Green Pea Pesto (Vegan)

I have a confession. Life has been really busy lately and, except for the evenings I set aside to eat with friends, I haven’t been eating three square meals a day. I don’t know many people my age who are home by 8 or 9 PM, and that makes it hard to have a full meal in the evening. Whether you work long hours or you’re a gym rat like me, chances are you don’t get home at a normal hour (shout-out to my brother and his wife in Boston who regularly eat at 10 PM).

I am starting to embrace the habit, and I’ve found that as long as I can get in two solid meals – vegetables and protein included – I don’t feel too guilty about picking at little things after the gym. As you probably know from the blog, I am a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast. Sure, I’ll put together chia pudding or homemade breakfast bars here and there, but most days I start things off with coffee and a big bowl of plain 2% Greek yogurt with homemade granola. Which is why my lunch is crucial. If I don’t get in a hefty serving of veggies, or at least something green, I feel like I’ve reverted to a world of dairy, bread, pasta, and rice – and I feel disgusting.

Today after work I finally found a ten minute window of time to cook – and that was all I needed to make my new favorite dish. Even if you don’t like peas, give this a try. It is SO creamy, and there’s nothing unhealthy involved, not even cheese. Paired with zoodles, this will give you a major dose of veggies and protein – but even with regular whole wheat linguine, it feels wholesome.

Because the pesto is a bit thicker than your standard pesto – oh, and it’s freakin’ divine – I’ve decided to treat it like hummus and eat it on everything. I’m pairing the pesto with a vegetable burger at lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can of shelled green peas, drained

1 – 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves, about ten medium leaves, washed and de-stemmed

1/4 cup of almonds

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Sea salt, water

Directions:

Combine the lemon juice, oil, basil, almonds, and peas into a food processor or blender.

Blend thoroughly, pausing to add a tablespoon of water to loosen things if needed, then continue blending until smooth.

Add in sea salt to taste and continue blending – the salt is key, and will bring out the flavor!

Use as a spread, dip, or sauce and enjoy!