Creamy Avocado Collard Green Wraps

Yesterday at the produce stand we came across some amazing looking collard greens and just had to pick some up.

The leaves were so big we knew we could really do something great with them. So we ran home and just let this recipe create itself.

The result was pretty amazing. Packed with nutrients and delicious! This combination of flavors really works!

It was hard to come up with a name for them because there are so many different elements. A friend who shared dinner with us last night suggested "Medley Wraps" because really that's what they are. A medley of vegetable and tastes. But for the sake of quick explanation we went with "Creamy Avocado Collard Green Wraps" for the blog title. :-) But you can call them Medley Wraps if you want, that's totally okay with us!

You will need:
Collard Greens (a bunch with the largest leaves you can find)
1/2 small head of green cabbage
1-2 large carrots
2 yellow onions
1-2 green onions
1/2 block tofu
1 medium avocado
1/4 can coconut milk
4 cloves of garlic
1 TBS soy sauce
salt
pepper
paprika
garlic powder
turmeric


To prepare:

1. Separate the collard green leaves and cut off the long stems. Wash the greens throughly then fill a large pot with water and let it come to a boil. Once pot is boiling, turn off heat, set pot to side and place leaves into water. Cover and let sit.

2. Cut your block of firm tofu in half and then into small cubes. Boil a small pot of water, remove from heat, add tofu, and let sit for a few minutes while you prepare your veggies.

3. Wash other vegetables. Chop cabbage into slices and make carrots into thin sticks. We left our onions pretty long as well and just chopped our green onions all the way down the stem (you want the green and the white parts).

4. Once all veggies are chopped, heat a wok or skillet to medium heat and add a little olive oil or non-stick spray. Throw in veggies and lightly sauté with a tablespoon of soy sauce and a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. (Try not to overcook. They'll continue to cook in the oven and you don't want them to get too soft.) 

5. Drain tofu and add to vegetables in wok/skillet. Give veggies/tofu a small toss to mix.

6. Carefully remove green leaves from pot and set on dry surface. You may want to pat dry with a paper towel. 

7. Add a few large spoonfuls of sauteed veggies on top of leaves and then wrap by folding up from the stem, followed by folding in the sides to create a seal, then rolling up till end is reached. 

8. After all the wraps are sealed, preheat oven to 350ºF and coat a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, then place wraps inside.

9. Chop four cloves of garlic and in a small dish mix with a small amount of olive oil, salt, pepper, and turmeric then place on top of wraps and stick in oven for 25 minutes.

10. While wraps are cooking prepare topping. In a food processor combine 1 medium avocado with 1/4 can coconut milk and a few pinches of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Blend until smooth and creamy.

11. After 25 minutes, take out wraps and set on plate. We served ours on a bed of balsamic sauteed chickpeas (sauté chick peas in spices and balsamic vinegar until soft). Set the roasted garlic to the side, top wraps with a thick strip of avocado mixture and then garnish with roasted garlic and paprika.

Once cut into the filling will look something like this and will taste delicious! 

Enjoy! 

(And don't worry our honeymoon review of The Florida Keys is coming soon!)

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

Baked Zucchini Boats (Only 128 calories!)

Are you looking for a recipe that is fun to make, delicious, esthetically plesasing, and low in calories? Oh.. and vegan... did we mention vegan? Well then look no further! Our Baked Zucchini Boats are only 128 calories each!

Also, they are already conveniently located in the My Fitness Pal food database. Haven't been on My Fitness Pal? Well, if you're looking to drop a few pounds or simply keep track of your exercise/calorie intake then you should check it out! It is a wonderful site we have both been using for a couple years to regulate our health and fitness goals.

We plan on adding more of our recipes into the food database on MFP but for right now we just have these guys. Once you cook up these Zucchini Boats just search: "Two Vegan Ladies" and they will pop up!

Note: MFP listing is for 1 boat. Does not include pasta or additional boats. A full meal serving-size to us is 2 boats. So about 256 calories. (Not bad for a whole meal!) But we programed the listing as 1 boat so you can regulate it as you see fit. One boat would make a delicious snack.

So let's get to it!

You will need:

2-4 raw zucchinis
1 package firm tofu
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
garlic powder
salt
pepper
dried basil
dried Italian seasoning
spray oil
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 block Vegan Gourmet Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese
green onions

First, preheat oven to 350ºF then cut each zucchini in half length-wise and, with a spoon, scoop out seeds. You want to scoop out all the pulp until you have a nice cavern for your stuffing. Set pulp to side (you're gonna need it in a minute!)

Next, in a food processor, combine tofu, nutritional yeast, and all spices. Now, you didn't think we were gonna waste all that delicious and nutritious zucchini pulp, did you? Throw all those pulp guts and seeds right into the food processor with your tofu and spices and blend until thick and creamy.

Now, fill each of your hollowed out zucchini halves with about 2-3 tablespoons of the tofu mixture. Fill them right to the top but to do not overflow.

Spray a casserole dish with a little cooking spray and lay out your stuffed zucchini boats so they fit snuggly. The set in oven.

Let's talk about sauce while our boats cook for about 15 minutes. Canned tomato sauce can be a little bland so it's up to you whether or not you want to flavor it up a bit first before adding it to your boats. We like to quickly throw it in a small sauce pan with some garlic powder and other dried seasonings just to give it a little more kick.

You could also use any homemade or canned sauce of your choice here, but note that the My Fitness Pal database numbers will only reflect the 8oz canned sauce.

Either way, once your sauce is ready to go and 15 minutes has elapsed, pull out the boats. Turn heat up to 450ºF.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of sauce to the top of each zucchini boat. Make sure you spread it out over the whole thing so the flavor will be even.

Next, with a cheese grater, finely grate Vegan Gourmet Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese on top of the saucy boats. Try not to add more than a tablespoon or a tablespoon and a half to each one.

Then chop some green onions and sprinkle on the top for garnish. Place casserole dish back into oven. (Which should now be heated to 450ºF.)

Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts to get really melty and just slightly browned. You may even want to stick the boats under the broiler for just a second before pulling them out depending on how you like your cheese.

Let cool for a few minutes then serve.

These are very yummy as they are but we did serve ours on a bed of pasta that night. They would also go nicely with a side of steamed veggies.

They keep very well in the fridge, so don't be afraid to make a bunch at once!

Enjoy and don't forget add this dish into your My Fitness Pal diary! Just search: Two Vegan Ladies!

With peace, love, and compassion-
The Two Vegan Ladies