Kale Pesto Pasta

First of all, wanted to just give a HUGE thank you for all of your support on last week’s recipe, where I shared about my Ulcerative Colitis, and how much of an impact the Specific Carb Diet has had on my health!

I got so many emails and messages of people who were going to give it a try, or who were passing the information along, and it just warmed my heart! So thank you for that 🙂

Tonight’s recipe is one of my all time FAVORITES.

I don’t know about you – but it has been raining cats and dogs ALL WEEK in New York City. Mother Nature just won’t let up! And so naturally, the LAST thing I wanted to do was to traipse through the rain to go grocery shopping. So thankfully, I used Amazon’s Prime Pantry and got all of these ingredients delivered for free, hallelujah. (And you can try it free, by clicking here.)

But do you every just crave pasta? A plate of warm, slurpy goodness that would make your inner Italian grandmother proud?

With this rain, honey, I sure did.

So I decided to make my most cozy and favorite pasta dish.

And I’m giving you TWO options for it — you can either use traditional spaghetti (gluten free or otherwise) or zoodles (spirlized zucchini) for my Specific Carbers out there 🙂

But this dish packs a nutritional PUNCH!

First of all, I love using quinoa pasta – which is gluten free and packed with protein. If you’re unaware, quinoa is a complete protein, which is music to the ears of my fellow vegans out there!

And then the sauce is ALL VEGGIES! In fact, this pasta could be called a Cruciferous Carnival — because the pasta is tossed with roasted cauliflower, and the pesto is a puree of broccoli, kale and basil! Talk about a nutrient dense meal!

And it’s Gluten Free, Vegan and Paleo, with a Specific Carb Diet twist, and is 100% delicious!

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 3-4)

1 box quinoa pasta (This is my favorite brand) (or 4 zucchinis, spiralized)
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets and roasted

Sauce:
1 big stalk of broccoli, broken into florets and steamed
3 stalks of kale, stems removed, chopped, and steamed
1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 big garlic cloves
1 Tbsp EVOO
sea salt
reserved pasta water

TOOLS:
Food processor (this is the one I love)
Steamer basket (or Pyrex measuring cup)
Baking sheet
Good Chef’s Knife (this is the one I use)
Tinfoil (I use non-stick and it is a game changer)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your cauliflower florets on an olive-oil sprayed, tinfoil-lined baking sheet. Toss the florets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, flipping halfway through.

While they’re baking, toast the pine nuts over low heat in a dry pan, until fragrant. Also – steam your broccoli and kale for about 5 minutes, until bright green and tender. Rinse under cold water, drain, and set aside to cool slightly. Then, blend it with the pesto ingredients, and about 3/4 cup of pasta water in the food processor until thick and creamy. Adjust salt to taste. Toss with the cooked pasta and roasted cauliflower. Garnish with chopped basil. YUM!

With this outrageous pasta, I served broiled halibut. I broiled this wild, ocean-caught fish for 10 minutes with 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cumin and garlic powder.

This meal was so delicious! The pasta was so unbelievably yummy! The flavor was bright and fresh from the basil! And the steamed broccoli made it so creamy and luxurious! It was hard to believe that there wasn’t any cream or butter in it because it was so rich and decadent tasting! Thank you broccoli!

And it coated the spaghetti so fabulously! Slurpy, creamy and hearty, but incredibly light! And the roasted cauliflower was nutty and superb. It provided a nice crunch too! It was almost like they were cauliflower “meatballs!”

**And the SCD version is equally as divine. Nothing beats zucchini noodles. Nothing. I suggest tossing them in a little olive oil and flash heating them in a frying pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes to warm them through.

Give this superfood pasta dish a try. It’s super delish!!

What’s your favorite rainy day meal??

“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5

Sign up below for my free newsletter!
Get my daily videos, recipes and posts delivered straight to your inbox!

[mc4wp_form id=”30616″]

Here was yesterday’s video! https://youtu.be/8pmp4ZI968A

A big thank you to my foundational sponsor, BetterHelp Online Therapy. I cannot begin to express how beneficial therapy was for my recovery from anorexia.  Speak with an online therapist. Or check out content about eating disorders from BetterHelp.

MAGIC TOOTHPASTE? Yes! I am in love with this superior whitening toothpaste. It keeps my smile sparkling, without sensitivity or bleach! I made a website where you can directly order this miracle product! So if you want to give it a try, you can go ahead and grab a tube for yourself. I promise, your smile will thank you!

OH MY GOSH THE FABFITFUN SPRING BOX IS HERE!!!!!! A seasonal box of over $300 worth of health, beauty and fitness products, for only $39.99! Order yourself a box with my code SPRINGLOVE for $10 off! 😉

Be sure to check out my affiliate, Audible. Listening to audiobooks while I cook is literally my new favorite thing. And just for you, they’re offering a Free 30-Day Trial Membership. And with this free membership, you’re going to get 2 free audiobooks! Literally. Free. It is the best deal ever. And if for some reason, you decide it’s not for you, you can cancel within those 30 days and it’s zero money out of your pocket, plus, you get to keep the 2 audiobooks. Soooo…it’s pretty much a no brainer. Plus, it’s a free and easy way to support this blog! So thank you!! 

***THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ORDERED MY BOOKS, BLOOM: A JOURNAL BY BEAUTYBEYONDBONES AND “MY BLOGGING TIPS“***

---

STAY CONNECTED!

@beauty.beyond.bones – Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

---

For Podcast versions of my posts, please check out Patreon! It’s only $2 a month!! You make this blog possible 🙂

And really quickly, I’ve had several questions concerning my Amazon link (amazon.com/shop/beautybeyondbones) — You do not need to buy one of my specific highlighted products on my page, in order for it to “credit” my account. Any purchases that you search or make from anywhere on Amazon, after first visiting my Amazon page, will credit this blog and help support this blog ministry. I am truly so grateful and appreciative to those of you wanting to do so! So thank you! Again, it is an absolutely free, and easy way for you to help keep this blog going!