amy eats vegetables

Super green pasta. Steamed broccoli tossed with spinach pasta and homemade arugula and sunflower seed pesto. My boyfriend and I are trying to train ourselves to like broccoli because of my random worries that our future kids will only like pizza and tacos… It was actually good.

i wasn’t feeling so hot when i got home from work today, so my nice boyfriend made me dinner. he is not big on cooking at all, so even a pasta dish that seems simple to me, is a great surprise. we had our favorite spinach penne from whole foods, and he made a sauce with some marinara and meatless “ground beef” crumbles. he’s usually a pretty picky eater, but the other reason this is a big deal:  he is not even a vegan or a vegetarian! however, he has chosen, of his on free will, to observe meatless mondays. he does it to lower his carbon footprint a bit, but doesn’t mind the health perks and happy girlfriend that comes with it.

mainly, this consists of having peanut butter sandwiches and salads for lunch (he gets free lunch at work!), but once in a while he’ll venture to try some of my “weird” veggie dishes. he has become a big fan of field roast sausages and gardein chicken tenders, and tonight was his first time trying fake meat crumbles, which he is now a fan of. i’m not a huge fake meats person, but i’m glad to be able to enjoy vegan meals with the omnivore i love and really proud of him for trying new things!

Pumpkin Alfredo. Looks good, sounds good, but I wasn’t that into it… My simple arugula and green onion salad with lemon dressing and homemade croutons was yummy though!

i love basil and i grow my own on the porch, but when i was buying other herbs at the hollywood farmers market, i got a free bunch. naturally, i decided to make vegan pesto with my surplus basil.

although pine nuts are traditionally used, i prefer walnuts. i like the taste better, and they are so good for you! antioxidants, protein, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, and omega 3 fatty acids!

you’ll need a food processor or a blender. i prefer the texture in the food processor, but sometimes “chunky pesto” as i call blender-style, can be good.

separate the leaves of a good bunch of basil (3 cups-ish), add 3 or 4 peeled whole garlic cloves and chop in the processor. add 6 tbs of walnuts and chop some more. then add 6 tbs of olive oil and chop one last time. that’s it. so easy!

you can add vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast, but i like it as is.

i like to toss it with spinach penne, because with a vegetable pasta, you’re getting slightly more nutrients that the average pasta. good stuff.

last night, i served this with heirloom tomato slices and gardein crispy “chicken” tenders and it was so so yummy!