PESTO "MEATBALLS" AND PASTA

Few things are as nostalgic or comforting to me than spaghetti. It reminds me of being a kid watching my Italian grandma cook in the kitchen who was famous for her meatballs.

While my boyfriend and I have been really digging Beyond Meat products, we've only been making burgers with it. But the other day I thought it would be awesome to make meatballs and spaghetti. A meal we haven't made in ages and it brought back the nostalgia for sure.

Since it's summertime, basil is in peak season, so I've been making a fresh batch of basil pesto pretty much every week. We decided to fold some into the ground "beef" roll it up into balls and put it on the grill. The result was delicious. If you've never grilled meatballs, I recommend it.

If you didn’t know what to make for dinner before, now you do.

This is so good, I’d get on it!

Pesto Meatballs and Pasta

Serve 4

Here is what you need: 1-20G package of @beyondmeat Beyond Beef 1 cup basil pesto, store bought or homemade 1 lbs spaghetti noodles 4 cups roasted broccoli

Directions Pre-heat the grill to 400f (you can also try cooking in the oven but it's summer so we used the grill) Add the beyond meat to a bowl with 1/2 cup pesto. Using your hands, mix in the pesto, and then form into 1 inch balls. Makes 10-12. Add them to a pan lined with foil and then place on the grill for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta noodles according to the package instructions. Then drain the noodles, transfer to a serving bowl, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup pesto and add the roasted broccoli. Add in the meatballs, divide among serving bowls and dig in.

And for more epic-ally easy & delicious vegan recipes check out my cookbook Vegan Buddha Bowls where ever books are sold!

CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ALFREDO PASTA (VEGAN, DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE) *Sponsored by California Avocado C

*This post is sponsored by the California Avocado Commission but all opinions are my own.

Combining my two loves in life: pasta and California Avocados. Such a good idea, if I do say so myself!

While I love my Italian roots, I am a California girl at heart. So making a plant-based, dairy-free (optional gluten-free, as well) version of my most favorite pasta dish, Fettichini Alfredo with California Avocado just made sense.

Introducing California Avocado Alfredo Pasta.

And let me tell you it is dang delicious.

The richness of the California Avocado brings the creaminess we all love from traditional dairy alfredo, while the cashews give it necessary thickness. While the onions, garlic, and nutritional yeast add a complexity of umami flavor and the lemon adds some zingy brightness. The sauce is so good on its own but coat comforting noodles with it and then weave in some mushrooms and you are in pasta heaven.

Truly, there isn't a soul in your house who won't love this!

California Avocado Alfredo Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons

• Salt and black pepper

• 2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, then drained (*see note)

• 1/2 cup fresh water

• 1 clove garlic

• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 ripe California Avocado, pitted & peeled

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh kale (for color)

• 1 lbs spaghetti noodles of choice (gluten-free, whole wheat, etc)

GARNISH

Fresh parsley

nutritional yeast

lemon zest & juice

crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve 1/3 cup starchy cooking water. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Once hot add the onions and cook for 2 minutes, season generously with salt and pepper, then lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes, until translucent, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 cup of the sauteed onions to a high-speed blender. Then increase the heat back up to medium and add in the mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes, then toss and let cook again for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Then in the blender with the onions, add the soaked cashews, fresh water, garlic clove, lemon juice, California Avocado, nutritional yeast, and chopped kale. Turn on low and slowly increase to high until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides or add more water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl combine the pasta noodles, starchy water, mushroom & onion mixture, and sauce. Mix well to evenly coat and then portion into bowls and top with desired garnishes. Enjoy!

NOTE *If you do not have a high-speed blender, soak your cashews overnight to protect your blender.

ALSO, if you have been loving my recipes then you I am so excited to share that my first ever cookbook Vegan Buddha Bowls is now available for pre-order.

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*This post is sponsored by the California Avocado Commission but all opinions are my own.

THINK THIN IS BEAUTIFUL AND FAT IS UGLY? READ & WATCH THIS.

Do you think that thin is more beautiful than fat?

What if I told you that attraction to thinness is not biological.

What if I told you there are cultures that see fat as beautiful and thin as ugly.

Would you believe me?

From a place of curiosity, not judgement, I would question someone who believed their biology was responsible for seeing thin bodies as more attractive than fat bodies, as if it wasn't influenced by current socio-cultural ideology.

In reality, the beauty standard at any given time throughout history is influenced predominately by the group in power and is used as a representation of wealth and higher class.

In the western world, thinness became socially desirable long before it ever became a health concern.

And there are several examples of how the female body is used as a symbol of male wealth.

Historically, for example, during the Renaissance, voluptuous fat women were the epitome of beauty, largely in part because it meant their husband or father had enough money to provide adequate food.

Nowadays, when you see a stereotypical unattractive man (short, bald, fat) with a stereotypical attractive woman (tall, thin, big boobs) how often do you automatically assume he must be rich?

Older wealthy men will have a rotation of young hot "arm candy" as a representation of their power and status. We have "trophy wives." The late Hugh Hefner and his bunnies are a perfect example of this.

And presently, we have cultures in the developing world where fat women are still seen as more attractive, desirable, and beautiful because it means their fathers or husbands are wealthy and can afford enough food.

These cultures value fatness instead of thinness which shows you just how arbitrary and socially constructed it is.

Watch the video below.

with a few caveats *it has problematic language regarding the BMI and spreads some misinformation about the impact weight has on health outcomes- essentially this video has Diet Culture undertones and is not Health at Every Size informed but it's powerful no less.

While I do not judge this culture for their practices, I do find this heart-breaking. And it's not much different than the external and internal oppression girls and women face in the Western world to be thin.

Determining a women's worth based on her weight has got to fucking stop.

Enough is enough.