
Here is an interesting finding: the naturally occurring combination of Vitamin C and Beta-Carotene found in Romaine lettuce is proven to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. So, by stuffing a salad with Romaine instead of Iceberg, you are actually working harder to boost your immune system. These phytonutrients, which demonstrate antioxidant properties, are especially valuable because of their ability to ward off ailments before they arise. In fact, Beta Carotene is considered one such phytonutrient. There are many types of plant nutrients that work together within the plant and strengthen it and these are called phytonutrients. It is worth mentioning that calorie-wise, they both weigh in a light and bright 8 calories each.Ĭonsider the fact that Romaine’s dark leaves carry more phytonutrients than Iceberg. We will look at the numbers when comparing one cup of Iceberg to one cup of Romaine lettuce. Grab some tea or coffee, because we are going to do some number crunching. Why switch to Romaine when prepping your favorite Iceberg lettuce salad? Is it worth it? What do nutritional studies show? Others, like the Olive Garden, offer Romaine lettuce upon request. What if we have a choice though when ordering our salads? It turns out some restaurants have already started serving Romaine as their default lettuce of choice. Ultimately, if we are choosing between a bacon double cheeseburger and a Wedge salad, naturally, the Wedge is the way to go. Is there truth to that? What do the facts show? There are a lot of studies out there, but we found some common themes we’d like to share.

It will change the taste of your wraps a bit, but not necessarily in a bad way.Perhaps we have all heard at some point that Iceberg is just not as healthy as Romaine. Instead, try one of the following 3 alternatives:Īll of these are stronger than lettuce, but still relatively flexible without as big of a risk of tearing.
#ROMAINE VS ICEBERG TRIAL#
What I’ve found through trial and error is that the best plant wrap isn’t actually lettuce. Better Alternatives to Lettuce For Wraps and Burgers Any excess liquid only weakens the lettuce and increases potential leakage, so it’s important that you get your leaf buns dry. If you don’t have a salad dryer, use tea towels or paper towels. Secondly, make sure you dry your lettuce. Here’s a video demonstrating how this looks in practice.

It will be just about as crisp as when you brought it home in the first place. To start with, if your lettuce is wilting at all from sitting in the fridge for a few days, you can “revive” it by soaking it in ice cold water for 15-30 minutes and then drying it off. This typically happens if it’s dried out or too wet after washing it. If your lettuce is basically falling apart, it’s not going to work well. You can try heating cabbage leaves up a bit to give them more flexibility, but it’s a dangerous game as too much heat can make them lose almost all structure. If you do go with iceberg, wrap very slowly and carefully. It typically tears when you try to roll it up. The pieces of iceberg lettuce are big and round, which is the perfect shape for a wrap, but they’re very fragile. If you’re really in a pinch, iceberg can be used for wraps, but it should really be a last resort. While the crunch of romaine is nice texture-wise, it often snaps when you try to fold it around food. It’s an okay option, but only the outer leaves are good for wraps, and even then they are pretty narrow, limiting the amount of food you can actually wrap. Romaine is best used for “boats”, but not for wraps. Just cut off the base of the stem, and you’ll be left with a nice circular piece of lettuce. Still, there’s a bit of crunch, and this is my go-to option when butter lettuce isn’t available.
#ROMAINE VS ICEBERG CRACK#
It’s more flexible, you can wrap red or green leaf lettuce and it will rarely crack or tear.It’s fairly broad, so you can fit a decent amount of food inside.It’s comparable to romaine, but I feel like it’s a bit better for wraps for 2 main reasons: You can find red or green leaf lettuce in almost every grocery store. The leaves are both long and broad, most closely resembling a circle of any lettuce type.Īlso, the leaves are relatively strong, they won’t fall apart when you start eating unless you’re rough with them. It’s not always easy to find, but if you have access to butter lettuce, it’s the best option for wraps and burgers. Better Alternatives to Lettuce For Wraps and Burgers.
