Kesto!

Basil pesto, puh-leassse!  Let’s spice this sucker up by using kale instead. Kale pesto.

I know what you’re thinking, GENIUS! Ill be honest, it wasn’t my idea. It was my mother in-law’s. She is the mad scientist behind this recipe. We’re also using walnuts instead of pine nuts.

Kale is wonderful for so many reasons. It’s highly rich in antioxidants, high in fiber, high in iron, high in vitamin K and vitamin A, has anti-inflammatory properties, etc. 

Let’s just say IT’S REALLY GREAT FOR YOU!

Without further a-do here is the best kale pesto (aka kesto) recipe:

Tools:

- Food processor or food blender

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Kale
• 1/4 Cup of Walnuts (Chopped)
• 2 Cloves ofChopped Garlic
• 2/3 Cup of Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup of Grated Cheese

Step 1: In a food processor toss in the kale, walnuts, and garlic. Blend them together until all of the kale & walnuts are finely chopped

Step 2: Pour in half of the olive oil and blend for about 30s. Then toss in the rest of the olive oil and blend again.

Step 3: Lastly, put in the grated cheese and blend. Here comes the best part, put it on whatever you would like. Ha! It is SO GOOD!! Enjoy it! 

The Delicious Delicata Squash

Out of all the squashes, I think this is our favorite. 

It is the easiest to prepare and it has a slight nutty taste with a little bit of crunch from the skin. NUM NUM’S!!!

Here is my delicata squash recipe:

Ingredients:

-Delicata squash

-1 Tsp Olive oil

-Salt & Peper

Step 1: Pre heat the oven to 420 degrees and put aluminum foil on top of a non-stick baking sheet. 

Step 2: Wash your delicata squash and cut the ends off.

Step 3: Cut the delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds.

Step 4: Cut the delicata squash into 1/2 inch pieces (they should look like stars).

Step 5: Place the pieces onto the baking sheet and sprinkle salt & pepper and drizzle the olive oil. Mix it all around until each piece is completely covered.

Step 6: Separate them on the baking sheet, so they are not touching each other and stick it in the oven for 12 mins. 

Step 7: Once the 12 mins are up, take them out of the oven and flip them (it should have a slight char or brownness to the side that was down). Put them back into the oven for another 12 mins. 

Step 8: Take them out and let it sit for about 2min. Then, it’s time for my favorite part. TIME TO CHOW DOWN!!

“Is Prepping Food REALLY That Difficult?”

A lot of people tend to shy away from food preparation because they feel it would take up too much time. Well…I’m here to see to it that I can convince you other wise (in a snooty Downton Abby British accent). Haha! Here are a few cool tips that have helped me and my awesome clients.

Choose one specific day or a few designated times in the week to cook all of your meals. For instance, if you choose Sunday’s, cook all of your chicken, put together all of your salads in tupperware’s, bake all of your starches in the oven, and you are ready to go for the week ahead. BOOM! If you would like to spread out your days so it doesn’t take as long, you can choose to cook on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This will eliminate cooking so much on one day and have fresher meals prepared. 

Sweet Potato Wedges

Chicken for the week

If you want to cook everything else but not your proteins, thats easy too! Try a slow cooker. Here’s what I suggest: before you go to bed, place chicken/turkey cutlets, etc. into a slow cooker with broth and spices of your choice. Once you wake up in the morning, you have juicy protein ready to eat (it’s almost like the texture of pulled pork). 

Take ziploc bags or containers of food with you to work. Personally, I use coconut or olive oil on my salads as dressing. If I want more acid I’ll add lemon or lime juice. I’ll put it in a small container and use it later. It’s an easy way to incorporate fats into your everyday adventure. In addition to that, I also put almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds in a bag, to add a little crunch to some of my meals.

Coconut oil and Coconut Spray

These are just a few simple tips but the big one is this, YOU SAVE A TON OF MONEY $$$$! In NYC, the average dinner at a restaurant could cost you $150, even without drinks. If you choose to grocery shop once or twice a week, that could be the cost of one week’s worth of food. WOOHOO!!! Saving money and time, who doesn’t want that?! It’s a no brainer. Try to meal prep just for a few weeks and let me know if you can see the changes in your life.