Yes, that’s right…vegan cheese. Nut cheese sauce! Ever since I learned how to make cheesy cashew nut sauce, I’ve been addicted. After a trip to Leafy Greens Cafe and taste of their raw chipotle Zucchini pasta, I wanted to make my own a variation with vegan pesto and a new veggie meat product from Elianni. The result: wonderfully light but satiating meal that would normally be considered to some as a carb-overload.

Ingredients $18.00 (4 Servings)

For Pesto Nut Sauce:

1. In a food processor, combine the basil leaves, garlic, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and sea salt, pulsing until finely chopped.
2. With the machine still running, drizzle the olive oil in a steady stream until the pesto reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Store pesto in a covered dish in the refrigerator until ready to use.

NOTE: Pesto will keep for 2-3 days stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For Zucchini Spaghetti:

I finally buckled and after previous meals and teaser videos, decided to grab a handy spiral vegetable slicer from Amazon (often referred to as a ‘Spirooli‘). I wasn’t sure how much spaghetti one zucchini would yield, so actually used two. The results were amazing and took less time it would normally take to boil water for traditional spaghetti. I could have opted to peel the zucchini for more of a ‘true’ spaghetti but kept the skin on more color and texture. Using the smallest 3mm blade provided by vegetable slicer, I followed quick technique in YouTube video I found online (see demo below skipping ahead to 5:24 mark…and no, that’s not me in vid).

For Protein:

1. Rather than traditional meatballs, decided to try out the Mediterranean Veggie Roll by Elianni. Used about half the roll, dicing into cubes.
2. Add to stovetop cooking pan over moderate heat for 5-8 minutes. Optionally, you may add some balsamic vinegar and toss to glaze evenly.

NOTE: For additional Elianni products, visit their website at http://www.toeatwell.com »
(I personally cannot wait to try the Veggie cutlets in a new recipe, perhaps a thai dish?

For Serve:

1. Combine sliced cherry tomatoes with pasta in big bowl, adding your cubed veggie protein.
2. Slowly add pesto nut cheese sauce into bowl (may decide to warm the pesto or leave at room temperature before adding to pasta).
3. Feel free to season with salt/pepper and garnish with leftover fresh basil leaf.

Tags: Basil, cashew, cheese, Elianni, garlic, nutritional yeast, zucchini