I recently attended a potluck birthday party where a lot of people (including the birthday girl) were quite health conscious (good for them for sticking to their New Year’s resolutions!), and a few others had allergies, while others were vegetarians so I was told to bring something versatile and healthy. I was stumped! But then my Mom helped me come up with the perfect thing, which I am now going to share with you. It’s great for any party and even to keep in the fridge for a quick snack for yourself or your kids.
Start with a nice head of lettuce that has big, firm leaves. Most grocery stores will sell these big leaves in a bag, and some are actually curved like taco shells and are called “lettuce shells”. After that – go nuts with what you put into them! You can take absolutely anything you want and wrap it up in the lettuce. On the platter I took to the party I included several types of sliced meats from the deli – chicken, smoked ham, roast beef, and also some slivered vegetables – carrots, red peppers, cucumbers. I also included a few strips of cheese. Everyone commented on how great it was to roll up your own little sandwich and it was nice to try all kinds – or to stick with just veggies if you don’t want the meat. After making the tray I thought that I should have also added some soft cheese like goat cheese, a side of salsa, and maybe some fresh herbs to add such as dill, parsley, and maybe sprouts or pea shoots. Slivered pieces of apple would also be nice in these wraps.
Feel free to steal this idea for your next brunch or potluck party. And I’ve actually just put some of the above in baggies and grabbed a few to quickly wrap as a quick snack or food on the go. It’s great to have something quick, easy and healthy to grab and it takes very little time to prepare. It’s an extremely tasty, creative way to get your veggies in and not to consume so many carbs as you would if you had made an actual sandwich with bread. And we all know eating more veggies is great for the body and skin!