Basil pesto salad
As mentioned in my previous posts, I am trying to lose weight and in the process trying to get fitter. As you must have heard, it’s mostly (80%) all about your food & diet and a bit of (20%) exercising that helps you achieve your fitness goals. I now train with an awesome trainer (her name is Dona & no I am not her publicist) 3 days a week and do yoga 2 days a week. My Yoga instructor Vindhya is pretty awesome too but the bigger plus for me wrt yoga is that D comes along with me. He hasn’t moved his limbs (other than for zombie walking) from the time I have known him. Finally, he’s trying to get his lifestyle right and in the process trying to eat right & do a bit of exercise himself. What better way than to start with Yoga – such an awesome way to start your day and stay/ feel active through the day. Anywho, while exercising is going on on one side, I am also trying to eat right (Let me stress on the word TRYING). Trying to reduce my carb intake and making a conscious swap to salads. However, I can only sustain on salads provided they are yummy and are not boring. I have found that making pestos ahead of time (on weekends mostly) helps since it takes only a few minutes to whip up a nice salad for lunch/ dinner. Toss in whatever veggies you have in your fridge and then mix it with the pesto you have on hand – Result is some serious goodness on your plate people! Try it out and let me know how it turns out.
- 1 no onion
- 1 no capsicum
- 1 no carrot
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup paneer/ cottage cheese cubes
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning/ oregano
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.5 tbsp basil pesto *(See Notes below)
- 1.5 tsp olive oil
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Make basil pesto (link in the Notes below) and set it aside
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Dice all the vegetables thin and long. If you are using frozen paneer, then soak it in hot water.
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In a pan, heat some oil & add the garlic and sauce for a few seconds.
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To this add the onions and saute till the onions start to brown.
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Add the capsicum at this stage and sauce for a minute.
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Add all the other vegetables at this stage (corn, carrot & broccoli), add some salt and sauce for a few minutes.
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You can close the pan with a lid at this stage.
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Now add the Italian seasoning & red chillies flakes and saute for a minute.
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Once the vegetables are cooked, turn off the heat and add the paneer. The veggies should be crunchy and not too mushy.
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Once the mixture cools down a bit, add the basil pesto and combine well.
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Chill for a few hours in the refrigerator so that the flavor soaks up well in the salad.
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Serve the salad warm or in room temperature.
1. Recipe to make the pesto - Basil pesto
2. You can use any veggies you like/ any protein you like.
3. You can throw in a bit of cooked whole wheat/ regular pasta for added carbs.
Stepwise pictures
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- In a pan, heat some oil and add garlic. Saute for a few seconds.
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- Add the onions and saute till they start to brown.
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- Add capsicum and saute for a minute.
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- Add all other veggies, some salt and saute.
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- After a few minutes, add Italian seasoning & red chillies flakes and saute.
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- Before turning off the heat, add paneer. Make sure the veggies are still crunchy.
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- Once the mixture is cooled down a bit, add basil pesto and mix well.
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- Chill for a few hours before serving.
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- You can get the salad to room temperature or heat it a bit before serving!
