I’d like to nominate lettuce wraps as the perfect summer food. There’s savory protein and flavorful veggies all on crunchy, fiber-filled lettuce leaves.
It’s the perfect, light and refreshing thing to eat on a warm evening.
I came up with recipe while craving a rice-pilaf dish. The shredded cauliflower, rice and onions do an awesome job of getting you to believe you’re eating grain-based pilaf. With the addition of lean, ground turkey and lettuce this comfort-food tasting meal is actually quite lean and green.
Whenever dinner is served on lettuce (or involves lettuce in any form) I cross my fingers when giving it to the kids. These wraps, however, were a huge hit mainly due to the apple chutney topping! Wheeeew, score one for mom :-)
12 large romaine lettuce leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrot, shreddeds
½ yellow onion, minced
dash of sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound organic turkey, ground
1 head cauliflower, shredded (To shred: cut into florets and run through a food processor with the grating attachment)
⅓ cup golden raisins
1 cup chicken broth
dash of fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ yellow onion, minced
2 green apples, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
½ cup apple juice or apple cider
1 sprinkle sea salt
For the Cinnamon Ground Turkey Rice: In a large skillet place the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions, cook for 3 minutes, until soft. Add salt, cinnamon and ground turkey. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the head of shredded cauliflower, raisins, broth and pepper. Cook for another 4 minutes, until heated through.
For the Quick Apple Chutney: In a medium skillet place the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and apples. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover, add the cinnamon, coconut palm sugar, apple juice and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for another 4 minutes until apples are tender.
Assemble Your Lettuce Wraps: Spread a generous spoonful of the turkey mixture along the center of a Romaine lettuce leaf, top with a spoonful of chutney. Enjoy!
Calories: 248
Fat: 9g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Sodium: 156mg
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 17g
Sugar: 12g