Suggestions please: alternatives for tortilla wraps (UK)?

Huppdiwupp
Huppdiwupp Posts: 50 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

Looking through my diary, I find that a lot of my calories come in the form of tortilla wraps; either Tesco's "seeded tortilla wraps" (190 kcal a piece), or Sainsbury's "wholemeal tortilla wraps" (172 kcal a piece). I usually stuff them with lots of vegetables, and I love how they allow me to eat a variety of vegetables in a very easy way. I don't think they are inherently unhealthy, of course, but to put it simply, I'd like to find a way to increase the "filling / wrap ratio".

Perhaps you can recommend full size wraps that are just as convenient, but have fewer calories than the two I mentioned above (e.g. because they are thinner), preferably available in the UK? Please note that I'm not interested in wrapping my salad in salad leaves! I've already tried rice paper (i.e. spring rolls), but while these are great, due to the fact that they need to be prepared with hot water, they aren't really an alternative for my lunch box.

Replies

  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,473 Member
    Weight Watchers do low calorie wraps, but I think they're smaller. Mini pitta are lower calorie, but again, smaller! I'm sorry, but I can't think of any better alternatives. Chapatti/roti are going to have much the same calories as the usual wraps.

    I rarely have a wrap, but when I do, I often tear any bits that overlap more than once. I know it's a waste! But I don't like being left with a lot of bready stuff at the end. That would reduce the calories by at least a third, depending on how much you tear off.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    There aren't any that are the same size but less calories.

    All the lower calories ones are smaller.
  • Missbodyrocker
    Missbodyrocker Posts: 47
    Warburton square wraps are about 149 calories and more filling I think. You could half the tortilla for half the calories and use it over two days.
  • ohi874
    ohi874 Posts: 22 Member
    Not sure if they carry them in the UK, but in the US there is a brand called Mission and they make a carb control whole wheat tortilla that's 3 carbs and 80 cal each and they're yum!

    Not sure what you meant by full size wraps either but these are about 6 inch
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You seem to have picked the most calorific wraps out there. Discovery (now called santa maria I think in red packets in Tesco) their flour tortillas are around 120 Kcal
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    You could always use large leaves of iceberg lettuce to wrap stuff in.
  • everythingsweet
    everythingsweet Posts: 9 Member
    Fiber one has super delicious wraps that are only 80 calories per wrap. Not ginormous but enough to be very filling, plus they come in many flavors! My fave is the honey one stuffed with veg.
    I'm sorry I can't remember the brand name but there are flax seed pitas for 60 calories the ENTIRE pita. They aren't tiny either, they're just are kinda thin but still taste amazing. And great compared to the 200 calorie weight watchers pita.
  • Katleskin
    Katleskin Posts: 111 Member
    I sometimes make thin omelettes (1 egg each, big pan) which work quite well when I fancy a wrap. It only takes 5 minutes to knock up a few and I think they'd work OK in a lunchbox too.
  • Huppdiwupp
    Huppdiwupp Posts: 50 Member
    I would rather not throw away food, but I agree that the round wraps really aren't ideal for the cylindrical shape you're trying to achieve, so maybe the square wraps are a good suggestion. I do sometimes feel that the Sainsbury's / Tesco wraps could simply be thinner though, particularly since they tend to overlap in a few places.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    edited February 2015
    _Zardoz_ wrote: »
    You seem to have picked the most calorific wraps out there. Discovery (now called santa maria I think in red packets in Tesco) their flour tortillas are around 120 Kcal

    That's because they are smaller

    Per 100g they are all roughly the same amount of calories.

    Actually per 100g those discovery wraps have MORE calories than the ops choices. So less wrap for more calories
  • ibamosaserreinas
    ibamosaserreinas Posts: 294 Member
    Instead of wraps I have been doing "spring rolls". (Whatever I would normally put in a wrap I now put in a rice wrapper.)

    http://www.amazon.com/Three-Ladies-Spring-Paper-Wrappers/dp/B0045AAI62/ref=sr_1_5?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1424016300&sr=1-5&keywords=rice+wrappers

    Depending on the brand three wraps is something like 90 kcal.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Sorry op - as I said, all wraps in the UK are around 250-300 calories per 100g. It is only the size that makes them appear less calories.
    -
    We don't have the carb control mission wraps or the fibre one wraps in the UK.
  • diegops1
    diegops1 Posts: 154 Member
    I don't know what you have for tortillas in the UK. In the US you can get tortillas made of flour or corn. Corn is the original and flour is a US invention. Typical flour tortillas here contain about 120 to 130 calories each. Typical corn tortillas have about 50 calories each. Flour tortillas are more flexible than corn, probably due to the gluten and more shortening. About 15 years ago I read a study comparing weight on each side of the Texas - Mexico border that suggested that the increase in weight was a result of more flour tortillas being eaten on the Texas side. I don't know how reliable that is. I find the flour ones to have -0- flavor and only eat corn tortillas.

