Foodie Friday: Skinny Spinach Basil Pesto

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway?

For a couple of weeks I was on a serious cottage cheese kick. It started with my cottage cheese oats and didn’t stop there! It’s a great way to add extra protein to your favorite dishes and add a little extra creaminess too. I was really in the mood for a pesto-y kinda lunch but unfortunately it looked like the pesto in the fridge had seen better days. Whoops..  good thing we had everything I needed to whip up my own skinny-fied version.

Skinny Spinach Basil Pesto

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup cottage cheese [I used low fat Daisy]
– 1/2 cup spinach
– 5-10 fresh basil leaves
– 2 tsp nutritional yeast*
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 tbsp pistachios
– 1 tsp McCormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning

Directions
Put all ingredients into a food processor and give it a whirl until smooth.

I tossed my pesto into a pan with zucchini noodles, roasted kabocha, and a filet of sole. Once it warmed up, the cottage cheese got extra creamy and melty. Just what I was looking for!

*Nutritional yeast can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Nutritional Information
Per single serving of pesto

113 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  8g Carbs  /  3g Fiber  /  3g Sugar  /  11g Protein

This reminds me, I really need to make this again soon! And with that, it’s about time I get myself ready for a relaxing wine country getaway with my husband of almost 1 year. Can’t believe how quickly time flies.

Food for Thought

Are you a pesto fan?
Do you have any big plans for the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #83: Elimination Diet

I was really trying to think of Passover as an elimination diet this time around. I had recently been experiencing itchy hands and feet, mostly at the end of the day, and was seriously hoping it wasn’t a food allergy. I didn’t think about it so much throughout the week, but I have to admit I definitely noticed a difference by the end of last night after I officially broke Passover.

Breakfast

While I thoroughly enjoyed my egg white, banana, sweet potato/kabocha scramble all week, I’m excited to be having something new for breakfast. Like oats! Gimme grains! Also, peanut butter forever.

Snack

I had a bunch of errands to run in the late morning/early afternoon and stuck this bar in my purse as I was running out. Larabar was pretty much the only bar I had that I could eat during Passover.. good thing they’re so delicious!

Lunch

I was pretty hungry by the time I got home and just picked up a can of salmon from Trader Joe’s. Instead of eating it straight from the can, I whipped up an awesome salad. Also, I totally bought some cottage cheese after seeing it all over tons of blogs! Well done, FitFluential 😉

Ingredients
– 1 can wild Alaskan salmon; drained
– 1 small avocado
– 1/4 cup cottage cheese
– 1 tsp McCormick Smokehouse Maple seasoning

Mash it all up together in a bowl and throw it on a salad, crackers, etc. I sprinkled a little chili powder on top and ended up going back for more. So good! It makes 2-3 servings [2 if you’re me!]

BREAKING PASSOVER!

When Nathan got home, he had a quick snack of some leftover buttered noodles from the other night. He offered me a bite and with that, Passover was officially over. Of course, then I went and grabbed a bite of granola because I couldn’t wait until after dinner.

Dinner

Chipotle ain’t got nothin’ on me! The salsa turned out great and I thoroughly enjoyed the rice-y bean-y goodness. Unlike any kind of elimination diet, I eliminated food for a week and immediately added all of it back into my diet in one fell swoop! Unfortunately, I was bloated within 30 minutes and now I’m not sure what did it but I’m thinking my body might hate legumes. Say it isn’t so!

Snack

I won a giveaway of Shelia G’s Brownie Brittle and of course it came in the other day. Nathan tried it right away and I couldn’t wait to try a piece. And then another piece with peanut butter because everything is better with peanut butter! .. and of course I had to have my apple, a little more granola, and a handful of peanut butter puffins. Success.

So the final results? Everything may be better with peanut butter, but I’m not so sure my body is. I hadn’t experienced the bloating all week like I did after dinner and I also noticed my hands and feet getting itchy again later on. It may be time to call the doctor in on this one!

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried an elimination diet?