Vegan friendly
In the summer time I'm all about basil. It's gotta be one of the tastiest herbs out there. I recently posted a quinoa pesto salad recipe and it was also delicious but you gotta have a good pesto pasta at lease ONCE in the summer. If you have high blood sugars and are trying to manage your blood sugars, I don't recommend having pasta on a regular basis but do have it occasionally, if you love pasta! I absolutely don't believe in cutting out foods entirely- especially if you really enjoy them- but some foods are better off in the "occasional" category, especially when trying to balance blood sugars. Enough talking. Let's get to the recipe!
Ingredients
1, 500g package whole wheat rotini
2 cups fresh basil, washed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup kale, chopped
15 sundried tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup hemp hearts
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Place basil, olive oil, almond meal, kale and garlic in a food processor. Blend for 20 seconds or so. Add salt (start with 1 teaspoon if you'd like). Blend for another 20 seconds or until well blended. It can be a tad chunky. Don't worry too much. If it's thick add some water to dilute it.
Cook pasta according to directions on package, rinse and drain and let cool. Cook pasta al dente (slightly hard) for a lower glycemic pasta (pasta al dente does not spike blood sugar as much as thoroughly cooked pasta).
When pasta is cooled, place in a large bowl, add pesto and mix well. Add sundried tomatoes and hemp hearts.
You can serve immediately or leave in fridge for a couple of hours to let flavours sit.
Serve with protein for a balanced meal (i.e. chicken breast, tuna, eggs, etc.).
SERVES 6-8