I don't want to "Pesto" you...

Snicker, get it, I said Pesto, like pester, but kinda, sorta...not. Ok fine! It was a lame joke, but whatevs. You still heart me and that's all that matters. Sooooo this whole nutrition thing. Did I happen to mention that I bought some cookbooks to aid me in the whole cooking process? I did indeed hoping to find a concoction of Primalesque ingredients to help keep my diet varied.

There is nothing more killing to trying a new lifestyle than trying it, and eating the same gd thing every single night over and over and over again. So I'm sort of hell bent and determined to keep things Primal, and keep them interesting.

Today on my way home from CF I was thinking that I needed to come back and finish my blog about the WOD yesterday. But then I started thinking that I was hungry (after THAT WOD today I CAN'T POSSIBLY understand why I was hungry!?!??!) and realized no meat in the house. Wah, wah, wah.... so what could I do? Hmmmm... the conversation that was taking place in my head went a little sumptin' like this...

"I'm hungry, but crap. I ate the last of my chicken yesterday. So then what do I do for lunch today? I guess I could go to Safeway and get some chicken. But I just HAD chicken. I don't want more grilled chicken. Ugh. What could I do to make it better? Cream sauce? Eh... too much like work... Used tomato sauce yesterday... *GASP* Pesto... what about Pesto? Is Pesto Primal? I'll get out the cookbook and check when I get home. If it is... Safeway for some chicken and game ON!"

So needless to say, Pesto is pretty much Primal accept for some cheese. Sisson argues that in the Primal (nearly Paleo) lifestyle dairy is fine in moderation. I did have some heavy (whipped) cream on my fruit at breakfast (this is a long story involving me not knowing how much whipped cream is made from one quart of heavy cream and now needing to get rid of it, ok?) and a little Feta on my eggs, so I probably had too much dairy today, but the Pesto just sounded so good that I had too.

Let me tell you... this was fast, simple, and damned good.

Katie's Eazy Peezy Pesto

Ingredients needed: Garlic, Basil, Walnuts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine in food processor 2 C. Basil, 1/4 C walnuts 1 clove garlic* and about 1/4 C olive oil. Stop periodically and scrape the sides. Add another 1/4 C olive oil gradually to the mixture. Stir in the cheese before serving.

*The recipe calls for 1/2 clove of garlic. I like garlic... really really like garlic and so I put in a whole clove.


A few notes on this recipe....

This recipe comes up rather thick. If you prefer a thinner pesto, simply add more EVOO. Also, if you happen to just not read the directions and throw all the ingredients into the blender and hit frappe, it still comes out pretty tasty..... NOT that I didn't follow the directions or anything because I would never do that! :P

To do this on chicken, two things you can do. Cook the chicken, and warm the Pesto seperately and place on the chicken when it's done grilling/baking/sauteeing etc. Or do what I did and pop the oven on to 350. Then spread chicken breasts in a glass baking dish rubbed with a little bit of EVOO and salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 WITHOUT Pesto, the top the breasts with Pesto until chicken reaches temp. Temp for poultry is 165. If you don't have a thermometer, get one. It makes your tasties so much tastier because you're not overcooking them! Enjoy!!!

Also, highly recommend the following book for your kitchen reference...