Meatless, Bread-less Monday: Walnut Pesto Chard Wraps
By Claire Georgiou, Reboot Naturopath, B.HSc ND
I love making food alternatives that incorporate more vegetables in place of refined carbohydrates. It makes for a lighter meal that has plant compounds and extra antioxidants. Go ahead and add more nutrients to the next sandwich or wrap you make by using chard leaves instead of bread! You can also use this pesto filling with rice paper rolls or toasted seaweed nori sheets.
It’s always nice to use different ingredients in a basic pesto recipe to increase your nutrient profile and add variety to your diet. I used walnuts because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, and contain fiber, calcium, magnesium, B6, B1 and folate. They have anti-cancer properties, improve weight control, support brain and heart heath. I’d say it’s a good idea to make this for dinner tonight!
Ingredients
Wrap & Toppings:
- 4 large chard (silverbeet) leaves
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 red bell pepper (capsicum), sliced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1 scallion (spring onion), chop into 4 sections
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 beet (beetroot), grated
Walnut Pesto:
- 1 cup (1 large handful) firmly packed basil leaves
- 1/2 cup (60 g) walnuts
- 1/4 cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Wash all produce well. Make sure the chard leaves are patted dry.
- Remove the stem and partway up the leaf to allow it to roll nicely.
- Combine pesto ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Lay the chard leaf down, with the inside of the leaf showing up, fill leaf with desired amount of pesto* (about 1 – 2 tablespoons), avocado, sliced red bell pepper, grated carrots, tomato, scallion, cucumber and beet.
- Fold the sides in and roll into a roll (much like a spring roll) and repeat with the remaining 3 leaves.
- Enjoy right away or store in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
*Note: You’ll likely have about 2 servings of leftover pesto to use for another recipe like our Zucchini Macadamia Pesto Roll Ups.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Substitutions
- Chard – collard, lettuce leaves, cabbage
- Red bell pepper – green, yellow or orange pepper
- Carrot – butter pumpkin
- Tomato – red cabbage, beet
- Scallions – red onion
- Cucumber – green pepper (capsicum)
- Beet – carrot, red cabbage
- Basil – arugula (rocket), coriander
- Walnuts – pine nuts, almonds, macadamias, cashews
- Olive oil – avocado oil, flaxseed or hemp seed oil
Calories: 210
Fat: 19g
Trans Fat: 2.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 120mg
Carbohydrates: 10g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 4g