It came to me in the middle of the night. I was engulfed by the sense of calm that comes from knowing I can rely on someone. Who can I rely on? Mister Tortilla! (Don’t hate just cuz I still have weird fascinations with food and personify it…)

Tortillas have got to be one of the most versatile foods out there! You can basically put any filling inside a tortilla and enjoy it. From breakfast, to lunch and dinner, dessert, snacks and even a hand mitt if you’re cold (ok scratch that one), you can always count on them.

Why Tortillas Are A Cranky Girl’s Best Friend

• They’re cheap
• You can be as creative or as lazy with them as you want
• There are so many different sizes, brands and varieties to choose from — you’d never be at a loss for ideas!
• You can go from creating a dish that is as healthy or as “naughty” as you’d like

Some of the standard ways we use these beautiful creations:

Appetizers

• Chips and salsa. Who am I kidding?  These are not for the calorie-counter, but they’ll certainly help you out if you’re due for a “cheat meal.”  Make your own tortilla chips by slicing up your fave healthy tortillas, sprinkle with your fave seasonings and placing them on a PAM-sprayed cookie sheet at 450 degrees for a few minutes. Then voila!  Your own healthy chips to enjoy with your fave salsa.  I recommend any of Trader Joe’s salsas, particularly their mild chunky salsa, smoked peach salsa and black bean dip/salsa.
• Quesadillas. If you’re conscious about your health, you  might not be inclined to order these from a standard restaurant as they can be insane…like Dairy Queen’s basket, for instance, that packs 1070 calories and 50 grams of fat.  You can always make your own at home with a whole-wheat tortilla, low-fat cheese and veggies! See the recipe here for Santa Fe veggie quesadillas.
• Tortilla Soup.  This is usually a perfect healthy option no matter where you go.  One cup of the stuff usually packs about 200 calories.  To save calories, ask for a cup without the tortilla strips added to the top. Make your own with this Eating Well recipe here.

Breakfast

• Tortilla + nut butter  = a Tornbitto (you’ll love it so much you’ll start crooning “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia, exclaiming you’re torn between your current lover and the prospect of loving this burrito instead, etc.).
• Breakfast Burrito.  These babies are blank slates for your creative pleasures.  I’ve seen carnivores devouring steak and cheese “breakfast” burritos (know the one at Jack in the Box packs 790 calories and 48 grams of fat?) and others chowing down health-defying concoctions loaded with cheeses and hash browns.  To make your own, you can add full eggs, egg whites, egg substitute or tofu as a base and then add veggies, low-fat cheese, beans, salsa and whatever else you’d like.  When eating out, don’t assume that a chicken breakfast burrito will necessarily be a healthy option.  The one at Mimi’s Cafe packs 964 calories and 44 g of fat.  See this vegetarian breakfast burrito recipe in Shape for a healthy alternative.

Lunch/Dinner

• Burritos.  How does a lunch or dinner burrito differ from a breakfast burrito?  It doesn’t really, but they typically don’t contain eggs.  Again, this is an opportunity to be creative with your fillings!  I think being a vegetarian really forces you to be creative so I find ways to use all sorts of veggies, tofu, varieties of beans, brown rice and whatever else I fancy.
• Enchiladas.  These tortillas filled with cheese and then covered with cheese can be nutritionally hazardous, but you can also make your own.  See my vegetarian recipe here.
• Pizza.  Use a tortilla as your pizza dough, cover with tomato sauce, salsa, avocado, or whatever you’d like as a base sauce.  You can be as creative as you’d like with toppings.  The benefit is that using a whole-wheat tortilla instead of actual pizza dough saves you hundreds of calories and many grams of fat. Simply bake in the oven on a cookie sheet at 450 degrees until the tortilla is crisp and the cheese is melted.
• Tacos.  These are the same option as burritos except you typically use smaller tortillas and do not fold them.  A lot of restaurants fry their taco tortillas, making them “shells.”  For a “recipe makeover,” see this recipe for tacos using textured vegetable protein instead of beef.

Dessert

• Cinnamon Crisps.  You know those Cinnamon Twists from Taco Bell? I think they’re delicious and they’re so easy to make your self!  Simply cut your favorite tortillas into strips or triangles, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle on a mix of cinnamon and sugar and bake in the oven at 350 until crisp. If you’re  not opposed to frying, you can fry the whole tortillas first, then blot dry, sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon and cut into strips.
• Dessert Wrap.  You can use a tortilla to create a crepe-like dessert.  Fill with low-fat cool-whip, Nutella, nut butters, cacao nibs, etc.  I think a mix of Nutella and PB&Co.’s Dark Chocolate Dreams would be great on a warm flour tortilla.  You can see Paul Deen’s not-for-calorie-counters dessert Tortilla Wrap recipe here for inspiration.

