Spray or soak raw fruits and vegetables with a solution of 1/3 apple cider vinegar and 2/3 water, then rinse with clean water. This helps remove pesticide residue, germs, and yucky stuff from the skins.

Mediterranean Snack Wraps

CYO Nutrition and Cooking: October
These snack wraps have no sugar, are unprocessed, and contain 5 different veggies—not to mention complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and healthy fats! Roll these the night before to pack an energy-boosting lunch, or make them after-school to healthfully tide you over til dinner.
Ingredients

• 1 piece whole-wheat Lavash Bread
  
• Hummus for spreading (see recipe below)
  
• Cucumber Raita for spreading (see recipe below)
  
• ¼ bell pepper, julienned
  
• ¼ portobello mushroom, julienned
  
• ¼ medium onion, julienned
  
• ½ cucumber, julienned
  
• ½ cup spinach, wilted
  
• 2 tablespoons herbs for sprinkling (parsley, mint, or cilantro)
  

Directions

1. Turn a stove-eye to medium. Heat a sauté pan with olive oil. Saute the bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions until just soft. Set aside.
   
2. Lay out your lavash bread. Spread the whole piece with hummus, leaving only a small margin around the edges. Be sure there is hummus at the top edge to seal the wrap.
   
3. Place the bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, cucumbers, and spinach on the bottom edge of the wrap. Arrange them evenly so that each bite has a morsel of every vegetable. Sprinkle the herbs on the remaining section of hummus.
   
4. Starting at the base of the wrap with the veggies, tightly roll the lavash until it is sealed. Cut the whole wrap into four equal segments and enjoy!
   Hummus
   

Ingredients

• 15 oz can chickpeas
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• Pinch sea salt
  
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
  
• ½ cup olive oil

Directions

1. Rinse the chickpeas in a colander under cold water for about 15 seconds, or until the chickpeas are washed clean of all salts and storing liquids.
   
2. Mash the chickpeas into a lumpy paste in a large bowl with a potato masher or fork.
   
3. Add in the garlic and salt and keep mashing. Add the parsley and lemon juice and mash until smooth
   
4. Pour the olive oil in very slowly. Stir the hummus while you are adding the oil, so that a creamy consistency is reached. If necessary, add just a few drops of water or lemon juice to get the hummus spreadable.
   
5. Store in the refrigerator.
   

Cucumber Raita

Ingredients

• ½ cup plain, unflavored, unsweetened yogurt
  
• 1 cucumber, seeded and minced
  
• ¼ cup minced mint
  
• Dash black pepper
  

Directions

1. Mix everything together in a bowl. Chill.

Nutrition Superstar: Chickpeas

When it comes to keeping your blood clean and bones strong, nothing works like a balance of fiber, minerals, and complete protein. Fiber keeps all internal systems clean, not just your digestive tract. The fiber in chickpeas can help stabilize your blood sugar levels, which means you have the energy to work hard in school and play hard at home while your body grows stronger every day. Chickpeas are also full of minerals, which work with vitamins to keep internal processes working. Chickpeas boast an impressive variety: molybdenum, manganese, iron, magnesium, copper, and zinc! (Are you looking for calcium? Good job! Of course it’s in the yogurt, but you will also find it in the spinach and all other dark, leafy greens.) Finally, combining the protein in chickpeas with the high-quality complex carbohydrates in whole-wheat lavash make this snack-wrap a vegetarian, low-fat, complete protein.

Variations

• When you add the garlic to the hummus, throw in ¼ teaspoon cumin and a dash of cayenne.
  
• Don’t have hummus ingredients on hand? Combine any kind of soft, cooked beans with some herbs, seasonings, and olive oil and mash away! Get your spread nice and smooth and proceed with the wrapping. Don’t have lavash or any kind of bread? Just julienne the veggies and dip them in the hummus. Fast, easy, and portable.
  

Local Markets

Valencia Farmers Market:

• 1299 Valencia Street, San Francisco. Mon- Fri 8 am - 7:30 pm. Sat-Sun 9 am - 6:30 pm.

Coastside Farmer’s Market:

• · Rockaway Beach, Pacifica. Wednesdays, 2:30 to 6:30 pm.