Have you ever heard of Beyonce’s Maple Syrup Diet Cleanse? It is just water, lemon juice, cayenne, and maple syrup. I like the lemon and the cayenne part of the cleanse, but the maple syrup? No, no, no! Switch that out with coconut oil, and you now have a fat-burning meal that won’t cause you to be “hangry” (hungry and angry).
As I thought about people actually doing the crazy maple syrup diet, I thought, hmm, I can make a recipe that will really stimulate fat burning. So I made this pesto, which includes lime juice for cleansing, coconut oil for ketones, basil for phytonutrients (herbs have way more vitamins and minerals than any fruit or vegetable has), and cayenne pepper for calorie burning. Spicy peppers cause the body temperature to rise. When the body temperature rises, it needs to be cooled. You burn extra calories when the body is forced to go through a cooling process. The downside of this trick is that when you become accustomed to spicy foods, it takes more spice to raise your body temperature. You basically build up a tolerance.
So if you like pesto sauce, you must try this great “pure protein and fat” dinner I had last night with kelp noodles. If you cook the kelp noodles in a slow cooker on low for eight hours with the pesto, the noodles get really soft and suck up that pesto goodness! But do not buy pre-made pesto—mmake your own! Store-bought pesto often has soybean oil. Even if it is made with olive oil, you can increase your level of fat burning if you make it with coconut oil or MCT oil! Olive oil is a long-chain triglyceride; I always use liquid MCT oil in my recipes and salad dressings. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are different than long-chain triglycerides. MCTs are absorbed more like carbohydrates and are used and burned quickly by the body. They are not stored in the fat cells, and any extras are converted into ketones. (I used protein bread to make garlic bread with my meal to keep it “pure protein and fat.”)
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 package kelp noodles
• 2 cups basil (compacted/pushed down)
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil (can substitute with macadamia nut oil)
• 4 tbsp. MCT oil (can substitute with coconut oil)
• ¼ cup walnuts
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp. fresh red chili (add more or less, depending on desired heat)
• 2 tbsp. lime juice (optional)
• ⅓ tsp Celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (if not dairy-sensitive)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place basil, oil, walnuts, garlic, chilis, lime juice, salt, and pepper into a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Place the kelp noodles with the pesto into a 4-quart slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours. The kelp noodles will get very soft.
3. Serve with protein bread. To make “garlic bread,” brush protein bread with macadamia nut oil and rub roasted garlic on it, then cook in the oven at 400 degrees F for 3 to 6 minutes or until toasted. Makes 4 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (PER SERVING)
TRADITIONAL PESTO NOODLES =
628 CALORIES, 35.4G FAT, 14G PROTEIN, 65.3G CARBS, 1.3G FIBER
“HEALTHIFIED” PESTO NOODLES
300 CALORIES, 32G FAT, 2G PROTEIN, 3G CARBS, 1.3G FIBER
(95% FAT, 2% PROTEIN, 3% CARBS)