Snacks

• Tortilla Roll-Up. Tortilla + string cheese + piece of deli meat if you’re a meat-eater = quick, low-cal, high-protein.  You can also fill a tortilla with hummus and veggies, or cucumbers and yogurt sauce if you’re craving a Mediterranean flair, for a healthy snack. 

My Faves

Refried vegetarian pinto beans with brown rice, onion, spinach and hot sauce in a whole-wheat tortilla

Vegetarian patty, spinach, onions, plain yogurt, chipotle salsa and hot sauce in a whole-wheat tortilla

Refried vegetarian pinto beans with spinach and hot sauce on corn tortillas

Hummus, arugula, cucumber, onion and avocado in an Ezekiel tortilla

Tortilla pizza with tomato sauce, cilantro, feta cheese and onion on a whole-wheat tortilla

Tabbouleh, ricotta cheese & black bean blend, lettuce and corn on a whole-wheat tortilla

Thai coconut curry tofu with spinach and hot sauce in blue corn tortillas

Tortilla Brands

If you grew up with mamma’s fresh tortillas made with lard, it’s pretty much a no-brainer that you will scoff at the tortilla brands I mention below, so let’s be clear…I’m writing with the health-conscious in mind.  I used to love me some lard-filled tortillas stuffed with butter.  No, I am not kidding. It was tortilla de mantequilla, a straight up tortilla grilled on the open flame of the oven then slathered with butter and rolled up like a taquito. I wasn’t kidding when I said I grew up with some f’d up eating habits.

• La Tortilla Factory — For a hefty-sized tortilla ringing in at only 80 calories and 12 g of fiber, you can’t deny this being a lot of bang for  your calorie buck.  Taste-wise, I think they’re the worst of all the tortillas I’ve tried.  Do I still eat them?  Damn straight!  Once you fill them with beans and salsa and all kinds of crap, you can’t even taste the tortilla.  Could you eat the tortilla alone and enjoy it?  I can’t. Even with hummus.  It’s got to be FILLED with yummy tasting stuff.
• Ezekiel 4:9 — Since these are raw, they are much harder texture and very chewy. I like their nutty flavor and the fact they’re packed with nutrients.
• Mission – So many different varieties and they all taste good.  One thing to be cautious of is the extensive ingredient list of their “diet”-type tortillas.  Once you go over the 5-ingredients line, you know there’s some crap in there you’d rather not partake in.
• South Beach Diet – These taste much better than La Tortilla Factory and also have impressive stats.  However, take note vegetarians, the whole-wheat version has added Omega 3s from a fish source!  Steer clear!  Also, tons of ingredients listed on the back that I can’t pronounce and that do not seem like I want them in my body. However, if you simply want a decent tasting tortilla with impressive calorie and fiber to size ratios, this is a great option.
• Trader Joe’s & Whole Foods brands — Always good options if you want organic, no-preservative or artificial crap, tortillas.  I love the blue corn tortillas from Trader Joe’s.

Getting Fancy with your Tortillas

I know my girl Jenny wraps her tortillas all purdy and she even did a video post showing  us how to do it (Jenny, link it in the comments would ya? I couldn’t find it!)

I know a lot of you use a panini press or George Foreman Grill to get the wraps all gooey and creased, too.

In the News/Blogs

• Shapely Prose’s, “Breaking news: Fat people are not permanently attached to couches” (9/10/09) here
• Jezebel’s, “Fat Vs. Fiction” (9/10/09) here
• Science Daily’s, “Food Habits Are More Important Than Most Important Obesity Risk Gene” (9/11/09) here

Give-Away Round Up

• Win a subscription to the newsletter Nutrition Action here
• Win some Newman’s Own Organics dark chocolate bars here
• Win some Ponds’ gym essentials here
• Win some Perricone No Foundation Foundation here

What are your favorite ways to use a tortilla?  What is your favorite brand of tortillas?  Favorite recipes you want to share?  What are your plans for the weekend?!  I’m sure you guys can guess what I’ll be doing this weekend.  Let’s just say, the sequel to Rapunzel begins tonight.

<3, The Cranky One

p.s. I know today marks the 8th anniversary of a horrible, tragic event and I  know it it may seem inconsiderate that I acknowledge it in a post-script.  Truth is, I don’t know what to say and feel I have nothing to say that could ever truly express my sorrow for the lives we lost.

Tags: blue corn tortillas, Ezekiel 4:9 bread, mission tortillas, quesadillas, south beach diet tortillas, tacos, tortilla desserts, tortilla recipes, tortilla soup, tortillas, trader joes, Whole Foods