Recipe with Rebecca - Vegan Pesto

Vegan Pesto

Fit For Life Physical Therapy

Rebecca Youngs, MS, RD, LD

This is a very versatile pesto that can be made with any dark green. Add this to pasta, atop baked chicken or salmon, or mix into cooked grains like brown rice, quinoa, or couscous. This is made vegan by using nutritional yeast, an ingredient that delivers a cheesy flavor instead of parmesan cheese traditionally used in pesto. It is also very high in B vitamins including B12, a vitamin essential for vegans since B12 is often only found in animal products.

I like to use Italian kale, also known as Lacinato kale, in this recipe. It has softer, flatter leaves with a less bitter taste. If you can’t find this type of kale, regular kale works just fine. Dark leafy greens like kale actually contain a good amount of iron, an essential nutrient for runners! The iron in kale is considered non-heme iron meaning it does not come from an animal or animal products. Non-heme iron is best absorbed in the body when it is consumed with Vitamin C. The lemon juice and zest contain about 17mg of Vitamin C, or 31mg for an entire lemon. This is also why they always tell you to take your iron pill with a glass of orange juice!

Ingredients
½ a large bunch of Italian (Lacinato) kale
½ cup of pine nuts or cashews
1 handful of spinach
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
¾ cup of fresh parsley
1 lemon, zested
½ lemon, squeezed
1 clove of garlic
1.5 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ cup of nutritional yeast
¼ cup of water
Olive oil

Directions
Step 1. Strip the leaves of the kale making sure to avoid the stem. Add to a food processor or high powered blender with the whole basil leaves, spinach, nut of choice, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Step 2. Add in half of the water and start to blend. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it reaches a desired consistency. Add in the nutritional yeast and an additional 1-2 Tsp. of olive oil if desired. Blend once more. Feel free to add additional salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast based off of taste preferences.

Step 3. Store in a glass jar or container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Registered & Licensed Dietitian Rebecca Youngs is an avid marathoner, loves to work out, and has specialized her practice in gastrointestinal health, as well as sports nutrition and fueling athletes of all levels. She is available for individual consultations at Fit For Life Physical Therapy or through zoom video conference.

Fit For Life Physical Therapy cares for people of all activity levels - to help prevent, recover from, or rehabilitate sports & orthopedic injuries.  We are proud to move people every day.

Please visit our website https://www.fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com/, email us at info@fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com, or call or text us at any of the phone numbers for our three convenient locations inside Fleet Feet/FrontRunner stores:

Polaris:  1270 East Powell Road Lewis Center, Ohio 43035 ~ 614-981-2065

Upper Arlington:  1344 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43221 ~ 614-981-1979

New Albany:  5792 North Hamilton Road, Columbus, Ohio 43230 ~ 614-581-7441