This was what I had for lunch today. Very filling and very tasty. It is pictured here: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/0...-lettuce-wraps/

There’s a little deli named The Phoenicia on Westheimer in Houston that makes the most wonderful Shawarma Spice Blend and consequently the most wonderful chicken shawarma sandwich I have ever eaten. You Houstonians who haven’t tried it yet are really missing out on one of Houston’s wonderful taste delights. This is my low-carb version of their chicken shawarma sandwich, which is of course wrapped in a real pita bread. If you are to teh grains rung of OWL yet, I would recommend wrapping this in a Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran, Whole Wheat pita for 4 net carbs per whole pita bread. Separating it into it’s top and bottom and only using one half would only be 2 net carbs! Those still on Induction need to stick with the lettuce wrappers, however. The deli’s version has cubed potatoes, but my attempt to sub in browned turnip wasn’t so hot, so though they are pictured in the example above, I won’t put those in again and are not reflected in the nutritional info below. They weren’t bad, but just not great either.

INGREDIENTS:

4 t. my homemade mayo: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...ade-mayonnaise/
½ tsp. my Shawarma Spice Blend: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2010/0...ma-spice-blend/
2 large outer romaine lettuce leaves
4 oz. baked or char-broiled cooked chicken meat, sliced
6 slices Roma tomato
1 oz. onion slivered
2 tsp. olive oil
dash salt

DIRECTIONS: Saute onion in olive oil until it just begins to brown. Turn off heat. Stir shawarma spice and salt into mayo well. If using pita bread, lay a lettuce leaf on each one. Next lay half the chicken down the center of each lettuce leaf. Put about 1T. mayo on it evenly. Next lay the onion on the meat. Top with tomato slices and top with the remaining T. of mayo. Sprinkle with a little more spice mixture if desired. Roll and ENJOY.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes two wraps, each contains (not including pita bread):

363 calories
32.1 g fat
2.82 g carbs, 1.0 g fiber, 1.82 g NET CARBS
16.5 g protein
320 mg sodium

22% RDA Vitamin A, 29% B6, 62% B12, 12% C, 13% D, 30% E, 20% copper, 35% iron, 35% niacin, 45% phosphorous, 54% riboflavin, 83% selenium, 30% zinc and 235 mg potassium

I'm on a sandwich kick and made these tonight -- very good. I cooked chicken thighs yesterday with the shawarma rub and then rewarmed them before making the sandwich wraps. I actually preferred them without the tomato after trying it both ways. I'll bet that grilled or sauteed onion would be delicious on there, but I was too lazy to try it.

The chicken with the shawarma rub is quite good without being made into a sandwich too.

Oh, definitely it's great on grilled chicken. I'm finding that spice blend is good on a LOT of meats and even roasted mixed vegetables! I'm so glad you liked it, Allison! Sometimes I make these wraps with slices of roasted turkey when I have some leftover. Mmmm...

Now I'm using the shawarma blend in lamb meatballs -- yum. For a pound of ground lamb I'm using about 2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons shawarma spice and a good amount of salt. They don't need anything to replace breadcrumbs because lamb is both tender and fatty. I'm roasting them at 375 F on an oiled, rimmed baking sheet till cooked through. Excellent.

Oh, that sounds so good B2W. I'm glad you're enjoying this blend. It's one of our favorites. 2½ T. in just a pound of meat sounds like a lot, though. But if you guys are liking that much, GO FOR IT, I say!