[toc]One of the easiest ways to cut calories and boost nutrition is to sub out your bread.
What’s not easy is finding a good quality wrap to use in its place!
Mission low carb tortillas – called Carb Balance – contain a laundry list of ingredients you can’t say or spell, including various gums and ambiguous “natural flavor” and “caramel color.” The first thing listed is “modified food starch” and after that it’s wheat, so they’re not gluten free.
Tumaro’s and Joseph’s low carb wraps are better brands than Mission, but not by much.
Finding a low calorie, healthy wrap at Walmart, Kroger, Publix and similar stores is unlikely to happen. At least if you want to avoid the dubious ingredients.
What follows are reviews of vegan gluten free wraps that are low in carbs and calories, without funny stuff being added. They’re all suitable for raw food and paleo diets, too.
1. Wrawp Veggie Wraps
Even though Wrawp Foods was founded in 2012, they’ve been making healthy raw organic wraps longer than just about anyone. At least when it comes to nationally available brands.
Today their lineup is large, though nothing beats the classic Original flavor.
Each sheet is only 120 calories, yet large enough to make a meal-sized sandwich/sub. The 17g of carbs is only 6% of the daily value. That’s a lot less than what you would get from a flour tortilla or sub roll.
What Wrawp offers more of is fiber (6g), protein (4g), and even a little vitamin C and iron.
The Wrawp ingredients are gluten free and include zucchini, apple, coconut, and high-antioxidant spices like turmeric and oregano.
Wrawps taste savory and sweet at the same time. The latter comes from the apple and coconut. The zucchini, spices, and black salt make the flavor zesty. Wrawps can be used for burritos, veggie burgers, or sliced into squares to use as a base for hors d’oeuvres. They’re quite versatile.
We use them to make simple low-carb lunches. In this example, we wrapped some organic tempeh and fresh veggies with a dollop of hummus. Something like this fills you up, thanks to the high-fiber content.
One drawback of this brand is that they’re not very pliable. If you want a texture that tears more easily with your teeth, you can dampen them with water and put in the fridge for a few hours.
The definition of raw is not legally defined for marketing, but Wrawp’s definition should suffice for pretty much everyone; ingredients are kept under 118°F (48°C).
Where to buy Wrawp includes Whole Foods and many independent health grocers/co-ops. Within this niche product category, it’s the brand has the widest distribution. You can also buy them on Amazon.
2. Coco Nori Wraps
Those low carb Mission tortillas with several dozen ingredients? These are the polar opposite.
Coco Nori wraps you have just one ingredient; raw organic coconut. There’s also a curry and strawberry flavor which have other stuff added, obviously.
Coconut is technically a tree nut, though allergic reactions to it are much lower than others, like cashews and almonds. That fact, combined with no other seeds or gluten grains used, means this is a very allergy-friendly food. (1)
With 85 calories and 11g of carbs, which is merely 4% of the DV, Coco Nori is one of the best low carb wrap brands on the market. The reason they’re so low is because most of the calories are coming from a healthy fat; lauric acid.
Lauric acid is the predominant fatty acid found in coconut. Unlike the long chains which are common in the Western diet, lauric acid is a MCT fat. Meaning, it’s a medium-chain triglyceride that gets digested differently; faster absorption through the liver portal vein.
This results in an energy boost like a carb/sugar, without the glycemic spike. That’s why bodybuilders and athletes love this paleo superfood.
At around 7×8 inches in size, they are a bit smaller than the original Wrawp. However, the flavor makes up for the shortfall.
What Coco Nori wraps taste like is fresh coconut; subtly sweet from the coconut sugar, with the moist satisfying texture of the fat which makes you feel like you’re eating something really naughty.
You can buy Coco Nori at the same stores which sell the original Wrawps. Here’s the link for them on Amazon.
3. Nuco Coconut Wraps
Nuco came out with these before Wrawp Foods made Coco Nori, so you could say these are the original. All this company does is coconut, so they really specialize in the stuff.
The founder is from the Philippines, which is a major exporter. He’s committed to sourcing sustainably-grown and organic coconut from family farms and local growers, to support them economically. That’s important, being that over 90% of Filipinos in the coconut industry are in poverty.
