Hummus Wrap

The good thing about summer is that it invites light meals to avoid packing on warm fat. This results in a lot of lunch salads and cold sandwiches, but you can easily get burnt out of those quickly. Rachel, my roommate foodie before I got married, was impeccable about making homemade hummus every week to make wraps with for lunches on campus. I had her sit down with me and go over her "recipes" before she moved out. I say "recipes" in quotations because Rachel is a open-the-cabinet-and-make-something kind of cook. She literally had to make the hummus in front of me to know what measurements to give me. So she got to do all the experimenting and I get to enjoy fool-proof hummus - as well shall you.

Hummus ala Rachel

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small bunch parsley

1 tbsp. flax seed (or flax seed meal)

juice of one lemon

Cayenne pepper

cumin powder

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp peanut butter

add ins: one jarred roasted red pepper and/or feta cheese

Boil chickpeas for about 3 minutes or when skins start to come off - drain and move to blender. Reserve 1 cup water. Add 2 tbsp oil, lemon juice and flax seeds and blend. Flax seeds need to be "damaged" to release their beneficial fats, so blend the seeds or buy flax meal. If chickpeas get "chalky" add another tbsp oil or reserved water. Add red pepper, cumin, garlic, parsley and peanut butter. I know you are supposed to use tahini paste in hummus, but Rachel tried the tahini and it really didn't taste as good. You get more of an earthy taste with the peanut butter. Use natural peanut butter if you can, or TJ's reduced-fat peanut butter. You can also use almond butter for healthier fat. Blend your add-ins if using.

The best variety Rachel ever made was to add a jarred, feta cheese stuffed red pepper. I accidently bought some at the sore and didn't intend to use them so Rachel added them to her weekly hummus and it was amazing. You don't have to use feta-stuffed peppers, or you can just add feta cheese - it comes in Mediterranean-seasoned also. Fermented cheese are the least processed cheese because the "process" is natural. Cheeses like goat cheese, feta, cottage cheese are all probiotic cheeses that come with great benefits, especially for women.

Store-bought hummus contains a lot of unnecessary oil. I like that Rachel uses a modest amount of oil and substitutes water. You can also add more peanut butter for a smoother consistency. Rachel is also great about hiding flax seed in her meals and shakes. Flax seed is a good cholesterol-building fat. Rachel suffered from awful cholesterol regardless of her all-natural diet, and she had great tips for increasing good cholesterol to maintain a healthy balance.

Mediterranean Wrap

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

4 Roma (or similar sized) tomatoes, chopped

1 English cucumber, chopped

parsley, chopped

shallot, chopped

coarse salt and pepper

feta cheese, crumbled

homemade hummus

tortilla wraps or Naan bread

This wrap is great for the summer because it uses so many in-season vegetables. I am not a huge fan of cucumbers, but for some reason the CSA cucumbers are more appealing - or maybe my tastes have just changed. I like to make this the day before I eat it to let the tomatoes and cucumber "pickle" in the marinade.

Combine lemon juice, oil and salt/pepper. Set aside. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, shallot and parsley. I know I've said I hate the taste of raw onion, but shallots give off the aroma of red onion without having an overwhelming aftertaste. And let's face it, if you are eating Greek for lunch, your breath is not going to be saved from anything. Drain any excess juices if possible. Slowly add oil mixture to vegetables. Do not oversaturate the vegetables. Let sit overnight preferably.

To make your wrap, spread hummus on a tortilla wrap or Naan. Top with marinated vegetables - use a fork to limit juices from transferring to the wrap. Top with feta crumbles. Wrap and enjoy.