RECIPE > Summer Oil-Free Vegan Pesto

 
Whether you are looking for a vegan pizza topping or a veggie dip, this new summery oil-free vegan pesto is one of the best we have encountered. Smooth, tasty and absolutely nutritious, this is a great recipe for any chef!

Quick and easy, this new summer oil-free vegan pesto incorporates some tantalizing ingredients that include organic sun dried tomatoes, walnuts, cashews and spinach as its base ingredients. The other flavorful ingredients include garlic, basil, lemon, arugula, cilantro and salt/pepper. The result is a marvellous take on a summer oil-free vegan pesto that can be eaten with just about anything!
 

 

Vegan Pesto Recipe > Sans Oil and Healthy!

Please share with your friends and family!

Servings: makes a jar, so 1-2 servings per batch
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

The Simple Ingredients for the Vegan Spinach Pesto Recipe

1 clove of garlic
2 tsp of ginger
2 handfuls of spinach (organic)
1 handful of arugula (organic)
2 handfuls of fresh basil (organic)
½ handful of cilantro (organic)
16 walnut halves (organic and unsalted)
8 cashews (organic and unsalted)
8 sun dried tomatoes (organic and medium sized)
6 tbsp of lemon juice (organic)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Vegan Pesto Directions

Step 1: Get your food processor out and plug it in
Step 2: Dump all ingredients except for lemon juice, salt and pepper into food processor
Step 3: Blend until it is semi-smooth
Step 4: Slowly add the lemon juice and blend some more
Step 5: Add salt and/or pepper as per your taste
Step 6: Enjoy and share with your friends/family!

You can store this in a jar or container and it should last at least 5 to 7 days!
 
This recipe is adapted from a wonderful pesto from Vegenista.

Juice Booster Ingredients > Want to Elevate Your Smoothie or Juice Blend to the next level?

 
If you are looking for 5 new ingredients to add to your morning smoothie or juice, please read on! These five organic, natural and raw ingredients will pack your drink with lots of nutrition, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and trace elements that will keep you going through the day! If you missed SET 1 – JUICE BOOST INGREDIENTS, click here or our new SET 3 – SMOOTHIE BOOSTERS. Otherwise, here are 5 new nutritious ingredients that will give your juice a boost!

Juice Booster #6 > Just Add Spinach

An easy way to elevate the health benefits and nutritional value of your juice blend, spinach is one of nature’s best superfoods. A cup of spinach has nearly 20% of your daily dietary fiber requirements which will help in your digestive processes and lower your blood pressure. Recent studies also link spinach to fighting prostate and other cancer with its high levels of phytonutrients. Adding spinach as a juice booster also improves your vision, disease immunity, and brain function in addition to maintaining healthy bones and skin. Just adding spinach to your juice or smoothie will also fight inflammation. Spinach is also very high in antioxidants, which help in combating atherosclerosis as well as osteoporosis. You can find organic spinach at any local grocer or farmer’s market or you can easily grow your own. Spinach is one of our favorite juice boost ingredients!

Smoothie Boost Ingredient #7 > Just Add Hemp Seeds

One of our favourite juice boost ingredients at Just Add Good Stuff is hemp seeds. This is nature’s highest botanical source of essential fatty acids. Hemp Seed as a smoothie booster ingredient will aid as an anti-inflammatory agent, improving circulation and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. In addition, there are no known allergies to hemp seeds, so they are completely safe for people who are sensitive to lactose, sugar, gluten or nuts. In addition, food cravings are reduced and therefore, hemp seeds are often added into a weight loss program. A juice boost ingredient like hemp seeds will also help you increase focus and energy levels in addition to reducing stress. Hemp seeds are a superfood and there are several reasons for this. They contain high levels of protein (including 20 amino acids … and all 9 essential amino acids). In addition, the hemp seed juice booster also contains fatty acids, Vitamin E and lots of fiber. They are easy to digest and offer a rich source of natural phytonutrients, the disease protection that will aid in your immunity against diseases and infection. Just Add Hemp Seeds!

Juice Booster #8 > Just Add Maca

Derived from a herbaceous plant that is found on the high plateaus of the Ande’s Mountains in Peru, South America, the maca root vegetable has often been referred to as the ‘Peruvian Ginseng’ because of its many health benefits. Often coming in powder form, adding maca as a juice booster will give you lots of added nutrients and energy. A relative of the turnip and rash, the maca root smells a bit like butterscotch and adding maca to your morning smoothie or as a juice booster will help treat everything from chronic fatigue to anemia. Not only that, but maca in any form when consumed will reduce stress levels, anxiety, depression and help balance your mood. In addition, the maca juice booster can also contribute to clearing acne in a natural way in addition to promoting sexual function in both femals and males. Athletes use maca juice boosters to increase energy. WARNING > DO NOT add maca to your smoothie or juice booster if you are breast feeding or if you are pregnant.

Smoothie Booster Ingredient #9 > Just Add Lemon

Many of us forget that lemons help us balance our body’s pH levels. Although acidic in taste, once our body metabolizes lemon, they are alkaline which is the key to good health. Just add lemon into your daily smoothie or juice to boost your immune system as lemons are very high in Vitamin C and potassium. In addition, studies have shown that pectin fiber in lemons help curb food cravings and therefore have been an essential ingredient in many weight loss programs. As well, the smoothie booster ingredient also aids our gastrointestinal tract and keeps things moving in our digestive system. Another often overlooked property of lemons is that they hydrate our lymph system which prevents dehydration and adrenal fatigue. The lemon juice boost also decreases blemishes, acne and wrinkles, promoting healthier skin.

