I have a bit of a fussy eater of a toddler on my hands lately. I think it has something to do with teething but none-the-less it makes me worry when she refuses to eat veggies. Or anything. Seriously, some days she eats nothing but 2 strawberries and a whole lotta booby! I started wracking my brains of ways to get some greens into her. She loves carbs and cheese so that was a starting point for my ideas. Except I wanted to eliminate the cheese and minimize the gluten!
One of her favourite things to eat, even on a bad day, is “cheesy scrolls” – pesto and parmasen cheese on pastry, turned into little scrolls in the oven. Bought traditional pesto is full of crap, including cheese/dairy and not to mention the actual Parmesan I would sprinkle on top! And it doesn’t have any veggies in it apart from basil which is technically a herb. Thinking cap on… and ta-da! Behold the veggie-filled raw homemade pesto!
This recipe is an altered version of the Supergreens Pesto by Belle Gibson. I’ve tweaked amounts, added new ingredients, and am very happy with how this tastes! If you give it a go, take a pic and hashtag #hippiemumma on IG or leave me a comment here, I’d love to hear some feedback!
Ingredients:
1 small head of broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
40g basil
40g parsley
200g walnuts (try different nuts!)
2tbs savoury yeast flakes
80ml macadamia oil (olive oil will work fine too)
3 cloves of garlic
juice of 2 lemons
And its so easy to do –
Whack it all in your food processor and blend for a few minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice, until you have your desired pesto consistency.
Store the pesto in an airtight jar in the fridge, it should keep for a few weeks.
The savoury yeast is a vegan’s best friend. It has a cheesy flavour that Olivia can’t deny. She even loves it sprinkled on steamed broccoli florets, and popcorn! It is full of B Vitamins too.
You can use the pesto on almost anything but here are a few ideas:
Stirred through zoodles (raw zucchini noodles, shown below) or pasta.
As the base for some scroll bites – pastry is all you need, cheese optional!
As a spread on wraps/sandwiches.
To dip veggie sticks or crackers in.
Straight from the jar (I do this, it’s good).
Anywhere you’d use traditional pesto.
Hippie Mumma 