Have you guys heard of the Whole30? It’s a pretty popular program where for 30 days you eliminate sugar, dairy, grains and legumes from your diet. It is not a “diet” in the traditional sense because you don’t have any specific quantity or calorie limitations on how much you eat, you are just limited in what you can eat. The program allows for vegetables, unprocessed meats, seafood, eggs, nuts/seeds and some oils as well as fruit in moderation. The creators of the Whole30 believe it takes 30 days to hit the re-set button and recover from the negative effects some of our food choices may be causing.

I’ve been wanting to try out the Whole30 for a while now. After our trip to Vegas and Napa in early February I felt even more ready for a “re-set”. I convinced Walter to jump on board with me and now we are 3 days in! I’ll be posting Whole30 recipes along the way and keeping you posted on how it’s going! (un-chocolate covered cheetah for the next few weeks 😉 )

Here to kick off the Whole30 recipes – Lemony Mint Pesto Zoodles!

Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but I am a big mint fan so I swapped out the basil for mint in this recipe. In your food processor, process mint, lemon juice, pine nuts and avocado oil (or you can swap in olive oil) on high until smooth. If you like, you can make the pesto ahead of time and store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

As a “kicking off the Whole30” gift to myself I upgraded my spiralizer to this one on Amazon from Bitoni USA. It suctions to your counter top, comes with 6 different blades and is only $29.99 – justified purchase 🙂

Zoodle-ify your zucchinis (I’m predicting “zoodle” will the next word added to the dictionary 😉 ).

Sauté the zoodles in coconut oil until al dente. Strain them in a colander to get rid of excess water released while sautéing. Meanwhile, sauté sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Combine zoodles, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Mix with lemony mint pesto.

This dish can be served hot or cold making it an easy dinner or just as easy lunch on the go!

Top with pine nuts for an extra crunch!

Lemony Mint Pesto Zoodles

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Chocolate Covered Cheetah

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Ingredients

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Lemony Mint Pesto

• 2 cups mint leaves
• 2/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Lemony Mint Pesto Zoodles

• 4 medium zucchinis (about 4 cups spiralized)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 oz white mushrooms
• 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 tbsp lemony mint pesto

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Instructions

Lemony Mint Pesto

1. Put all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor
2. Turn on high, blend until smooth

Lemony Mint Pesto Zoodles

1. Spiralize zucchini to make zoodles
2. Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat
3. Sauté zoodles for 2-3 minutes
4. Transfer zoodles to a strainer, let strain 10-15 minutes to get rid of excess water
5. Meanwhile, slice mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes
6. Heat another tbsp of coconut oil in the skillet
7. Sauté mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes for 2 minutes over medium heat
8. In a large bowl, combine zoodles, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes
9. Mix with lemony mint pesto
10. Serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold

Have you done the Whole30? I would love to hear about it or any tips if you have! So far the hardest part has been just trying to figure out if things are compliant. Lots of googling and time spent reading food labels in the aisles of the grocery store!

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