Today I did my absolute most favorite thing for lunch! Can you guess what it is? Probably….but, I decided to start my week off continuing my pamper me time. I got a pedicure!!! I LOVE that there is a local place that I can run to at lunch and get in/out and back to work in under an hour all while I get caught up on Cosmo or Gossip Mags. The only problem is I want to take a nap after. I came back from my pedicure completely anxious to make what I made up yesterday.
I have to say this just might be my all time favorite new recipe ever. I made up Pesto Pizzettas from the 30 Day Jump Start book. You can get the recipe by clicking HERE. I also made my own pesto versus using store bought and I think that makes all the difference in the world.
Here is a glimpse of my pesto (it doesn’t exactly get any photography awards but it tastes fabulous & is low cal/fat!) I followed the version in the Jump Start Book to keep the nutritionals the same but noted how I make mine differently usually. Once you make your own, you will probably never want to buy store bought again.
2 c fresh Basil ( I prefer blanched)
1/4 c roasted walnuts
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp water (I prefer chicken broth)
1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
All whipped up in your food processor until creamy. (1 Tbsp 30 cal, 3 g fat, 1 g fiber)
I have made Polenta Pizza before but nothing compare to the combination of pesto + marinara + artichoke hearts + roasted red peppers!
It was pretty hard NOT to eat these yesterday when they were fresh out of the oven but I refrained.
I had 3 little Pesta Pizzetta Appetizers for lunch with a mixed green salad topped with ~ 1 Tbsp of TJ’s Lowfat Spicy Asian Peanut Dressing. The book called for lowfat Caesar but I thought this sounded better.
And Blackberries for dessert.
MY SUPER COOL NEWS OF THE DAY other than getting a pedicure for lunch is that I WON a COOKBOOK from FatFighterTV in today’s contest. I picked the Veggie Queen cookbook since I already had her first two options. I AM SOOO EXCITED as this is the first contest I’ve won!!! Yeah!! If you haven’t posted a recipe yet, make sure to do so – the first two books she is offering rock!
Ok ~ guess I better get some work done so I can get out of here if I want to see The Husband today at all. I will be so glad when his night shifts are over. See you all after my Jump workout for dinner and more cooking fun!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the pesto pizza…looks delish! Thanks for posting the recipe.
I need a pedicure since it’s finally warm enough for sandal weather. Ah, life’s little luxuries.
Congrats on winning the cookbook!
Do you think I could make that pesto with a normal blender? Or is a food processor necessary?
Looks fantastic. I love pesto!
danica, keep the rad recipes coming! i am such a pesto freak, but it is so high in fat when you buy it at the store.. i will whip some up with the recipe you gave. do you think it would work in the bullet? one thing i don’t have is a food processor (sad, i know..)
where is precooked polenta? in the ethnic foods isle or something? i have only had polenta from scratch.. and that is kind of a pain. i had no idea you could buy it precooked. sweet! i am for sure making those bites of deliciousness ASAP.
i have never heard of this 30 day jump start diet thing but it sure does look like it works. maybe i will have to look more into it.
oh one more thing, i am not too educated on the whole wordpress thing yet, so i dont know if it notifies you when i click “reply” to the comments you leave on my blog.. but i hope it does, because i typed a reply on there a minute ago so i hope it somehow gets back to you in cyber land…
congrats on winning to contest, weeeee!
ok this is long, bye!
Emily ~ This recipe is totally up your alley – you can make it ahead of time and reheat all week. It's so tasty. You deserve a pedicure with all your hard work – go get one asap
Jane – Believe it or not, I never used a food processor to make my pesto for the longest time. I used my Blakc & Decker Mini Chopped. A blender would work just fine as well, you can add more liquid as needed and always drain it off after.
Cryssy – thanks for posting – you should try it!
Janetha – you are too funny! Comment as much as you like, I like comments! Ok – let's see if I can answer all your questions.
Yes, you could absolutely use your bullet to make the pesto – I think the infomercials even have that on there.
I found my pre-cooked polenta at Trader Joe's next to the pasta. It comes in a long tube. I think sometimes they have it in the fridge section at grocery stores too – it's so easy to use.
You can read more about the Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump start on amazon – you can see it in my amazon store under diet books. If you are logged in, I believe you can skim through it on the reader.
No reply from you on wordpress
I always wonder what happens when I hit reply now too – I guess now I know. I'll let you know if it shows up.
Thanks for the congrats! I am all too excited to win another cookbook
Emily ~ This recipe is totally up your alley – you can make it ahead of time and reheat all week. It's so tasty. You deserve a pedicure with all your hard work – go get one asap
Jane – Believe it or not, I never used a food processor to make my pesto for the longest time. I used my Blakc & Decker Mini Chopped. A blender would work just fine as well, you can add more liquid as needed and always drain it off after.
Cryssy – thanks for posting – you should try it!
Janetha – you are too funny! Comment as much as you like, I like comments! Ok – let's see if I can answer all your questions.
Yes, you could absolutely use your bullet to make the pesto – I think the infomercials even have that on there.
I found my pre-cooked polenta at Trader Joe's next to the pasta. It comes in a long tube. I think sometimes they have it in the fridge section at grocery stores too – it's so easy to use.
You can read more about the Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump start on amazon – you can see it in my amazon store under diet books. If you are logged in, I believe you can skim through it on the reader.
No reply from you on wordpress
I always wonder what happens when I hit reply now too – I guess now I know. I'll let you know if it shows up.
Thanks for the congrats! I am all too excited to win another cookbook
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