As a health-conscious person and parent, I strive daily to make healthy and high-protein meals at home. Today I would like to share a healthy wrap recipe for lunch. It’s Thai Chicken Wraps, a straightforward wrap recipe, a healthy and delicious one for every age group.

Watch This Recipe Below:

-85 g boneless chicken breast, skinless

-2 tsp olive oil

-¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt

-¼ tsp ground black pepper

-40-45 g cucumber, with peel

-2 tsp fresh cilantro

-2 (8-inch) whole-wheat tortillas

-2 tsp Thai-style satay peanut sauce (or any Thai sauce of your choice)

-Heat a grill pan over high heat 

-Rub chicken breasts with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper

-Add chicken to the pan, and reduce heat to medium

-Cook for 6 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of the meat) or until cooked through. Remove from pan, let sit for 5 minutes, and slice diagonally into pieces

-Combine the cucumber slices and chopped cilantro in a bowl

-Assemble the wraps just before you are ready to serve

-Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, and heat tortillas for 15-20 seconds on each side

-Spread 1 tbsp satay sauce on each tortilla

-Top each with chicken slices and 1/4 of the cucumber mixture

-Fold in sides of tortillas and serve immediately

This easy wrap recipe is healthy as the ingredients I have chosen to place inside the wrap are not only high in protein but the wrap itself is made of whole wheat. Let’s look at the ingredients more closely. The first one is chicken.

Chicken

Every year, more and more people focus on what they eat and desire to be healthier. Ask any fitness-conscious individual or bodybuilder about their primary source of lean and high-protein meals. The answer will mostly be the same for any non-vegetarian- chicken meat.

Chicken is highly nutritious and a good source of protein. In addition, adding chicken to your diet may help support weight loss, muscle growth, and bone health. It is a versatile, highly digestible and adaptable protein. Easy to cook, inexpensive compared to many other sources of animal protein.

It has unsaturated lipids (mainly found in the skin and easily removed), B-group vitamins (mainly thiamin, vitamin B6), and minerals like iron, zinc, and copper. ¹https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462824/ An 85 g or 3-oz of boneless, skinless chicken breast packs 26 g of protein, containing all the amino acids essential for human health.

Protein is a significant building block of all muscular tissues in the body, including skeletal muscle and smooth muscle found in the walls of our intestines. ²https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/331960/nutrients, ³https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171450/nutrients

Regarding diet planning or healthy eating, protein is the first macronutrient we calculate for optimal benefits. According to the National Academy of Medicine, the RDA (Recommended daily allowance) for protein is 0.8g/kg body weight for a sedentary individual. 

However, numerous studies suggest an intake of approximately double the RDA for active individuals, ranging between 1.2-2g/kg of body weight. Including more protein in the diet may increase the satiety effect that leads to a feeling of fullness. ⁴https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56068/table/summarytables.t1/?report=objectonly

The labels can be very confusing when we go to the grocery store and try to buy chicken. Below is a small guide that can help you to understand how to choose your poultry.

Free-Range

This means that the bird has been allowed access outside the cage.

Fresh

This chicken has never been below 26 °F (the temperature at which poultry freezes).

Natural

No artificial ingredients nor added color. 

No Hormones 

Chickens aren’t raised with injecting hormones.

No Antibiotics 

This term indicates when the chicken was raised without any antibiotics for maintenance, disease prevention or treatment. However, other medications not classified as antibiotics may still be used.

Organic 

This term means that all feed must be certified organic, with no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, animal by-products, or other additives. And probably that’s the best way to enjoy fresh chicken free of unwanted additives and raised using standards for sustainability and humane treatment.

Related Articles: 

How Much Protein From Chicken: Breast And Whole Chicken?

Is It Ok To Consume 250-300 Grams Of Chicken Meat Per Day?

Whole Wheat Wrap

Wraps seem to have a much healthier reputation than sandwiches. However, whether or not a wrap is healthy depends on the ingredients one chooses to place in the wrap and the nutritional quality of the wrap itself.

Whole-wheat wraps are more nutritious than plain refined-flour wraps, so I try to find which are made of  100% whole wheat. Whole grains are suggested to be a healthier choice in numerous dietary guidelines.

Compared to refined carbohydrates, whole grains contain many beneficial nutrients that primarily reside in the outer hulls of the grains removed during milling to produce fine grain products. 

In laboratory research and human feeding trials, whole grains and constituents of whole grains provide many benefits, such as insoluble fiber, magnesium, and phytochemicals, significantly impacting glucose metabolism, blood lipids, antioxidant activity and inflammation.

In addition, studies have consistently found inverse associations between whole-grain intake and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). ⁵https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6115963/, ⁶https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4429593/

Cucumber

For lunch, a healthy wrap recipe should consist of healthy protein with greens or vegetables with just a little dressing for flavor. Vegetables are packed with fiber and nutrients, and we all know how good fiber is for our digestive tract.

A serving of cucumber, one-half a cup, is only 8 calories, and about 95% is water that can help you stay hydrated. In addition, cucumbers have small amounts of vitamin K that may help with blood clots and keep the bones healthy.

They provide vitamin A, which may help with vision, the immune system, and reproduction. It also ensures organs like the heart, lungs, and kidneys work properly. Cucumbers also have several phytonutrients called lignans, which may help prevent or delay heart disease, osteoporosis, and a few cancers.

Antioxidants such as beta carotene in cucumbers can help fight free radicals in your body, leading to various diseases.

Peanut Sauce

While most peanut sauces may provide us with a healthy dose of protein, vitamins and minerals, they’re also high in calories and fat. Therefore, we must keep the serving size small and ensure that the food plate is balanced with items from a few food groups.

If you want to add a few more ingredients, go ahead and add some diced avocado, tomatoes, baby spinach, lettuce or whatever your heart desires and enjoy this tasty wrap any time of the day.

The difference between a wrap we make at home and one that we purchase at a fast food chain is that 99% of the time, the ones bought at the fast food chain are loaded with synthetic ingredients, flavor enhancers, preservatives, salt, trans-fats and such.

In comparison, what we make at home is always made with the best ingredients we can get, and if we can make it delicious, then why not enjoy food that pleases the eye and our taste buds both at home?

Let us know how you like this recipe in the comments section below!