Broccoli Pesto Sammie Stackers! GF & BED!

You know what I love? I love how after a rain storm, everything smells so fresh and alive. There’s a crisp, healthiness in the air. We had a little pop-up shower this afternoon, and afterwards, it was so wonderful to open the windows and let the fresh, spring air inside.

evening lake sun!

Well, tonight, I made a kickin’ meal! My dad proclaimed that it was one of my best dishes to date! I made Broccoli Pesto Sammie Stackers! Brilliant Broccoli Pesto that was sandwiched between two crispy-chewy quinoa/almond flour flatbreads! It was amazing! And it was Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Body Ecology Diet friendly with a Vegan option!

wonderfully crispy crunchy flatbreads!

For those of you who are just tuning in, the Body Ecology Diet is an Anti-Candida diet. I’m on the BED diet because I’m in the middle of an Ulcerative Colitis flare, and have developed Candida. The BED kills the out-of-control Candida yeast by starving it of its food: sugar! So the diet prohibits sugar, and anything that breaks down into sugar. This includesabsolutely NO sugar, grains, dairy (because of the milk sugar, lactose), fruit, starchy veggies (like potatoes), sweet veggies (like beets and yams), beans (including peanuts), soy, fermented foods, alcohol, caffeine, mushrooms, tomatoes, night shades, and vinegars (besides raw apple cider vinegar). It does however, include 4 gluten-free grains: amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and millet. The diet kills the yeast — but very slowly.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Body Ecology Diet Friendly!

So back to dinner! —  *big toothy grin* :D

Broccoli Pesto Sammie Stack!

Here’s what you need! (Serves 3)

Broccoli Pesto:
1/2 head of broccoli, broken into florets and steamed
1 cup fresh basil
1/3-1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp – 1 Tbsp EVOO
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
5 cracks of pepper

Flatbreads:
3/4 cup of quinoa, cooked in 1 1/2 cups veg stock
1 egg white ((vegan option: 1 flax or chia egg))
1/3 cup almond flour
salt

Garnish:
thinly sliced red pepper
green onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook your quinoa until it absorbs all the liquid (about 15 minutes). Then, set it aside to cool. In the meantime, steam your broccoli in salted water for about 5 minutes, until tender and bright green. Shock under cold water, drain, and set aside.

When your quinoa is cool, combine it in a bowl with the egg white, almond flour and salt. Mix well to combine. Take some parchment paper and cut 6 large rectangles — roughly 8 x 11. Then, divide the mixture into 3 even portions. Put 1/3 of the mixture onto 1 piece of parchment. Put another piece of parchment on top and spread it out as thin as you can. LEAVE THE TOP PAPER ON…it will be a parchment paper sandwich! Do the same with the other 2 thirds of the mixture. Then, place the “parchment sandwiches” side by side on a baking sheet. (I had to use 2 baking sheets). Bake for 15 minutes as a parchment sandwich! Then, when you take them out of the oven, the parchment will peel right off! YUM!

Next, the pesto. Combine the everything except the broccoli into your food processor and process until it is pesto-y, stopping to scrape the sides several times. Then, add in your steamed broccoli and process for about 1-2 minutes, until it is thick and super creamy! Reseason with salt to taste.

luxuriously creamy broccoli pesto!

To assemble:
When your flatbreads come out of the oven, take the parchment paper off, and the cut each rectangle in half. Place one half on your plate. Place 1/3 cup of the pesto in the center of the flatbread. Place the other half on top, forming a sandwich. Then, place 1 Tbsp of pesto of the top, and garnish with red peppers and green onion. YUM!!

With this, I also served Lobsta Bakes‘ wild, ocean-caught cod! I baked it at 400 degrees for 25 minutes in 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder. Delish!

so delicious!!

This meal was outrageous! Not only was it interesting to look at, but it was a fabulous flavor explosion! The pesto was SO fresh and garlicy! It combined beautifully with the nutty quinoa and the sweet peppers!

the light reflecting off the lake!

And then the textures were spectacular! The pesto was so rich and creamy! It was luxuriously thick and wonderful! And then the flatbreads far exceeded my expectations! They were phenomenal! The outsides were actually crunchy and the center was nice and chewy. It was sturdy enough that you could pick it up with your hands like pizza! Absolutely wonderful!

Finally, I want to give a huge thank you to Kristy from Keepin’ It Kind. She nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award! I love Kristy’s blog so much. She has such a beautiful spirit. She shares wonderful stories and recipes, trying to make the world a “kinder place!” :) Thanks again Kristy!

What’s your favorite rainy day activity?

I’m a cozy-up-and-watch-a-movie kind of girl:) I also like to experiment in the kitchen on rainy days too if I’m feeling especially sassy!

Until Tomorrow!!

This pesto was made possible by my handy dandy food processor. I love it, I do. Here's the one I use: