Giving Sandwiches A Bad Wrap

I went to Body Factory recently to grab a quick bite and saw that they offer "low-carb" wraps. However, once I picked up the pre-made wrap from the cooler and checked the nutritional info on the back, I was amazed to see that the "stats" (cals/carbs) were worse than that of a hearty sandwich.

"What's the deal?!?" I questioned the innocent smoothie-making teenager behind the counter. "I thought these were LOW-CARB??"

"They are," he responded bewildered. "They're wraps."

Somehow this young man thought that by the simple definition of being a wrap, A.K.A. a glorified tortilla, they were automatically low-carb.

And he's not the only one who thinks this.

I was eating lunch with some co-workers recently when an argument erupted over the calorie content in the touted "low-carb" wraps at Black Dog Coffee. My lovely young associates also seemed to think that just because something is served in a tortilla instead of on bread, it will have less cals and less carbs than its sandwich counterpart.

Not the case ladies, and here's why.

Tortillas/Wraps (I will now be using the terms interchangeably) typically have the same amount of calories and carbohydrates (or more) as a similar serving of bread. The difference is they are denser than bread, so they appear lighter. If you compare average brands though you will see.

Here's the breakdown on an average tortilla:

Mission: 10" Flour tortilla, 210 cals, 36 carbs
Mission: 10" Multigrain tortilla, 210 cals, 32 carbs

Mission Nutritional Info

Now look at the comparison between a "low-carb" wrap and the sandwich bread at fast-food favorite, Subway. The wrap actually has more cals and carbs!!

Subway 6" Wheat Roll, 210 cal, 41 carb
Subway Wrap, 310 cal, 51 carbs

Subway Nutritional Info

What's even worse, is restaurants always have bigger portions than what you can find at the grocery store. So while Mission's largest store-bought tortilla is 10", the one you get when you eat out is usually 12-16" and about 300-350 calories!

So why do stores call their wraps low-carb if they're not?

During the Atkins craze of 2007, many restaurants (Subway included) actually did have Atkins approved, low-carb wraps. As time passed though, they saw these wraps didn't appeal to the larger market and did away with them for regular tortillas...never announcing the switch to the public. They merely removed the Atkins stamp. And, like the boy at Body Factory, most people didn't know any better.

Now don't get me wrong, some places may actually still have low-carb brands. But you will notice immediately. They taste NOTHING like regular wraps. If they do taste normal, be suspicious. Also, just because they say "wheat" doesn't mean they are "whole-wheat." And spinach doesn't mean better for you, it's still made from enriched white flour.

So wise up. Next time a wrap claims to be low-carb, ask to see the nutritional info and have them prove it.

Bottom line: If you don't know whether a place really has low-carb wraps (or if that's just what they tell ignorant customers), go with whole-wheat bread or have the sandwich wrapped in lettuce.

Now if you're making sandwiches, burritos, or quesadillas at home, you're in luck. Mission has a few good (and legitimately low-carb) options:


10" Carb-Balance Whole Wheat Tortilla: 200 calories, 31 carbs, 21 grams of fiber
6" Carb-Balance Whole Wheat Tortilla: 80 calories, 12 carbs, 8 grams of fiber

*Remember: you minus the fiber from the overall carb count for your total net carbs!