Spicy lentil wrap with tahini sauce (A copycat of the expensive wrap you can buy at Trader Joes)

I used to go to Trader Joes on a Monday and buy six of their pre-made wraps to get me through this lunch week.  This is expensive.  While playing around online the other day looking for vegan banana bread (coming soon) I found another persons version of this wrap.  Theirs was just a little too high cal/carb for me so I updated it.  Mine is more simple but seriously, so so so good. You can make these wraps ahead of time and take them with you for lunch, the Lavash bread does not get soggy. I recommend keeping the tahini in a separate container for lunch traveling, the wrap will get messy if you add that before wrapping and traveling.  For a weeks worth of lunches I took a tupperware of lentils, a bag of cabbage, 5 half pieces of Lavash bread, and a container of sauce to my office and then built each wrap on my break. 

 INGREDIENTS
1/2 Slice of Lavash bread (or a whole if you are hungry)
1/8 Cup Spicy red lentils
1/2 Cup shredded cabbage
Red pepper flakes to taste

Lay wrap flat on plate. Spoon lentils onto one half of wrap.  This is where Trader Joes uses a chili paste.  I am a sissy so I skipped that and just put a few red pepper flakes. If you want the chili paste Trader Joes sells an excellent pre-made one with minimal ingredients.  Add cabbage on top of lentils.  Starting from the side of the wrap with the lentils roll towards the empty side.  This should give you a nice clean wrap.  I prefer to drizzle with tahini sauce before each bite.  You may dip, or pour, or put it in before rolling it up. I enjoy the drizzling. 

To make Tahini sauce
2 Tbsp tahini*
1-2 Tbsp unsweetened coconut milk
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 Tsp chopped parsley
Pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you aren't a sissy like me

Combine all of the sauce ingredients and mix with a fork until smooth and able to drizzle off fork. If using raw tahini you will want to add a little more coconut milk to make it pourable.

*I've used raw Tahini or the Trader Joes Tahini sauce found near their hummus
Spicy red lentil recipe found here

Low calorie Thick Fiesta Bean soup

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic rough chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 2" long thin strips 1-serrano pepper, diced 1/4 cup yellow onion chopped 6 mushrooms, rough chopped 2 stalks celery chopped 1 cup vegetable broth 1 cup canned fiesta bean mix (or any mixed beans) 2 Tbsp cumin 2.5 Tbsp chilli powder 1 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Saute vegetables in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add bean mix, broth, seasonings, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with cheese and tortilla chips crumbled on top.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 2-4
• Amount Per Serving 1.5 cup
• Calories: 96.1

Adding roasted and shredded chicken breast would be a great addition to this soup however, you must add in the calories for your chicken. Also the amount of tortilla chips and cheese you use, is so small it barely counts!

Low calorie No Cream, Creamy asparagus soup

I decided I would pull up a few of my recipes from my diet days that I uploaded onto my diet page in case some of you are trying to diet. I followed a low calorie diet and lost 20 pounds in 2.5 months and would have kept going if I didn't get knocked up. My first few recipes will be soups but I have plenty more. I like doing soups because you can make a lot and easily have some for lunch or dinner the next day. Something we all know about dieting is if it isn't right there in front of you, you will pick something less healthy. That is why I encourage you to work hearty soups into your diet! (Also these recipes will appear in a fancier format since I had uploaded em to my sparkpeople.com page already)

Ingredients

3 Pounds Asparagus 1 Cup Shallots 2 Boxes (8 cups) vegetable broth 1- large jar marinated artichoke hearts drained salt to taste Pepper to taste Dash of Cayenne Pepper 2- Tbsp olive oil

Directions: First bring 4 cups broth to a boil. While this is happening, separate asparagus into three parts. The woody ends, the tips and the middle. ** Tip at recipe end** Place the woody ends in the broth to boil for flavor. Chop middles and reserve for later. Reserve pretty tops for end. Boil until woody ends are tender. Remove with a slotted spoon. Reserve broth in blender or food processor. In pot add olive oil, shallots, middles of asparagus, artichoke hearts salt, pepper and cayenne. Saute over low heat until asparagus is tender. Add aspargus, shallot mixture to broth in blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Place asparagus tips on microwave safe bowl and heat with two tablespoons broth for 2 minutes. Pour soup from blender into pot and add softened asparagus tips and cayenne pepper. Add remaining broth to desired constancy. Check for seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 7
• Amount Per Serving: About 1 1/3 cup
• Calories: 123.3

**(To do so hold the asparagus in both hands using thumb and pointer finger, with one hand on each end. Slightly bend until asparagus snaps, this is the natural tender point. You will want to lay this piece next to all the rest and cut at the same point. everything on the edge is considered your woody edge.)**