Spiralized Zucchini and Carrots with Pesto

SO!  I was challenged to do the ALS Ice Bucket challenge by one of my best friends. (Have you done it?)  Of course you have to videotape yourself doing it. When I saw myself…..oh. my. word. It was time to face facts. I have gained a lot of weight since I stopped breast feeding. (over 10 pounds-which is on top of the 10 pounds I never lost after having Lily Belle so really I'm 20 pounds over my usual weight!)

Time to get serious. This may affect my cooking, baking and blogging (Who am I kidding? Of COURSE it will!!) However, I may not get to EAT the stuff I make but I still want to make food!

Here is one recipe that is "Weight Watchers Approved" (I joined WW Online-I need to PAY and be held accountable!!)

So I saw this recipe that someone shared and knew I had to recreate it. On the WW Tracker-most fruits and veggies are "free" which means they have no point value. You can eat them all day long!!

Here's the recipe I saw: Spiralized Zucchini and Tomatoes with Pesto

I bought a Spiralizer through Amazon. You can get it here: Buy Spiralizer!!

I changed the recipe a bit. I didn't want raw veggies so I actually steamed my Zucchini and Carrots for less than 10 minutes. (just long enough to make them less crunchy and the carrots a little bit sweeter.)

I then made Basil Pesto (using a lot less Olive Oil than I normally would!)

and tossed it all with some cherry tomatoes.

Simple, light and a meal that even WW would approve of!!

Is freezing Pesto Basil worth it?

Last summer I decided to grow Basil. For the first time ever, I tried making Basil Pesto and it was just about the best thing I had tasted in years. I couldn't wait to make more! So, I planted two Basil plants in my square foot garden. I nurtured them and took great care in cutting leaves in such a way that it would propegate and make more and more leaves. (Thank You Pinterest)

Here's how to propagate your Basil so it grows into a wonderfully huge, bushy plant. Save this tip for summer!
Basil-pruning-tutorial

Just a little shout out for my sweetie-we did research and then he made me an amazing Square Foot garden similar to this website.  (more posts on this later)
Square Foot Garden "I can totally make that"

I enjoyed lots of Pesto all summer long. When Fall arrived I had two large plants left and I couldn't bear to let the leaves go to waste. The big question was-is it worth it to freeze pesto? I'm here to tell you that on this FRIGID day in Jan with -0 temperatures and snow IT WAS WORTH IT! I made a big batch of pesto and then put it into an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I put the cubes into Mason jars and popped them into the freezer. Now, when I feel like having a little pasta, I pop a cube into a small dish and in an hour or so it has thawed perfectly and I mix it into freshly boiled pasta. SO worth it. And every bit reminds me of last summer and my cheerful little garden.

UPDATE: Today is April 3rd and yesterday I just finished the LAST cube of Basil Pesto that I had frozen last summer. It was still delicious, flavorful and WORTH the effort. This summer, every time I make pesto I'm going to make extra and freeze it. I will freeze every last bit!!  It was completely worth it. So nice to have something of summer to enjoy all chilly winter long.