at my desk and had the buttnut squash soup and zucchini noodles with the tomato sauce all from that book. The recipes are incredible and these wraps were next on my list. I made the basil coconut wraps over the weekend and they were amazing. Thanks for the new twist on wraps and at least its you’re halfway through your busy week Gena
PS
I, too, love eating at my desk, but I hate being inside all day. I have an hour for lunch and use half to go for a walk outside and half to eat at my desk.
These wraps are beautiful and a great idea for lunch in the office! Thank you
Those wraps look simple and delicious to me!
is there any way you could do these without a dehydrator or a paraflex sheet? I need to get those but want to try these wraps before that. They look great! Thanks Gena
While I think your zucchini wraps looks absolutely delicious - as do most of your other foods - I have noticed recently that a larger proportion of the recipes you post necessitate the use of a dehydrator.
Which kinda makes me sad!
I’m just thinking that if I had come across your blog today, and it was my first time discovering the world of raw, I might be a wee bit intimidated!
Just sayin’. But you know I love you, Gena.
xo aletheia
Fair point, Aletheia!
I’m actually glad I’ve been using the dehydrator, since it was a gift to me over a year ago, and I’ve yet to take advantage of it. Although you know I don’t find it essential to the lifestyle, I do think it’s wasteful and uncool to let it sit around on my kitchen floor, which I did for eight months. And of course I’m going to show off what I make!
Moreover, keep in mind that I did post a non-dehydrator recipe last week. And my last entree — the mushroom cap and “mashed potatoes” — didn’t necessitate dehydration. Also keep in mind that my work, client, and social schedules have virtually kept me away from my kitchen for the last month. I’m not complaining, but I cannot tell you how coming home at 9, sometimes 10 PM, and leaving my apartment at 8 AM knowing I won’t be back till late, does to my cooking routine. In short, it absolutely quashes it! Which means 99% of my meals right now are things I take to work in tupperware or eat on the go — nothing worthy of recipe sharing. The stuff I make on weekends to last for the week tends to be either soups, cooked foods, or dehydrated raw foods. The rest is stuff I throw together raw, and don’t usually have time (or inclination) to document for you.
This will change when I’m not pulled in so many directions. It’s just the lay of the land right now
Gena
Hey! Thanks for replying.
In all honesty, of course one part of me knows that you can do whatever the heck you want with that dehydrator of yours. I personally know that one can chug out some pretty crazy things from that box, and it’s always nice to see people share their creations.
But then the other part of me also knows that one of the things that Gena Hamshaw does best is proving to the blogger world and beyond that the everyday person really CAN eat raw (with or without fancy kitchen toys!). So I’m glad to hear you’re still of the same mind. But of course.
I’m empathetic towards your hectic work/life schedule, and at the same time am a far cry from unimpressed that you are doing the very best you can to still make and prep your meals! Seriously, girl. Good on you.
Gena - you’re always reminding us about the ethical dimension of veganism, and the value of a simple vegetable-based diet, so I have to ask: how do you feel about many raw foodists’ lack of interest in eating locally and seasonally? Buying coconuts, bananas, or cashews - or zucchini in a New York winter - raises some enivronmental and political issues; carbon footprint aside, these crops aren’t exactly associated with fair labor practices and sustainability. Not meant to criticize or implicate; just wondering if this is something you think about or what your take was.
This is what keeps me from being sold on raw.
Hi Katie,
Great question!
The answer is complex. Yes, I do think that it’s very commendable and indeed optimal to eat locally and seasonally. While you’ll definitely see errant zucchini or avocado on my blog in the winter, I do try to lessen my consumption of those things, and focus on fennel, cabbage, other crucifers, potatoes, beets, squash, and grains in the winter. I’m not typically eating my guac as often as usual, for instance! And since I don’t really like fruit, I’ll rarely eat it in winter at all.
At the end of the day, I do of course sometimes buy out of season: this zucchini is a good example, and so would be the cherry tomatoes I ate the other day. Again, I try to limit these instances, as I recognize that they’re not ideal. At the same time, I don’t commit to eating 100% locally, because I’m not persuaded that I’d be able to get the kind of dietary variety I believe in that way. If I were to eliminate avocados, the occasional coconut, and all non-seasonal vegetables from my diet, it would be far more narrow than I am comfortable with. I can definitely focus on whole grains and dried legumes and seasonal produce in winter, then, but I can’t focus on them with absolute exclusivity.
This isn’t a perfect ethical position, naturally, but studying food has led me to believe that there’s really no perfect ethical position to be had. There are strange loopholes and quandaries no matter what lifestyle you ultimately try to stick to: veganism, locavorism, omnivorism, all raw. The best one can do is try to adopt a position that feels most ethically sound and most right, which is how I feel about veganism (and just to make my own imperfections clear here, I’m only just now beginning to adopt veganism as a lifestyle as well as a diet, an evolution you can read more about here). That doesn’t mean eating locally is irrelevant to me; it’s not. But if I sometimes need to deviate from it in order to maintain a healthy vegan lifestyle, I probably will, with an intention on doing my best the rest of the time.
Hope this makes sense!
Gena
Looks delicious!
As I am currently surviving off a college-student’s income (which is basically nothing) I can’t budget for a Vitamix, though I have heard they are WONDERFUL!
Just wondering if this is something that can be done in a food processor or if a food processor doesn’t have the manpower to get it smooth enough. I also have a Bullet though I really doubt that would have the capacity for such an undertaking but was just curious!
Good luck with your crazy week of work!
Gena!
Thanks for the comment on my blog
I am loving your wrap lunch… and I’m excited to see Doreen’s new book - I am such a fan of her work (have heaps of her books and cards), and have been wanting to get the book. Do you recommend it?
Take care!
Heathy
Those are really creative and honestly, I was totally unaware! Thanks for the heads up on how to create those!!! yay for new things!
i love food. You really want to cook ei. It is also my habit to cook and experiment healthy food than to buy food that is not healthy for my family.
Ooh, good idea! I must try this. I hate raw collards and raw kale, so using them as a wrap never works for me. And romaine leaves are more like taco shells. I like eating at my desk sometimes too. Did it today because I was too busy to run home. The only problem is I don’t get to take a break from my computer screen, and my eyes are now beginning to cross … and I still have 2 hours left!
looks really easy–love those kinds of recipes.
I love the color!
I bought this book over Thanksgiving break because all the meals looked so beautiful, but I haven’t made anything out of it yet.
I was a little intimidated because a lot of the meals require dehydrating.
These look delish! I’m going to go get cucumbers tomorrow so I can have these for the week. I like the color as well.
Thanks!
Do you have a recipe for the dressing?
[...] did want to share a very excellent comment I got from reader Katie the other day. In response to my zucchini wraps, Katie [...]
Those look interesting! I have a dehydrator but I’m not sure if it would work for that … or maybe I’m too scared to try!
K
That wrap looks really yummy and widens the option for food on the go! I usually use a collard leaf to wrap things, sometimes kale or swiss chard, but one weekend I think I’ll make a bunch of these to use the following week. I homeschool my kids so we’re often on the go go go!
I have sweet potato, carrot and beet chips in the dehydrator right now, but it’s smoothie week on my blog so I won’t post them til the weekend or next week… I tasted them when I flipped them and they were pretty tasty, but not enough of a crunchy bit for me!
Your blog is gorgeous — I put it in my reader. Thanks!