Vegan, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free: This delicious and healthy Kale Pesto Fettuccine can be eaten hot or cold. It’s an awesome dish to bring to a picnic because nothing will spoil in the heat. Beyond being one of my favourite go-to recipes for a quick and easy meal, the food costs for this dish ring in at $6.64. Whip it up, and have dinner in the park.

What you need: 

1 head of kale
1/3 cup olive oil (or any high-quality oil you have on hand)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1 package of brown rice fettuccine or fettuccine of choice. (I prefer Rizopia brown rice fettuccine)

How to do it:

  1. Boil water for fettuccine and don’t forget to add a pinch of salt.
  2. Wash and chop your kale. Remove any hard stems. Add half of the chopped kale to the blender.
  3. Crush both cloves of garlic and add them to the blender. Add sunflower seeds, oil and nutritional yeast.
  4. Juice the lemon and add to the blender.
  5. Blend on medium setting (1-2 minutes). Add the remaining kale and blend on high until mixture is completely blended. Leave the mixture in the blender until your fettuccine is ready. (You may need to stop and mix the pesto if your blender isn’t the most powerful. Do not push down on the mixture with a fork or spoon while it’s on.)
  6. Once the water is boiling, add the fettuccine. Cook pasta to your desired texture. (I prefer mine to be a little softer than usual but al dente is wonderful too.)
  7. Once your pasta is cooked, drain and thoroughly rinse. I find that brown rice pasta sticks together if you don’t rinse if immediately with cold water. Once rinsed, throw it back into the pot, add the pesto and reheat together. (Use a low temperature because if the pan gets too hot, it will make your noodles hard.)
  8. Voila! Remove from heat and ENJOY!

Why it’s good for you:

Kale

-Contains Chlorophyll, which cleanses and detoxifies cells in the body
-High in Vitamins A & C
-Source of Calcium

Garlic

-Anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anticarcinogenic aka nature’s antibiotic (it’s great for spring colds)
-Helps promote the growth of healthy intestinal flora
-Lowers fever

Lemon Juice

-High in vitamin C
-Aids in digestion
-Anti-septic and anti-microbial (treat’s cold, flu and cough)
-Increases the absorption of mineral’s and cleanses the blood 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-Unrefined oil
-High in Vitamin E
-Helps membrane development and cell formation
-Contains Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega 9 fatty acids  

Nutritional Yeast

-Helps in energy production
-Complete protein
-High in Iron, Selenium & Zinc
-100% RDA of B12

How to revive it:

You can revive your leftovers by steaming some broccoli, and adding it to the pasta and pesto. Drizzle with lemon juice and enjoy!

Food costs:

Kale $2.00
Garlic $0.89 pkg 3
Nutritional yeast $0.75 (small scoop bulk barn or and health food store in the bulk section)
Rice pasta fettuccine $3.00
Olive oil (on hand $.00)
Sea salt (on hand $0.00)

Total: $6.64

I love it when a good-for-you dinner (that lasts two days!) comes in at less than ten bucks!