For making tacos and burritos, Nuco wraps are the perfect low carb alternative to traditional flour tortillas. They’re egg-free, dairy-free, and grain-free, as no weird binding agents are used. They’re raw, vegan, and USDA certified organic. All of the ingredients in Nuco wraps are derived from coconut; coconut meat, coconut water, and extra virgin coconut oil. They taste just as delicious as you would imagine.
Each has only 6g of carbs (4g net). They’re low calorie at only 70 per wrap. Most of those calories are coming from healthy lauric acid.
Finding Nuco for sale is a bit harder than Wrawp. Not as many grocery stores carry them. At the time of this review, we can’t even buy them at our local Whole Foods in Los Angeles. You can get them on Amazon.
4. Green Leaf Foods Raw Wrap
A newer entrant into the category, this brand came after Wrawp. Before you label them a knockoff, know that they’re not meant to be the same thing.
Yes, they look somewhat similar to Wrawp. What’s different is that Green Leaf Foods makes theirs with fewer ingredients (6 or less) and they’re more pliable. That’s because they’re thinner and the psyllium husk used is probably what makes that possible.
Their base is either spinach or kale. Both flavors have apple, onion, quinoa, and psyllium. The only drawback is that they’re not organic ingredients, however they are non-GMO.
Our favorite is the kale wrap, as it’s the most nutrient dense and very low calorie at only 70. Unlike other brands, Green Leaf is virtually fat free since coconut meat is not used. 0g of fat is listed on the nutrition facts label.
Because there’s no fat, there is a higher carb count of 13-14g per wrap. That’s only 5% of the DV. They’re still a low carb option versus almost any flour or corn tortilla! When you compare them to flour tortillas of similar size, they’re 70% lower in calories.
You can lightly pan fry them to make quesadillas. The healthiest way to eat them will be in their natural raw state. That better preserves the vitamins, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients.
With kale wraps, you get 110% of the DV for vitamin A, 80% for vitamin C, 6% for calcium, and 4g of fiber. Having no added salt makes them a very low sodium food; only 20 mg.
You don’t have to worry about contamination from gluten or animal products. They’re made in a dedicated GF and vegan facility.
They have a good taste that’s light, not dense like some other raw wrap brands. It’s a bit sweet and nutty, with a powerful punch of green flavor coming from the high concentration of spinach or kale inside. Don’t worry, kids will still eat them, because the apple means they don’t taste like a salad.
Even in major cities, finding them in-store is challenging. In the US, you can buy them through Amazon and Thrive Market. In the United Kingdom and Germany, try the online retailer Raw Living.
5. The Pure Wraps by Improveat
The most popular brands of coconut wraps are Coco Nori and Nuco. Pure Wraps by Improveat is a lesser-known brand which is just as good. They’re gluten free and don’t contain egg, dairy, soy, corn, peanut, or tree nuts aside from coconut.
The ingredients are simply raw coconut meat, coconut water, and Himalayan salt.
Because they’re oil-free, their calorie count is only 60 calories per wrap. That’s 10 calories less than Nuco and 25 less than Coco Nori. They’re the same weight as Nuco (14g) but they’re lighter than Coco Nori (20g). That largely explains why Coco Nori is the highest calorie among the bunch.
With just 8g of carbs, which is 3% of the adult daily value, Pure Wraps are the best tasting low carb gluten free wrap on the market. They taste better for one reason only; added salt. With 140 mg per tortilla, they’re low sodium, but not sodium free or close to it.
If you sprinkled some salt on the other brands, they taste just as good. We actually prefer the brands that don’t have the added salt, because most condiments that go inside – like hummus or salsa – are already loaded with it.
Pictured left is the original. On the right is curry flavor, which is the best. It uses the same coconut base, with savory and healthy spices added.
The ingredients just say curry powder but we reached out to the manufacturer to find out what’s inside. We like what we heard; fenugreek, coriander, turmeric, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and red pepper. All are certified organic. Each offers unique health benefits.
Despite being a newer brand, our international readers will appreciate that you can now buy Pure Wraps in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They’re made in the USA but finding them in-store is just as challenging as Coco Nori, Nuco, and Green Leaf. Your best bet is on Amazon.