all purpose grain-free low carb wrap / flatbread / tortilla

Now, admittedly,

I tried out more recipes for chocolate chips cookies

than wraps,

before deciding to come up with my own,

but I have tried quite a few wrap / flatbread/ tortilla recipes.

None of them satisfied.

About a year ago,

heady with my cookie success, I guess,

I came up with my own flatbread/ wrap /tortilla recipe,

and then tweaked it

until I was happy.

(the wrap recipe didn't take nearly as many tweaks as the cookie recipe,

I can tell you that!)

You know how, 

at Chuy's,

you just rip up a tortilla and eat it 

- plain -

and moan something about it being food of the gods?

no?

That's just me, then.

Well.

Anyways.

Let me be the first to tell you

do not eat these plain!

There will not be moaning;

there will be face making.

And, if you took a big enough bite,

spitting, perhaps.

They are not tasty plain.

But

- and this is a big but -

they are a wonderful vehicle for all sorts of fillings/toppings.

We use these as tortillas for tacos and fajitas.

as wraps

for all kinds of sandwiches.

And as individual pizza crusts (dry 'em out in the oven first)

This recipe makes five 6(ish) inch wraps.

What I am using them for 

determines the size I make them.

If I'm making, say, sandwich wraps for the whole family,

I'll make a double batch and make 8 larger ones.

Grain Free Low Fat Low Carb Wraps for everything

Throw the following ingredients into a small mixing bowl

1/4 c  LC grain free baking mix*

2 Tbs Psyllium husk powder**

2 tsp oat fiber

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

couple shakes of salt

Give that a quick stir - I usually just use a fork,

then mix in

2 tsp refined (no flavor) coconut oil or olive oil

Then add 

1/2 c hot water

and stir briskly to combine.

Set a large skillet on the stove over medium heat.

(I guess you could use a griddle, too, if it's easily accessible.)

Divide the dough into 5 (or however many you want) equal portions.

Set one of your dough balls on a silicone baking mat

or piece of parchment paper 

(For goodness sake, buy yourself some mats!

They reduce a lot of frustration in low carb baking.

If you can't afford two, at least buy one...)

flatten it slightly

then cover with another silicone mat

(parchment paper works better on top than on the bottom if you just have 1 mat)

and roll out super thin.

(I forgot to take a picture of this. 

I am so not a food blogger!)

Carefully peel off your top silicone mat,

and carry your bottom mat, with the rolled out dough on it,

over to your pan,

peel it off

and lay it neatly in the pan.

As if you needed the absence of a picture to let you know I am not, in fact, a food blogger. bahhaha

Cook  the wrap /flatbread / tortilla about 1 minute, 

then flip it over and cook about a minute more.

Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack

(If you don't have one, a plate would work just fine, I imagine)

While your wrap is cooking, roll out the next one

and so on and so forth.

When cool, store in a plastic bag, or eat up :-)

*if you haven't yet made the baking mix (why not?!)

just use 2 Tbs ground flax, 1 Tbs almond meal or flour, and 1 additional Tbs oat fiber

in place of it

For the Trim Healthy Mamas:

each wrap  only has 2.4 gr of fat and  .7 gr of usable carbohydrates

(based on 5 wraps/recipe)

so  you can eat 2

 (provided you have no additional fat, except in your low fat protein source)

and stay in FP mode.

**Psyllium seed powder also works fine in this recipe,

but your wraps will be considerably darker colored.

This is not a problem, just useful information,

lest you wonder why yours don't look like mine...

I will admit

the kids all prefer a regular tortilla to these.

Quite honestly, I might also.

(although, I am quite pleased with these!)

But if eating a regular grain filled tortilla isn't a good option for you,

these make a mighty fine substitute in my (rather picky) opinion. 

buns and bagel dogs

We found (and tweaked, of course)

a fun recipe to add to our lunch and Sunday Snacky Dinner options.

These everything bagel dogs are a hit with everyone.

The kids think we should bring them as a 242 snack,

which is high praise for a low carb 'bread' food, let me tell you.

We usually have a bit of leftover dough, and I'll make a plain 'bun' just for me :-)

I'll warm that bun, open faced, under the broiler

and slather on some butter.

De-liciousness!

Last time, I accidentally left it under the broiler too long and made toast.

Oh my goodness, it was good!

I'd planned to give 1/2 the bun to Tyler,

and I did,

but it was a sacrifice.

And when he offered me a bite,

I didn't hesitate to take one :-)

Her recipe says it makes 4,

but I have found that I can get 5 or 6 per batch.

