I find zoodles a great alternative to pasta, just substitute them in any recipe you would otherwise use spaghetti, linguini or fettuccini pasta. For those of you who are unfamiliar with zoodles, they are made from zucchinis that are shredded using a spiralizer, and the results are long swirly strands the perfect substitute.

I find that there are days when I am craving pasta, more the sauces that are mixed with pasta and that’s when I pull out my spiralizer and satisfy my cravings. The other day it was pesto sauce that I really wanted so I started experimenting in the kitchen and ended up with a healthy pesto sauce. Not only was this sauce delicious tossed with the zoodles but I made a few adjustments to the sauce and used leftovers as a salad dressing and as a base for egg salad. One recipe used 3 different ways – definitely a winner.

It’s a quick and easy recipe with minimal clean up – just the way I like it 😉

Creamy Avocado Pesto Sauce:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 fresh garlic clove minced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
• 1/4 cup walnuts (or pine nuts if you have)
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional or to desired taste)

Place everything into a blender and pulse till smooth. Add a little water (or milk for a creamier sauce) till desired consistency is reached.

This sauce can be tossed cold with cold zoodles for a crunchy cold salad or heated in a skillet with zoodles for a warm meal.

I added in some chick peas and grape tomato halves for a warm meal.

Creamy Avocado Pesto Dressing:

Use left over sauce and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to thin out the consistency. Add dressing to your salad and toss well.

Avocado Pesto Egg Salad:

Add 1 hard boiled egg chopped to any leftover sauce and mix well and top your favourite bread or crackers for hearty healthy lunch.

Enjoy 🙂