Activated pumpkin seed Paleo pesto pasta … How’s that for alliteration?! Totally love this healthy salad recipe for a quick, super tasty lunch or dinner. Pair with your favourite source of protein or simply enjoy on its own.
I like to activate my seeds (soaking them in water overnight) to make them more digestible and kinder to the gut. Less bloating guys, yeh! This Paleo pesto pasta can be made with a spiralizer or if you don’t have one yet (totally encourage you to get one, it’s in my top 5 of kitchen gadgets!) you can use a julienne peeler. Not only is it Paleo friendly but it’s vegan, Whole30 and Gaps compliant and packed full of healthy fats to help keep us satisfied without the need for high, starchy carbohydrates.
Off to do my first talk tonight at The Paleo Society annual event, where i’ll be sharing my story back to health thanks to the healing power of Paleo. Wish me luck! Whether you too are battling an autoimmune condition or simply want to feel fitter, have more energy, I encourage you to make a start. You won’t get it right on day one, and that’s ok, be kind to yourself. It’s a journey. Changing my diet and going grain, dairy and sugar free is undoubtedly the best decision I ever made.
Never give up. You can totally do this! Let me know what you think of the Paleo pesto pasta recipe, Jo x
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 3 carrots (480g)
- 1 avocado
- 1 courgette (200g)
Activated and toasted Pumpkin seed pesto
- 65g of pumpkin seeds
- 35g of fresh basil
- 1/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove of garlic (peeled)
- 1/2 of a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- Pinch of Pink Himalayan or sea salt and coarse black pepper
To serve
- Sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds
- Fresh basil leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C (fan assisted)
Place the pumpkin seeds in a glass and cover with water. Store in the fridge to soak over night.
Drain the water from the pumpkin seeds. Place onto a sheet of kitchen roll and pat dry to remove any excess water. Shake the pumpkin seeds onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 6 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Reserve a tablespoon of seeds to one side (to sprinkle on top at the end) and place the rest of the now activated pumpkin seeds in a food processor along with all the other pesto ingredients. Blitz until almost smooth but so it still keeps a little crunch.
Meanwhile, spiralize or using a julienne peeler make fine pasta strands with the carrots and courgettes.
Peel and remove the stone from the avocado. Chop into chunks. Toss the raw carrot and courgette pasta with the activated pumpkin seed pesto, chopped avocado and scatter with a few toasted pumpkin seeds and fresh basil. It’s that easy. Enjoy.
