Wrap and roll – why are traditional wraps more unhealthy than you think?
Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped shocked the nation by uncovering that wraps were more fattening than two slices of white bread. We look at why commercial wraps are unhealthier than you may think.
Channel 4’s recent Food Unwrapped show looked at our lunchtime habits and made some discoveries about lunchtime eating that might shock you. This was especially true of the lunchtime wrap. Presenter Kate Quilton and expert baker Dan Lepard looked at why tortillas have 265 calories in the base alone, compared to182 calories in two slices of white bread. Our perception is that supermarket wraps are healthier than white bread sandwiches. “Essentially you want the wrap to roll” said baker Dan Lepard, when asked why 8 tablespoons of fat go into each wrap. “You want it twist around things so you get this lovely curve in the dough.” The fat makes the wrap pliable and the show agreed that even with all of that fat, it was still a handy construction for lunchtime fillings.
But that’s not all. What Food Unwrapped didn’t go on to show is what else is in a standard tortilla wrap. Although we saw when Dan Lepard made his wraps on the show that only five ingredients are really needed to make a wrap. However, if you look at most tortilla wraps in supermarkets, the list of ingredients is much higher than five.
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