    A good European alternative is using lettuce or cabbage leaves for the wrappings. I've eaten great stuffed cabbage leaves or stuffed grape leaves in most countries on the continent and it is not much of a transition to using lettuce leaves.
  • Huppdiwupp
    Huppdiwupp Posts: 50 Member
    edited February 2015
    @ibamosaserreinas‌ - as I mentioned in my original post, I've tried spring rolls with rice paper - I like them, but they're not really an every day solution, as the paper needs to be softened up with hot water.
    @earlnabby‌ - thanks for the suggestion, but as I said, I'm not interested in wrapping my salad in salad :)

    I realise that per unit of mass, wraps or bread are going to all be very similar, but that's not necessarily true per unit of area - for example, the rice paper wraps I know are much thinner than the two brands of flour tortilla wraps I've mentioned. I will try different shapes, as that could reduce "wasted" material, but if there are thinner wraps available, that would also be great.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Honestly they are all pretty much the same - I've tried a lot.
    -
    Basically you just want the biggest wrap for the calories - is that right?

    If so just compare them in the shop, that's really the only way to tell.
  • TiberiusClaudis
    TiberiusClaudis Posts: 423 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    You could always use large leaves of iceberg lettuce to wrap stuff in.
    This! x2

  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    edited February 2015
    TiberiusClaudis wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    You could always use large leaves of iceberg lettuce to wrap stuff in.
    This! x2

    Except he has said twice now he is not interested in doing that.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Can you not prewrap in rice paper in the morning and take the roll to work? I eat my veggies with a fork. :smiley:
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Iron_Feline wrote: »
    TiberiusClaudis wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    You could always use large leaves of iceberg lettuce to wrap stuff in.
    This! x2

    Except he has said twice now he is not interested in doing that.

    Oops, missed that in the OP silly-icon_zpsmaoddlnt.png
  • SteampunkSongbird
    SteampunkSongbird Posts: 826 Member
    edited February 2015
    The free-from aisle in Asda and some other supermarkets have BFree wraps, they're gluten and dairy free, they're thinner than most normal wraps but the diameter is still just as big. They're only 99 cals per wrap and they're not as high-priced as most GF products (less than £3 for a pack of 6.) Free-from is not for everyone of course but probably worth a try for the low cals. I've eaten them several times (I have to eat GF) and I like them, so does my non-GF partner.
  • ibamosaserreinas
    ibamosaserreinas Posts: 294 Member
    Huppdiwupp wrote: »
    @ibamosaserreinas‌ - as I mentioned in my original post, I've tried spring rolls with rice paper - I like them, but they're not really an every day solution, as the paper needs to be softened up with hot water.

    I make them in the morning before I go to work. They are still fine a few hours later.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    SteampunkSongbird wrote: »
    The free-from aisle in Asda and some other supermarkets have BFree wraps, they're gluten and dairy free, they're thinner than most normal wraps but the diameter is still just as big. They're only 99 cals per wrap and they're not as high-priced as most GF products (less than £3 for a pack of 6.) Free-from is not for everyone of course but probably worth a try for the low cals. I've eaten them several times (I have to eat GF) and I like them, so does my non-GF partner.

    Certainly the lowest calories so far (even per 100g)

    If you can stomach the cost!

    Oddly they didn't come up in my search.
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    edited February 2015
    Do you have Flatout brand in the UK? Those are a pretty good size and 90-100 calories each.

    http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/flatout-wraps/
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    edited February 2015
    I don't know if these are available in the UK: Mountain Bread - Natural Wraps (70 calories ea). I've had them and they are tasty. They are thinner than other wraps but don't seem to tear. I was pleased with them.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    Make wafer thin omelettes and use those as a wrap instead :-)

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=omelette+wrap&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=868&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=e-rgVJzaFMSwUbWjg_gH&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgdii=_

  • 00_Staarling
    00_Staarling Posts: 12 Member
    I found wraps made out of rice at my local supermarket last night - full size and only 68 calories per wrap! They are delicious! There were also corn wraps (same large size) for 70 calories per wrap.
  • jumblejups
    jumblejups Posts: 150 Member
    The BFree wraps are round and about 46g for 99kcal, but a lot of people don't like them (anecdotally, in my experience).
    The Warburtons GF White Wrap is 75g for 207kcal and the seeded GF is 60g for 181kcal, they are very good but if you don't need to be GF then it's probably not worth it compared with standard ones!
    The Warburtons non-GF/regular wrap (half & half) is 41g for 121kcal, the standard size ones are around 65g for 187kcal.

    The Warburtons ones are rectangular so you can get less waste. You can fill them up lots and then wrap with foil on the outer to keep them together. I have looked for big wraps in the past and haven't been able to find them. Old El Paso do corn tortillas that are 126kcal, they are 42g but I don't remember if they are the same size as standard flour tortillas.
  • Huppdiwupp
    Huppdiwupp Posts: 50 Member
    Thanks again for all your suggestions, really helpful! I will definitely try some of them out. I don't normally buy GF, but I'll give them a try, and also try the square wraps. Using something else to hold them together is also good advice, so less dough is "wasted" on folding.
  • backusbattle
    backusbattle Posts: 1
    I find romaine lettuce a good alternative w/ the wrap rolled in aluminum foil. Sorry I know it's veggies in a salad but it cuts the cals
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