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!
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 😀