Easy dinners, easy dinners. It’s all about easy dinners that you can just throw together quickly. Usually the meals that are considered ‘easy’ or ‘convenient’ are not particularly healthy so I’m always trying to invent new ones to add to the website so I can go back to them when I am short of time.

I’m trying to keep my folate and calcium levels up during my pregnancy so broccoli is a must-have in my diet right now. Buckwheat also helps control blood sugars which is essential during pregnancy to prevent gestational diabetes, and avocados, well, you all know how I feel about this wonder-food!

Ingredients

Enough buckwheat pasta for two people – double up all ingredients if you need more. (you can also use brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta. Try and stay away from processed pastas, even if they’re gluten free.)
A head of organic broccoli
1 cup frozen peas
1 ripe avocado
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp lemon juice
5 Brazil nuts
Handful pine nuts
1 clove of garlic
Handful fresh mint
Pinch Himalayan salt

Method

Cut your broccoli into florettes and add to a pan of boiling water. Once it’s been in for five minutes, add the peas and leave for around three minutes until all the vegetables are ready but not too soft. Drain, and set to the side until you are ready to use them. Rinse the saucepan and add the pasta and boiling water and begin to cook as per packet instructions.

While this is cooking, make your vegan pesto sauce. Add the avocado, olive oil, lemon juice, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, garlic, mint and salt to the food processor and process until totally smooth. If it is too thick, add a little more oil and lemon juice. Taste to see if it needs more salt or lemon.

Drain the pasta once it is ready and return it to the pan, then add in the vegetables and pesto sauce and turn heat on low just to heat the vegetables and stir to heat it all through.

Serve once hot.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren