Homemade Kale Pesto - Vegan, Paleo, Whole30 Approved

Let's start by remembering I'm not a vegan, I'm not even a vegetarian. I certainly eat dairy and items that aren't paleo or whole30, however, I like to try out recipes and meals that fall into these categories because 1) a lot of people choose these food lifestyles 2) its a fun challenge 3) I do feel better when I eliminate dairy and other inflammatories from my diet 4) if you want this to have cheese, go ahead and add it in! Other note, I had some kale that needed to be used up and figured this was a creative way to sneak it into the pesto. 

What I used:

• 1/3 bunch of kale
• big handful of basil
• 2 fistfuls of pine nuts (option to lightly toast)
• oil (grape seed is my preference but olive oil is great too)
• a big sprinkle of nutritional yeast (new at Trader Joe's it's just $2.99)
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt to taste
• 2-3 cloves garlic

How to:

Blend it all together in your Vitamix or another blender until you like the consistency. Keep adding oil and lemon juice to thin out.

Modifications (There are so many!)

• Use any other green like spinach or parsley.
• Use any variety of nut like walnut or cashew.
• Instead of nutritional yeast, use grated parmesan.
• Add avocado for extra good fat and a super creamy texture
• Just buy premade pesto from basically any store :-)