TBH, when I whipped this up on a busy weeknight I felt like a frickin’ genius.

Not only did I not have to make a trip to the grocery store (which very much agreed with my inherent laziness), but I also made myself a nutritious, filling meal in no time at all. When you’re trying to have a life/survive in this city, those quick go-to meals are true lifesavers.

The other great thing about this meal is that it makes a lot of food for very cheap (as long as the price of cauliflower doesn’t rise to $11.00 again). The total cost of this meal is something like $10.00 — and you can have leftover tahini to drizzle on things in the future! All the assembled food keeps well in the fridge for packed lunches or quick dinners for the next few days (this, again, agreeing with my inherent laziness). With that in mind, assemble all wraps on the night you make dinner and pack the ones you aren’t eating away in their own containers you can just grab on your way out the door in the morning or when you come in the door after work.

These colourful creations are low-fat, low-cal goodness (162 per wrap!) and are packed with nutrition. With 6.6 grams of protein and 5.5 grams of fiber per wrap, this meal will leave you feeling both satisfied and full of energy to plow through that post-lunch drag or continue on to that paper/client work/child you have to put to bed after dinner.

screen-shot-2016-09-28-at-10-52-22-am

Here’s how you do it:

Ingredients (Makes 10 wraps)

  • 10 whole red cabbage leaves
  • 1 whole cauliflower, chopped into 2-inch (ish) florets
  • 2 tablespoons za’atar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1 cup cucumber, chopped
  • 1 cup tomatoes (any kind, but I like cherry), chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 1 can (18 oz) chickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the cauliflower in a baking pan and drizzle the olive oil over the florets. Mix the oil and cauliflower together with a spoon (or your hands :D) to coat all the pieces in the oil. Sprinkle with za’atar and sea salt and mix again, and then throw that in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the cauliflower is nice and soft when you prick it with a fork.

While that’s cookin’ up, give yourself a pat on the back — you’re about to make yourself a fucking sick meal. Then, plate the cabbage leaves — two per dinner-sized plate. Chop and assemble the cucumber, parsley, tomato, and red onion in a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt to let those veggies sweat and to bring out their flavours.

Combine 1/4 cup of water, tahini, and garlic cloves. Using a Braun, Magic bullet, or food processor, whiz those three things together in the whizzer of your choosing until it makes a glorious, garlicky smoothie. Mmmm. If you have time left on your cauliflower, give yourself another pat on the back. You’re awesome.

When the cauliflower is ready, put four soup spoonfuls of cauliflower onto the cabbage leaves, as well as two soup spoonfuls of chickpeas. Top with the vegetable and the tahini mixture. If you would like, squeeze some lemon on top and sprinkle with sea salt. Yas. Now consume your amazing creation with glee.

I hope you enjoy your easy, cheap, and extremely Instagram-worthy weeknight dinner. Keep patting yourself on the back. xox

Read more from Tara Mahoney here.