Well, my kidlets have been in school now almost 3 weeks. I am still in disbelief that it's already back-to-school time again. We're finally getting back into the swing of things, though. I keep reminding myself that fall is just around the corner (although you wouldn't know it by today's weather....95* for the high....WOWZERS!!) I'm determined this year to not fall into the "sandwich, pretzels, fruit" rut. Z usually will eat just about anything I pack in his lunch, so I can be more creative foodwise with what I pack. One of the foods that he really likes is tortilla pinwheels (a.k.a. Wraps or Roll-Ups). Pinwheels, wraps, and roll-ups are a tasty and fun alternative to the traditional sandwich. And they’re also a fun and frugal way to repurpose dinner leftovers! They make a great lunch/lunchbox option and a delicious, nutritious snack. In fact, my kids have eaten foods they normally turn down, when I roll it up in a tortilla! Apparently, the cute little roll-up makes everything look and taste yummier! The best thing about them, though, is that they are super easy to make and can be changed up a bazillion ways. I've listed some yummy roll-up ideas below along with a few wrapping tips at the bottom of the post.
Delicious wrap ideas...
*Turkey and Cheese: Spread tortilla with herb cream cheese, turkey, lettuce, and cheese. (Any type lunch meat or cheese would be delicious.) These can be sliced to make the cute pinwheels like in today's lunch.
*BLAT: Spread tortilla with mayo and add bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato.
*Philly Cheese Steak: Spread tortilla with mayo or spicy mustard and add thinly sliced steak, sautéed onion and some shredded (or thinly sliced) raw cheese.
*Crunchy Veggie: Spread tortilla with mayo or cream cheese and add your favorite raw veggies like shredded carrot, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, cucumber, etc.
*Taco Salad: Spread tortilla with refried beans and/or guacamole; then add chopped lettuce, cheese, olives, and taco meat.
*Peanut Butter and Jelly: Spread tortilla with peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice) and jelly (or fruit spread or Nutella). These can be sliced to make cute PB&J "sushi".
*green seedless grapes
*baby carrots with Ranch dip in the small rainbow box
*natural applesauce
*Hershey's chocolate square
Wrapping tips …
---A warm tortilla is generally easier to roll-up than a cold one, and is less likely to break or tear. So once you’ve got the ingredients ready for your wrap, heat a skillet over medium heat and slightly warm the tortilla on both sides. Or, place the tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds. Then add your wrap ingredients and roll, following additional tips below.
---To help “seal” the tortilla, include some form of spread as a base layer (like mayo, cream cheese, nut butter, etc.). Then add your wrap ingredients making sure to leave about one inch of one side of your tortilla free of heavy ingredients. Start rolling on the side with ingredients, so you end the roll-up on the side with spread-only in order to help seal it.
---Once you’ve finished rolling-up your wrap, gently squeeze it with cupped hands, like a sushi chef does with a sushi roll.
--- I recommend wrapping up the rolled tortilla in plastic wrap and refrigerating for several hours if you are making pinwheels or sushi to make cutting easier. If you are doing this last minute and don’t have the time, don’t worry…it will still work.
---I didn’t specify amounts of meats or cheeses because it all depends on your taste. I used one layer of meat and two different cheeses, but if you like more meat, you can add more. It all depends on what you like your meat-to-cheese ratio to be.
Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:
*Turkey and Cheese: Spread tortilla with herb cream cheese, turkey, lettuce, and cheese. (Any type lunch meat or cheese would be delicious.) These can be sliced to make the cute pinwheels like in today's lunch.
*BLAT: Spread tortilla with mayo and add bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato.
*Philly Cheese Steak: Spread tortilla with mayo or spicy mustard and add thinly sliced steak, sautéed onion and some shredded (or thinly sliced) raw cheese.
*Crunchy Veggie: Spread tortilla with mayo or cream cheese and add your favorite raw veggies like shredded carrot, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, cucumber, etc.
*Taco Salad: Spread tortilla with refried beans and/or guacamole; then add chopped lettuce, cheese, olives, and taco meat.
*Peanut Butter and Jelly: Spread tortilla with peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice) and jelly (or fruit spread or Nutella). These can be sliced to make cute PB&J "sushi".
This lunch is packed in Easy Lunch Boxes.
*tortilla pinwheels with herb cream cheese, Natural Selects turkey, cheddar and provolone cheeses, and lettuce
*Rold Gold mini pretzels*green seedless grapes
*baby carrots with Ranch dip in the small rainbow box
*natural applesauce
*Hershey's chocolate square
Wrapping tips …
---A warm tortilla is generally easier to roll-up than a cold one, and is less likely to break or tear. So once you’ve got the ingredients ready for your wrap, heat a skillet over medium heat and slightly warm the tortilla on both sides. Or, place the tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds. Then add your wrap ingredients and roll, following additional tips below.
---To help “seal” the tortilla, include some form of spread as a base layer (like mayo, cream cheese, nut butter, etc.). Then add your wrap ingredients making sure to leave about one inch of one side of your tortilla free of heavy ingredients. Start rolling on the side with ingredients, so you end the roll-up on the side with spread-only in order to help seal it.
---Once you’ve finished rolling-up your wrap, gently squeeze it with cupped hands, like a sushi chef does with a sushi roll.
--- I recommend wrapping up the rolled tortilla in plastic wrap and refrigerating for several hours if you are making pinwheels or sushi to make cutting easier. If you are doing this last minute and don’t have the time, don’t worry…it will still work.
---I didn’t specify amounts of meats or cheeses because it all depends on your taste. I used one layer of meat and two different cheeses, but if you like more meat, you can add more. It all depends on what you like your meat-to-cheese ratio to be.
Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:
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