Turkey Pinwheels, Trail Version
Tortillas rolled around shelf-stable cream cheese and dried turkey, sliced into rounds. No stove, no cooler.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 8 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 30 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Snack
- No cook
- Day hike
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Flour tortillas | 2 large | burrito size, they roll tighter than fajita size |
|---|---|---|
| Cream cheese powder | 3 tbsp | the freeze-dried kind sold for baking |
| Cold water | 2 tbsp | for reconstituting the cream cheese |
| Shelf-stable turkey | 2 oz | a foil pouch, or turkey jerky chopped fine |
| Everything bagel seasoning | 1 tsp | |
| Applesauce pouch | 1 pouch | on the side |
Method
- Put the cream cheese powder in a small bag or cup and add water a teaspoon at a time. Stir until it is a thick paste, not a sauce. Let it sit two minutes to finish absorbing.
- Spread the paste over one side of each tortilla, edge to edge. A spoon back works better than a knife.
- Scatter the turkey and the bagel seasoning over the paste.
- Roll each tortilla tight, starting from one edge. Press as you go so no air gets trapped.
- Slice into rounds about an inch thick, or skip the slicing and eat it as a wrap.
- Eat the applesauce after.
This started as a school lunch and needed two changes to work on trail. Refrigerated cream cheese becomes cream cheese powder, rehydrated with a couple tablespoons of water at the trailhead. Deli turkey becomes a shelf-stable pouch or chopped jerky. Everything else carries as-is.
The paste has to be thick. Too much water and it soaks into the tortilla, which then tears when you roll it. Add water slowly and stop while it still holds a shape on the spoon. Rolling tight matters for the same reason a burrito does: air pockets turn into a flattened mess by mile three.
Packing
Portion the cream cheese powder and bagel seasoning into one small bag at home. Tortillas go flat against your back panel or they arrive folded. The turkey pouch rides wherever it fits.
Variations
- A packet of mustard or hot sauce in the roll cuts the fat.
- Swap the turkey for a salami stick if you want more calories per ounce.
- Dried cranberries in the roll if you want something sweet against the salt.
https://homeandkind.com/blogs/food-recipes/school-lunch-cost-breakdown-with-walmart