I absolutely adore pesto – such a simple but tasty way to incorporate more green vegetables into your daily diet.

I turn to the ever wonderful Sarah Wilson for inspiration here, one of the masterminds behind the ‘I Quit Sugar’ movement. She features a terrifically easy kale pesto recipe in her I Quit Sugar books and on her website which I have adapted to create my own varieties.

Once you get the consistency you enjoy, it is easy to substitute different green vegetables, nuts and herbs to create some flavour combinations of epic proportions. You’ll never complain about eating your vegetables again!

Kale Pesto

I wasn’t a huge fan of kale until I started experimenting more with it in smoothies and pesto. The idea for this pesto is based on that of Sarah Wilson in I Quit Sugar but I chose to omit the cheese and experiment with greens and nuts instead. It has a lovely creamy consistency depending on how long you process it for, and I’m sure it could also taste good with a deseeded chilli for a spicy kick!

Ingredients 

• 4 large kale leaves with stalks, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 6 chives
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil

Method

1. Place the cashews in the food processor and process until fine.
2. Add the kale, spinach, chives, apple cider vinegar and avocado oil and process well. Enjoy!

Broccoli Pesto

This pesto makes an amazing, quick dinner when scrambled with two eggs!

Ingredients

• 4 large kale leaves with stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli
• 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 1/4 small red onion
• 6 chives
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

1. Place the cashews in the food processor and process until fine.
2. Steam the broccoli and allow to cool.
3. Add the kale, broccoli, chives, onion and olive oil to the cashews and process until well combined. Enjoy!