Mr.E going Vegan

[Mr_E]

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What are the ingredients?[/quote]

If i knew i would have listed them. It is a raw ingredient high quality pesto. The ingredients are not on the jar. It is without doubt ecological ingredients. I live close to the country and, so these things are found in the super market but they are produced by non corporate businesses.

[brimstoneSalad]

is it okay for me to frequently use the Green pesto that i bought? it is a high quality 26 dollars pr 50 CL pesto. Not synthetic at all. [...] It is a raw ingredient high quality pesto. The ingredients are not on the jar. It is without doubt ecological ingredients. I live close to the country and, so these things are found in the super market but they are produced by non corporate businesses.

There's no benefit to "organic" or "ecological", it's just marketing and fad diet stuff. The best thing is to save your money and buy fresh conventional produce. Buy whatever vegetables are cheapest: Veggies are veggies, and they're all good for you.

Pesto is made from fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, crushed garlic, and usually some salty cheese.

Basil, pine nuts, and garlic are fine. But the other components are not ideal.

I would recommend using up the rest of the pesto you have (or giving it away, no need to waste), and then making your own without olive oil or cheese.
Pine nuts provide some protein, but olive oil doesn't.

You could also make it with walnuts instead of pine nuts, which would be even better in terms of essential fatty acids, and it would be much cheaper (pine nuts are usually crazy expensive, which is a big part of what's making it 26 dollars a jar).

To make it, use either a food processor/blender, or a mortar and pestle (old school) to grind up the ingredients together.

Here's a recipe:
http://www.wholelivinglauren.com/new-bl ... lnut-pesto

|Makes roughly 3/4 cup|

Ingredients
1 1/2-2 cups loosely packed (washed) stemmed fresh basil
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1 or 2 medium cloves of garlic
1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of salt (to taste)

Instructions
Combine basil, walnuts, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the mixture turns into a course meal.
Slowly add olive oil in a steady drizzle as you continue to pulse the ingredients. Start with 1/4 cup olive oil and use more as needed. Process until it reaches your desired consistency. I like mine to have a bit of texture, but if you prefer it smoother, pulse a few more times.
Season with salt (to taste).
Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for later use.
Enjoy!

It includes olive oil, but uses walnuts and leaves out cheese.

I would suggest making that recipe exactly as it says first (with the oil) so you know how it turns out, and then the next time you make it, cutting back on the olive oil and trying to replace it with some water (maybe 50%-50%?) and see how that turns out, and if that's good, try replacing the olive oil with water completely. Also, I'd try adding more garlic if you like it; it's one of the healthiest foods in the world.

You could also use soy milk instead of water, which would add a protein boost.
I recommend brands that are just soybeans and water for cooking, without sugar or flavors (you definitely don't want a vanilla soymilk in pesto).

This brand is pretty good: http://www.edenfoods.com/store/unsweete ... ymilk.html


You'll save a lot of money making it yourself, and it will be much healthier.

[Mr_E]

Well i can garantee there is no cheese in this pesto. My mom always made her own with cheese and bought some with cheese. This is without it for sure.

[brimstoneSalad]

Well i can garantee there is no cheese in this pesto. My mom always made her own with cheese and bought some with cheese. This is without it for sure.

Oh, cool, so you probably know how to make pesto.

The practical trick with reducing or avoiding oil (leaving out oil will help lower the calories and increase the protein) is that the water can cause the nut paste to thicken (oil lubricates, and water thickens due to the reaction between nuts and water), and make it more difficult to blend, so you have to try to blend it up as much as possible before adding water-based liquid.

If you make it without oil, you can eat all the pesto you want without worrying about measuring or limiting quantities.

[miniboes]

Any updates, Mr. E?