Maybe we just like our bread part a bit thinner?

I don't have all of the ingredients she uses for the topping,

so I just mix together a little bowl of seeds and spices that I do have.

We've made them without any topping,

and without brushing with the extra egg,

and they are still quite yummy,

but they do look nicer with the topping.

I'll list my ingredients here,

but you'll want to go to the above link for the how-to,

and to see her beautiful pictures.

Whether you use Sarah's recipe or my tweaked (cheaper/lower calorie/tastier) version,

(or your own tweaked version)

is up to you,

but I really think you want to try them.

Bagel Dogs (or buns), our version

1/2 c shredded monterey jack

1 c shredded mozzarella 

(You can use all moz, but the mj makes it more flavorful)

2 Tbs cream cheese (or 1 oz if you like to use the packets)

1/4 c baking mix

1/2 c almond flour

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

1 egg

In a nutshell ~ melt the cheeses together

and in a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients with the egg.

Then mix the two together.

I turn them out onto a silicone baking sheet and knead it (with wet hands)

until it's well mixed.

Divide into 4-6 equal portions

and flatten

and wrap around a hot dog or sausage, sorta sealing the dough on the bottom.

(or just shape into flat-ish buns)

(her method of spiraling looks better,

 but it's harder for the kids to do.

Plus, it's just faster to smash and wrap...)

Add egg wash and toppings if desired

then bake

(on the silicone liner or parchment paper)

at 400 for about 20 min.

yum!!

perfect spaghetti

Now, you may be wondering how it is that we even eat spaghetti,

seeing that we don't eat wheat.

My friend asked me that very question recently when she asked what we were having for lunch after church one day 

and I replied,"Spaghetti."

I told her we eat it on shredded cabbage instead of pasta. 

(I know. 

It sounds gross. It's not; it's actually very good)

She said, "Then it's not spaghetti. Spaghetti refers to the pasta."

So, all this talk about spaghetti,

 is,

 I guess,

  technically 

talk about marinara sauce (with ground beef)

that we happen to eat over raw very thinly-sliced cabbage instead of long skinny noodles

but tastes suspiciously like the spaghetti of my memories.

Needless to say, Tyler was more than happy to tweak the recipe a bit,

'cause it meant more spaghetti to taste test.

And if he could get it to where I actually liked it,

well, he'd be in spaghetti heaven.

The last time he'd made the sauce,

we decided to reduce the seasoning mix,

so scribbled out the previous measurement on the bag

and wrote the new one.

So the next time I made the sauce accordingly.

(Hey! It just dawned on me; I've made the spaghetti every time except for once,

since he came up with and perfected the recipe. What gives?!)

It was simmering on the stove

and I gave it a stir as I walked by.

And then I tasted some.

And I said, "mmmm".

And then I realized,

I had just mmmm'd spaghetti.

Which brings us back to where I started this whole thing...

to be continued.

again.

just kidding :-)

And now, the recipe.

I have yet to figure out the measurements for doubling / tripling/ quadrupling....

It can be done quite easily, I'm sure, converting Tablespoons to cups and partial tsps to Tbls,

but I've been in a rush each time I've had to make up a batch of the seasoning,

so it was quicker to just make it as it's written on the crumpled paper bag Tyler brought the spices home from OFF in, 

than to think and multiply to convert....

Italian Seasoning Mix for people who don't like Thyme

(and people that do...)

9 TBS basil

9 TBS parsley

4 TBS oregano

3 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS rosemary (ground)

3/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3/4 tsp ground fennel

Mix 'em all together, give 'em a whir in the grinder (or a blender) and store in a jar.

(our spice grinder is just a dedicated coffee grinder from a yard sale :-)

To make Tyler's Spaghetti Sauce,

in a large pot, brown 2-3 lbs. ground beef (round or chuck) with a bit of garlic powder and season-all

While it's browning,

dice an onion and a bell pepper (half is okay if they're pricey, but a whole one is better)

and throw them in the pot when the beef's about 1/2 done.

When the beef is thoroughly cooked, 

add 1 big can (102 oz) crushed tomatoes

and 2 TBS of the magic spaghetti seasoning mix..

You can add a clove or two of crushed garlic, or not.

Let it simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes if you're in a rush,

but it's best simmered 3-4 hours if you get it going early enough.

If that's just wayyy too much sauce for you,

reduce the meat (duh) and onions & peppers,

and mix 1/2 Tbs of your italian seasoning mix with a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes.

If I were you, though, I'd go ahead and make the big batch,

'cause I'll be back before long,

to tell you what you can do 

with the leftovers.