Recipe: Kale Pesto Sauce

I know I've made a kale pesto previously for my vegetarian pesto pizza. But I really wanted to highlight this sauce on its own as it is really great for pouring over pastas.

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped kale
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. chopped nuts (I used pecans for this, but walnuts or almonds would also be good)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. dried basil


Directions:
Drop the kale, parmesan, garlic, nuts, a splash of broth and basil in a food processor. Turn on food processor to chop all ingredients, and stream in olive oil while chopping. After streaming olive oil, turn off processor and scrap down sides. Turn on processor again and stream in remaining vegetable broth (you may need more to get the right sauce-like consistency).

Voila, your pesto sauce is ready to coat your favorite pasta.

Pesto over tortellini topped with parmesan...delicious!

Clean Eating: New Year's Chili

Being a southern girl, it's a tradition that we eat black-eyed peas and greens for New Year's. Ok, I admit, I'm a little behind. This year, I believe I had Chinese delivered for my New Year dinner. But today, I had a hankering for some tradition. So, I concocted this "chili" as a way to get my greens and beans.

 Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
1 lb. of ground chicken breast
1 (15 oz. ) can of black-eyed peas
1 cube beef bouillon
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Directions:
Dissolve bouillon in 8 oz. of water.

Spray a large pot with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast and seasonings and cook until browned.

Trim kale from stems. Chop and rinse in a large colander. Drain and rinse blackeye peas in a large colander. Add peas, bouillon broth and chopped kale to to pot. Cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir contents of pot to incorporate. Add 8 oz. of water and cook for another 5 minutes until kale is wilted. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Serves 4
Serving Size 408.5g
__________________________________________________

Calories - 166
Calories from Fat - 14
Total Fat - 1.5g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 65mg
Sodium - 652mg
Total Carbohydrates - 13.1g
Dietary Fiber - 2.4g
Sugar - 1.3g
Protein - 27.2g
---
Vitamin A - 208%
Vitamin C - 135%
Calcium - 10%
Iron - 12%

Clean Eating: Vegetarian Pesto Pizza

Pizza has always been a comfort food. I think that's true for most people. But I wanted to find a way to make a pizza that's not only yummy, but also healthy and within my clean eating regime. I also wanted a way to use some of the fresh produce I received from my produce delivery service. I recently received some yummy tomatoes and kale, so here is my take on a pesto pizza.

Ingredients:
2 whole wheat flatbread
1 medium tomato
2 oz. fresh mozzarella
1 cup packed kale
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
dash of black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 360 F.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the flatbread on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes to get toasted.

Remove tough stems from kale and chop in small pieces. Place in a food processor along with garlic, shredded parmesan, walnuts, dried basil, olive oil, 1/4 tsp. sea salt and black pepper. Pulse grind to finely chop. Add vegetable broth and pulse grind into a paste. Scrape down sides of processor and pulse grind. Repeat until it is a well combined mixture.

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella. Sprinkle tomatoes with remaining 1/4 tsp. of sea salt.

On toasted flatbread, smear 1/2 of the kale pesto mixture on each slice of flatbread. Top with sliced tomatoes and then place sliced mozzarella on top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until mozzarella is completely melted. Slice into quarters and serve while hot.

Nutrition Facts
Serves 2
Serving Size 1 flatbread pizza (245.4g)
__________________________________________________

Calories - 521
Calories from Fat - 259
Total Fat - 28.8g
Saturated Fat - 7.7g
Cholesterol - 25mg
Sodium - 1210mg
Total Carbohydrates - 46.4g
Dietary Fiber - 5.3g
Sugar - 3.2g
Protein - 23.1g
---
Vitamin A - 119%
Vitamin C - 82%
Calcium - 43%
Iron - 52%