Spinach Pepita Pesto

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This pesto recipe is packed with nutrients and flavor. Get a boost of iron, vitamin K, vitamin A and more. It tastes great as pasta sauce, a dressing for salads, spread on sandwiches, used as pizza sauce, or a marinade on chicken, the possibilities are endless!

For this recipe you will need a food processor along with these few ingredients:

• Fresh spinach

• Fresh basil

• Roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• Parmesan

• Cloves of garlic

• Olive oil

• Salt

For your greens you will need a good amount of spinach, this does not need to be exact. For the fresh basil I like to use one of the packages you can find in the produce section at any grocery store.

Traditional pesto uses pine nuts, but I love to use pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a fun alternative. They contain the largest amount of protein out of all nuts and seeds. They also contain several antioxidants and several vital vitamins and minerals.

Add however many cloves of garlic you desire, or for a low FODMAP option replace your olive oil with garlic infused oil.

Add all your ingredients to a food processor and blend until your desired consistency is reached, I like mine pretty fine. You may need to stop and scrape the sides once or twice.

Store in the fridge for about one week or freezer for a couple months. Add it to pasta, pizza, paninis, chicken, salads and more!

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Ingredients

3 cups spinach

.75 ounce package fresh basil (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

1 tsp salt

Directions

1. First toast your pepitas on the stove at medium heat for about 5 minutes or until fragrant, stirring or shaking the pan frequently. No oil is needed for this. Once you can smell them, remove from the heat and let them cool for about 10 minutes. You can also just buy already roasted pepitas if you want to keep it simple.

2. While those cool, rinse your basil and spinach if not already washed and pat dry. Note that the amount of greens does not have to be exact, I like to pack mine with lots of spinach for more nutrients.

3. Once your pepitas have cooled, add all your ingredients to a food processor and blend. Stop a couple times to scrape the sides using a spatula. Blend until you reach your desired consistency, I like mine more fine.

4. Feel free to add more oil if you want it thinned out more.

5. Store in a jar in the fridge for about one week, or freeze for a couple months.

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