Juice Booster #10 > Just Add Seaweed

Seaweed has been around for centuries and it serves as an ideal choice for any morning juice blend or smoothie if you are looking for more Vitamin A and C as well as magnesium, iodine and calcium. Seaweed doesn’t contain any fat, and a serving only contains 5 to 10 calories, making it a great choice for vegetarians and vegans. The juice booster seaweed includes edible species like Red Dulse, Black Hijiki and Green Kumba, and all are equally nutritious and tasty additions to your smoothie or juice booster. Some of the health benefits of seaweed include aiding your digestive system and lowering your high blood pressure. As well, recent studies have shown that adding seaweed into your diet may have anti-cancer properties. So instead of just having seaweed as part of your sushi roll, try seaweed as a juice booster!

Just Add Good Stuff recommends adding some or all of the above juice boost ingredients into your daily smoothie or juice. Please consult with a health professional to make sure you are not allergic to any of these juice boosters. The 5 juice boost ingredients recommended in this article are: spinach, hemp seeds, maca, lemons and seaweeds.

WAKE UP AND DRINK THIS!

In our busy lives, we often forget to nourish our mind and body in the morning.  Some of us go directly to the phone or computer to check email.  Some of us need to take the dog out for a walk, or prepare a boxed lunch for our kids.  Whether you are busy or not, there is one thing that you NEED TO DO FOR YOURSELF when you wake up!  And yes, this is BEFORE any work or play or breakfast or coffee or juice or news …

DRINK A GLASS OF LUKE-WARM WATER INFUSED WITH LEMON JUICE AND TOPPED UP WITH BLUEBERRIES!

So why would you want to do that?

Firstly, after having slept for 6 to 10 hours, your body needs WATER replenishment!

Secondly, LEMONS will balance your pH (they are alkaline in the body!) PLUS lemons boost your immune system.

Thirdly, BLUEBERRIES will give you antioxidants first thing in the morning PLUS promote and maintain digestive health throughout the day.

Check below for more lemon health benefits and blueberry health benefits in addition to lemon nutrition and blueberry nutrition breakdowns.

So here it is … quick and dirty version for lemon infused water with wild blueberries:

Step 1: Get a glass/cup out

Step 2: Fill it up with luke-warm to luke-cold water (filtered tap water is great)

Step 3: Get a lemon

Step 4: Cut the lemon in half

Step 5: Squeeze at least ½ of this lemon into your water (ideally, squeeze the entire lemon)

Step 6: Take out the lemon seeds (they don’t taste very good)

Step 7: Get some (wild) blueberries

Step 8: Drop about 15 to 20 (wild) blueberries into the water

Step 9: Enjoy your water infused with lemon and topped up with blueberries

BENEFITS OF LEMON JUICE

1. Lemons help balance our body’s pH (pH balancing)

2. Lemons help boost our immune system

3. Lemons help our digestive system too

In addition to helping our immune system fight off infection and colds and to control high blood pressure, lemon juice is also helpful in maintaining our digestive process.  The luke-warm water in combination with lemon juice helps to stimulate our gastrointestinal tract and the peristalsis.  What the heck is peristalsis you may ask?  Peristalsis is the rhythmic contract of our intestine’s muscles which keeps food and liquid moving through our digestive system.  So lemons and lemon juice actually help in moving things through properly.  Other minerals and trace elements in lemon juice also assist in removing toxins trapped in our digestive system.  Now that’s handy!

4. Lemons clear skin, no matter your skin type

We bet you didn’t know this one! Lemon juice is now gaining popularity when it comes to skin benefits.  In the latest studies, lemon juice has shown that it can reduce both blemishes of the skin as well as wrinkles.  This is an added benefit of the high amounts of Vitamin C found in lemon juice.  In addition, lemons clear our skin by removing toxins from our body and skin.

5. Lemons act as a natural, non-evasive, non-threatening diuretic

Unlike many other diuretic foods and liquids, lemon juice is very gentle.  The latest studies have shown that lemons help flush out toxins and other unwanted substances from our bodies.  How do lemons do this?  Lemon juice increases the rate at which we need to urinate (do #1s) .. which means that more toxins and bad substances are flushed out of our bodies at a faster rate.  It’s really as simple as that!

6. Lemons help in weight loss

One of the key benefits of lemon juice is that it is very high in pectin fiber.  So what is pectin fiber anyways?  Well, it’s a substance that helps fight food cravings.  It’s been well studied and published that people who maintain a more alkaline diet and maintain an alkaline to balanced body will lose weight faster.  So give it a try (if you are trying to lose weight)!

 7. Lemons fight bad breath, especially in the morning

8. Lemons hydrate our lymph system

During the night, our bodies get dehydrated with the possibility of adrenal fatigue.  Because of this lack of water and food, our bodies do not function 100% right away and this may lead to a build up of toxins, stress, constipation and many other negative symptoms. Our adrenals are two small glands that sit on top of our kidneys, and along with our thyroid, help us create energy. They also secrete important hormones, including aldosterone. Aldosterone is a hormone secreted by our adrenals that regulates water levels and the concentration of minerals, like sodium, in our body, helping us stay hydrated. Our adrenals are also responsible for regulating our stress response. So, the bottom line is that we really don’t want to mess with a deep state of dehydration!

BENEFITS OF BLUEBERRIES

* Please note that we highly recommend that you pick-up organic WILD BLUEBERRIES (they can be found fresh or frozen in most grocery stores now).  Wild blueberries are different than cultivated or farmed berries.  A 2004 USDA study ranked wild blueberries as the number one anti-oxidant fruit, with 48% more antioxidants than the cultivated kind. Anti-oxidants fight free radicals in the body, which help build our immunity.

1. Blueberries fight disease

2. Blueberries help lower your cholesterol

3. Blueberries reverse the sign of aging

4. Blueberries aid in our urinary and digestive health

5. Other Blueberry benefits