Pesto & Avocado? Yes.

I will admit that only 25% of my to do list this weekend got accomplished. Why? Well I was hardly able to move. My body is sore. I love the accomplishment of being sore but not being able to bend over to pick up my keys that I dropped on the floor is a pain.

Things that didn't get done:

• long run (I could hardly walk)
• long bike (Not a chance)
• finalize my hummus recipe
• finish the current to do list for the laundry room and write a post about it
• clean the hardwood floors
• multiple loads of laundry
• find a band for our wedding

Things I was able to get done:

• create a amazing pesto recipe
• finish painting in the laundry room (for now)
• assist in setting up storage in the laundry room (more on that soon)
• admit that I never measured to see if the storage I ordered would fit... (Geoff saved the day, again)
• watched an infomercial on Dr. Fuhrman (twice) 

Now on to pesto....

I have always loved pesto. Who wouldn't with all of the cheese & oil? It is perfect on pasta, rice, or bread. Well since I don't eat cheese and try to avoid eating multiple tablespoons of oil in one sitting, I have avoided pesto for some time. Until now :) 

Reduced Oil (or oil free) Pesto

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 cup basil

1/2 cup mint

1/2 avocado

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil (if desired, actually not necessary)

salt & pepper to taste

Toast pine nuts over low heat until fragrant & starting to brown.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It is delicious and there is no way that you can tell there is avocado in this recipe. There is still the same richness, flavor & consistency. 

I decided to use it to create a rice pesto dish. 

Pesto Rice Salad

Prepared pesto (see above)

1 cup rice

2 cups water (with bullion if desired) 

1/2 cup carrots, diced or shredded

1 cup chick peas, drained and rinsed

Prepare rice according to package directions.

In the last five minutes of cooking, add the carrots.

Once the rice is cooked, mix in the chick peas and stir in the desired amount of pesto. Season with salt and pepper.

At this point you can go ahead and enjoy. This is actually what I will be having for lunch today :) My stomach is already growling... 

I decided to eat mine atop of baby greens and added broccoli sprouts, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. For Geoff I made "burritos" with all of the same ingredients but added left over steak. 

A perfect summer dinner. Geoff agreed and I even found him going to the fridge to find more pesto. Good thing I hid it in the freezer :) 

Because of the avocado & basil, the pesto does not reheat well or last very long in the refrigerator. This is the case for most pesto's so not to worry just consume it fast or freeze. 

Watching Dr Fuhrman (multiple times, we need to get cable) refreshed my knowledge of his book Eat to Live & Eat for Health. These books are indeed one of the many reasons I eat a plant based diet. The information he provides and the success stories are amazing. I read Eat to Live years ago and purchased the two book series Eat for Health as soon as they were released. I even bought Momma Green Bean (aka my mom, she is going to love this nick name) the series for Christmas. I hope she read them.

I have been meaning to reread these books and start using the recipes but haven't committed to it yet. I now have been reminded and plan on doing this soon. One of his main points that I really believe in is: Salad is the Main Dish 

This inspired a huge salad for dinner for the past few nights :)

Mixed Greens

Carrots & Radishes

Cherry Tomatoes

Corn for Geoff, Broccoli Sprouts for me

Geoff got steak, I got hummus :)

After we sat down I forgot I had steamed green beans for the salad as well and left them in the fridge. They were added table side :) 

I topped the salad with a homemade vinaigrette which isn't one of Dr Fuhrman's recipes but it was delicious and I maybe used a tablespoon. I find that when I add hummus to salads I don't even need dressing but Geoff loves it.

This dressing was 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, a few basil leaves, and S&P. Simple but very fresh. 

Last night we had salad again but more on that tomorrow :)