You see, I used to live in Portland, Oregon, where farmers markets took up entire college campuses and housed hundreds of vendors, 5 of which sold nothing but strawberries. I had choices people, I had options. I was in produce heaven. In Kansas, we’re in the heart of the Midwest where farming is supposed to be our gig, but for some reason farmers markets aren’t as abundant. It’s typically more of a picked-over tomato and homemade knickknack type of scene. To score some amazing looking carrots or fresh herbs or gorgeous heaps of kale is rare. Our markets simply don’t compare to coastal contenders. But, but, at the recommendation of local friends I went to a market on the west side of town that boasted some of the freshest and biggest variety of produce I’ve ever seen in Kansas. I was so pleasantly surprised that I swiped up nearly $20 worth of organic goods and I’ve dedicated two entire recipes to my finds! The first of which being this hippie-looking breakfast roll-up I’ve been digging that was originally inspired by my lovely friend Aubrey. While on my cleanse, gluten was out of the picture, so I turned to green alternatives instead. At the market I scored some amazingly gorgeous rainbow swiss chard from the sweetest mother and daughter – along with a handful of kale – and immediately went home to make a hearty yet clean breakfast roll-up. The concept is simple. Simply rinse and dry a large leaf of rainbow chard, carve the vein down a bit if it’s too thick (or remove it altogether), slather on a nut butter – I went with salty natural peanut butter – top it with other additions, such as flax, basil and a banana, and roll the whole thing up! I call it breakfast, my co-workers call it “that weird thing I was eating.” I’m convinced they’re the ones missing out. You know I’ve loved the flavors of peanut butter and basil for a while now, and this wrap takes it to a whole new level. The rainbow chard is slightly sweet and crisp, the peanut butter-banana meld together like a dream, the flax adds a bit of earthiness and the basil gives it a distinct almost minty flavor. I could eat this wrap over a stack of pancakes all day long. Don’t get me wrong, pancakes are great. But sometimes a girl just needs her greens.
