With bikini season around the corner, I have been looking for ways to cut some calories, but I don’t want to cut any taste out, because that never works for me. I am too much of a foodie. I have heard of using vegetables in place of pasta, but I don’t have a mandoline, or the machine that cuts the veggies into the cute spaghetti strings, so I had to compromise.
I decided to take a vegetable peeler and just peel my slices of zucchini into beautiful ribbons. I actually liked it a lot better. I have been trying to think of other vegetables that I could peel into ribbons. Eating healthy can be fun! Or so I like to tell myself.
I also wanted to get some healthy omega vitamins so I decided to make an almond pesto rather than using the traditional pine nuts. I like the nuttiness flavor that the almond brings and the texture of the almonds replace the parmesan cheese that I did not add. However, you can absolutely add parmesan to this recipe, I just chose to exclude it to save some calories, and I didn’t miss it for one minute.
Ingredients
- 2 whole zucchini
- 2 1/2 cups fresh Basil
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 c cup roasted whole almonds
- 1 garlic clove
- salt and pepper, to taste
- water
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Use vegetable peeler to make thinly sliced ribbons.
- In a food processor, pulse whole almonds and 1 garlic clove until all are ground well.
- Add basil and olive oil and pulse together until well blended, but don't over mix. I add water to get desired texture to be a little smoother. Just add until your texture is desired. Add parmesan if desired.
- Add additional olive oil if needed to get desired texture. Add Salt and pepper for desired taste.
- Mix zucchini ribbons and pesto. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for 30 min for best flavor.
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Wow, who knew you could use veggies instead of pasta?! I bet you could substitute squash for zucchini. What a great idea! I love making homemade pesto too and it looks like the almonds would add some unique flavor. Thanks for sharing, Erin!