Quick confession: I don’t love pasta. I know, marrying an Italian stallion is probably off the table now. However I do love various Italian flavors – read basil. So when I had heaping amounts left over after making healthy Margherita Pizzas for a friend (don’t worry that recipe is coming soon too) I was like – I think I’ll make some homemade pesto.

But here’s the twist – once I started loading the ingredients into my blender I realized I was missing basil’s co star ingredient. The pine nuts. So I had to use the only nut I had, and the outcome was – well nuts! Check out my accidentally perfect pesto recipe and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (hello nutty RAD twist)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

1. Place basil, sunflower seeds, oil, garlic and salt in blender.

2. Blend on the pulse setting until smooth.

Makes 24 servings. 1 tablespoon has 37 calories, 4g – fat, <1g – carbs,  <1g –  fiber and 1g –  protein.