PESTO! PESTO!

The amazing. flavorful. green stuff.

So fresh. So clean.

Is perfect in a grain bowl with cherry tomatoes, quinoa, balsamic glaze & cashew cheeze.
Or all mixed in with noodles. (=Zucchini noodles, zoodles is way more fun to say though.)
On top of baguette with again, cashew cheeze, tomatoes, balsamic glaze.
I think it's a bit obvious how I like to pair my pesto. 
But do as you wish with your pesto!
Put it wherever you find fitting.

*Fun fact* the reason why I am so in to this *oil-free* version I make, is because when I used to work at Whole Foods in the kitchen. I'd make a shit ton of pesto. A WHOLE BUNCH. And the amount of olive oil I added into the pesto made me feel sick. For REAL. 

Look- I get it, oil is good for some people. Some love it. Some hate it. I personally know, it doesn't work for me to eat a lot of it internally. So I limit it whenever I can. Cause HELLO I make up for it with the amount of cashew cheese I try to not eat. And to be honest, you realize- it just doesn't need all of that oil. It still has the same great flavor as pesto should. 

Please let me know if you try it! Also if your on instagram #thedailykale or tag me @thedailykale !
*I love seeing your re-creations. 

Recipe by: The Daily Kale

• 1 cup basil
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 tbsp. hemp seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (unsalted)
• Pink salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• black pepper to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves of garlic

* 1 tbsp. olive oil (optional)

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the water.
2. Blend for about 20 seconds. Add in water little by little, Until creamy & smooth. Scraping down sides, as needed. 
3. Add extra lemon juice, salt, & pepper if needed. (To taste)

Enjoy!

Is my title...a little on the corny side? Haha. I don't care, you!! 
What I mean by my title is this pesto is suuuuuuuper fast & easy to make. And of course, as always, healthy. 

So fast actually- that I didn't even get to take a good picture. Haha. Oh well. Look how pretty & green it is. SO I've always made pesto the same way. And at first, after all my research earlier I told you about in a previous post on all the greens I need to avoid from now on. I thought :( How is this going to be good if no spinach & kale are allowed in on the pesto party? Oh well. It turned out great. Super creamy & delicious. 


Pumpkin Seed Pesto:


Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend babayyyy, blend!
(Adjust all amounts to your own liking)


- 1 Cup Basil 
- 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
- 3 Cloves Garlic (I can go 4- I don't care how my breath smells ;)
- 1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup water ( add in slowly and check consistency before continuing to add it all in.)

OMG OMG OMG. Okay there. I freaked out. 
NOW thats over with. Hello, Raw ranch, I love you.
Okay, ranch in general. Is my favorite thing. Back in my home town, when I was younger. I'd put ranch on anything I was eating. Well, maybe not ice cream. But basically everything else ;) You get what I'm saying. I LOVE it. (My inner southern girl). Anyway, so a lot of the vegan ranch recipes always have tofu in it :( And I'm avoiding all soy products from here on out- only because I have a thyroid problem. You do whats best for you. But anywho. Here is the amazing recipe I created this afternoon, based off the random ingredients I have in my kitchen. And I love for things to be green! :D Try this please! You'll be amazed at how much it seriously tasted like ranch.

<3 Ya'll!

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and blend. (You can always alter certain ingredients to your liking)

-3/4 cup cashews
-2 tsp dill
-1 tbsp lemon juice (I added a 1/2 tsp more)
-1 jalapeno
-2 pinches off 'a bunch' of cilantro
-1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp. ACV
- 1 tsp. coconut sugar (or agave, or any sweetener you want would work.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 C unsweetened almond milk

extras: a dash of -
- black pepper
- cayenne pepper ( I like it extra spicy!)
- Green/ Red onion or powder ( I added just a tad of fresh green onion) 



 

Now depending on how old you are. You either get the title of this- or you don't. So I'll inform you -either way. Patty Mayonnaise is a girl from the show "Doug" that I used to watch all the time when I was younger. I like her name. Never understood it- but liked it. And weirdly enough there for a little bit in elementary school I had a friend who nick named me "Mayo" and I named her "Mustard". Yeah that didn't stick. But it's funny I remember. Haha.

Anyway. on to mayonnaise. I've for the most part always liked mayo. Especially- on my hamburgers. So now a days. Since there are no ham in my burgers anymore. "Mayo" is a must at any of the vegan eateries I go to. And I always wondered how it was made. I gave my cashew cheeze a break- and attempted to make this. Based off a recipe I found in my Forks Over Knives cook book. I never thought it could work :/ Seriously, tofu? In a sauce :/ But no joke. This stuff tastes like MAYO. NOT playing. Like for real. Especially when you first make it the plain way- it's seriously tastes/smells like mayo. Crazy talk. But try it. If you want. Not trying to push it at you. Ha. Alright here are 3 different variations. Put it on whatever you'd like! I used what I had in the kitchen- so you can get creative with whatever you have ;)

I made all 3 of these at the same time. basically because when I made the plain version I decided to split it in half. And make two different flavors out of the 'mayo' Since I wasn't really a fan of the plain style. So I added basil and garlic. Cause everything needs garlic in my opinion! e v e r y t h i n g. Yeah don't get near my mouth ;O lol.

So first things first- lets start with the base. After you make this. Split it in half if you'd like. Have fun with one half flavor wise, and then keep the other half as the regular mayo if you'd like. 

Vegan Mayo -

1 package of soft tofu
1 squirt of yellow mustard
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar 

Hello Hello Hello!

So I am a very well rounded person, I'd like to think. I don't stick to one kind of anything- and I mean that in all aspects, I have no 'type' persay. With anything. I actually thrive off of variety. Some people really like to stick to know what they know, and to each his own. But thats not my style. SO that being said, with my recipes, I hope variety is obvious. One of my 'things' is making themes for each meal time. Like mexican themed, italian, etc, you get it. So this particular evening, I decided to go with Thai!

Another thing is- when it comes to one particular meal. Usually dinner, I always follow this rule. One green, One grain, and One protein. Thats the base of the meal, pretty plain and simple I know. So what I do to spruce that up I add whatever festive sauce I've created. So here is the Thai version. Mhmmm, enjoy ya'll'

-k

(Food process all ingredients)
Handful of basil
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 cup almonds or 1/2 almond butter
1 tbsp tamari
Ground pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
+little less than a handful of cilantro. and boom, you got thai almond sauce!

By the way this is a totally raw recipe!