Start to Keto: Grilled vegetable salad with pesto (Low Carb, Vegan, Paleo)

Start to Keto: Grilled vegetable salad with pesto (Low Carb, Vegan, Paleo)

Recipes

2 people

oven, food processor (or mortar and pestle)

Preparation: 10 minutes – Baking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Grilled vegetable salad

  • 1 eggplant (aubergine)
  • 1 zucchini (courgette)
  • 1 large handful cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut or olive oil
  • Black pepper, sea salt and oregano
  • 4 handfuls spring mix
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 large handful pine nuts, raw or lightly toasted

Pesto

  • 2 large handfuls basil
  • 2 large handfuls spinach
  • ½ cup (70g) pine nuts
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or MCT oil)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Black pepper and sea salt

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes from my new Start to Keto eBook: a grilled vegetable salad with pesto. It’s packed with flavor, really high in vitamins and an excellent source of healthy fats to keep you satisfied and beat sugar cravings.

It’s such a versatile dish too! You can…

  • take it with you to work or school as a healthy lunch on the go
  • bring it to a summer garden party or barbecue as a vegetable side dish
  • take it with you on the plane if you’re going on a holiday - I always take healthy plane food or snacks to stay energized and avoid bloating; this makes a great meal to keep your belly happy :)

Or you can serve it as a light dinner with your choice of protein, that’s how I usually enjoy it.

Start to Keto eBook

If you’d like to find out more about my favorite sources of protein, you can read more about it in my Start to Keto eBook.

If you’ve never heard of the keto diet before, it’s a way of eating that will help your body to burn fat for fuel instead of only running on glucose (sugar from carbohydrates). You can find out more about the low carb high fat way of eating here.

 

Grilled vegetable salad with pesto from our Start to Keto eBook

Would you like to discover how you can boost your fat-burning metabolism, have more energy, heal your digestion and sleep better than ever?

Classic keto diets usually contain lots of dairy & meat and limit the amount of vegetables you can have (because of the carbohydrate content). I personally feel a lot better when I have more carbohydrates from root veggies and nuts + I believe that vegetables should always be the star of our meals.

That’s why I’ve created a Start to Keto eBook to offer you a plant-powered alternative to the high fat low carb lifestyle.

Enjoy this summery grilled vegetable salad!

Love,
Julie

Grilled vegetable salad with pesto from our Start to Keto eBook

 

Start to Keto: Grilled vegetable salad with pesto (Low Carb, Vegan, Paleo)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven at 350°F (175°C).
  2. Cut the eggplant and zucchini in slices, and the cherry tomatoes in halves.
  3. Put the eggplant and zucchini slices on two large baking trays and season with melted extra virgin coconut oil (or olive oil), black pepper, sea salt and oregano.
  4. Roast for 10 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes on top and roast for another 5 minutes or longer until the vegetables are tender.
  5. For the pesto: mix all the ingredients into a creamy sauce with the help of a food processor or mortar and pestle. Feel free to add a spoonful of water and/or extra spinach if the pesto is too thick.
  6. Serve the spring mix (or other greens) with the roasted veggies and avocado. Top with pine nuts and pesto to taste.

JULIE’S TIPS & TRICKS:

  • You can store this salad up to 3 days in the refrigerator, and the pesto at least 1 week.
  • I love replacing the spinach in the pesto with kale if it’s in season. Instead of pine nuts, you can also use hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews…

Now I would love to hear from you!

What would you like to see more of on the blog?

  • Easy keto recipes for beginners
  • Practical tips on how to get started with keto
  • More information on intermittent fasting and how it can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight…

Let me know by leaving a comment down below.

Grilled vegetable salad with pesto from our Start to Keto eBook

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Comments

Suzy

Julie i am also starting to go keto and would love to to post lots of recipes with plenty of veges and less meat. My body is taking ages to become a fat burner so im going wrong somewhere?? I think i may be eating to much protein.

Thanks heaps

Love your recipes

Cant wait for your book in english

Suzy wrote Reply

Hi Suzy, give your body time to adjust! It took me a year to get used to this way of eating and become 'fat adapted'. I'll definitely keep you updated about the English eBook! Have a lovely day, Julie

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