Lose the Tube: Fast Fat Free Pesto Recipes

It's still surprisingly to me to see a self-proclaimed "health-oriented happy life" blogger buying "tubes" of blended basil, oil, pine nuts, and citric acid to make a pesto salad (let alone, buying pre-chopped greens).  I mean, how long does it take to put the ingredients for a very low-fat pesto into a blender or food processor?  All of five minutes to cut up greens and put it all into a salad spinner with water.  Cheaper, healthier, less chance of e.coli if it wasn't rinsed enough, and fresh.  Another 5 to 10 minutes to add the other ingredients and blend.  Takes less time then waiting in line to buy the tubes.  Although, getting "basil" off season might be "tricky" but if you're going to waste money on plastic tubes, you might as well spend the money on fresh basil even if off season.

Better yet:  try using spinach, or parsley, or cilantro (or a combination).  You can use walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, slivered blanched almonds, and so on.  If you want to eat seasonal, and it's like where I live (no local basil, unless from a greenhouse for months to come), use the alternatives suggested above and below. 

Miso is fun to use instead of parmesan as you get a little bit of salt taste, health benefits far superior to added oil, and a texture similar to cheese-based parmesan (just don't use too much!).  You could also use cooked white beans to get a similar texture when blended and as a bonus, exchange that pre-packaged and added fat for healthy fiber.

Here's some neat recipes that with interesting alternatives, and in most cases, clock in well under 1/10th the added fat per serving of said blogger's "shortcut:"

• http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/07/artichoke-pesto-pasta-salad.html
• http://www.fatfreevegan.com/salads/pesto.shtml
• http://stanford.wellsphere.com/vegetarian-article/fat-free-vegan-spinach-pesto/1919
• http://curlytopbop.blogspot.com/2009/05/almost-no-fat-pesto.html
• http://www.yum-recipes.com/Recipe/Uncategorized/5045_Another_Fatfree_Pesto.html

It just isn't necessary to eat stuff that comes out of tubes.  Not only are the ingredients usually inferior to the original (and the packaging wasteful), they are usually more expensive than the fresh stuff and contain a lot of fat as added oil.  The real shortcut to a happy, healthy, heartful life is no-fat vegan:  using superior produce and not adding oil (a processed non-food with negligible nutritional value) to your meals.  Added oil is not healthy for a wide variety of reasons.

Didja know that the word "pesto" comes from pesta, meaning "to pound, to crush."  A clear reference to preparation of the herbs and garlic, and, if you eliminate the added oil, not your heart as well.

Finally, you'll get extra life points for not adding the blogger's recommended oil-based marinaded artichokes, the oil-based marinaded dried tomatoes, and the 1/4 cup vegan cheese (if Daiya, mainly safflower or canola oil and coconut oil).  It's biologically insulting to your caridovascular system and is no shortcut to a happy, healthy, and heartful life. 

Comments

[Peter]

Hi Mark,

All too often pesto is considered to be 'healthy' because it is a concentrated source of greens but as you point out most pestos are very high in fat. Furthermore the promotion of olive oil as 'healthy' over the past decade or so is part of this 'healthy' image of pesto.
I don't like to use processed items so I don't use pesto however on occasion I do have access to an abundance of various greens. Nevertheless low fat pesto would be an excellent condiment for many simple foods. I guess I need to use a little more imagination i.e. roasted peppers, a small amount of tahini, or mustard could all be options.
Any ideas you may have would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Peter

[annabelle]

Do you have a favorite fat-free/low-fat cheese replacement? I'm wary of nutritional yeast (but also avoid processed vegan cheeses just because they're straight fat), and am wondering if there are good ideas out there that I've missed. You mentioned miso in the pesto - have you had success with that?

[My favorite would be dependent upon the use! I tend to favor the nutritional yeast/mustard "sauces."

However, here's some links that might be helpful:

http://www.godairyfree.org/Table/Recipes/Cheese-Subs/
http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/basiccheeserecipes/tp/Cheese-Substitutions.htm

Here's one from Bryanna that works pretty well:
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/661699.htm

She's done a few others (the Bechamel sauce in her "Nona's Kitchen" works well without the oil). Robin's got a fine "sage fettucine" sauce for pasta in "Planet Vegan" that uses a can of white beans as the base. No nutritional yeast, I skip the oil.

Again, you usually sub a little mustard for the nutritional yeast.

In general, unless you want to spend $$ on agar-agar or nuts, getting a "hard cheese"is tough. I go for more of a "custard-style" sauce.

Hope this helps! I seem to recall putting up several recipe links for such on this blog a few years ago, and when time, I'll see if I can track it down.

Best regards, Mark (oh, and check out:

http://www.fatfreevegan.com it's searchable]