Zucchini Pasta with Mint Pesto & Roasted Chickpeas

This is such a yummy recipe, with so many flavors! Among the minty, cilantro-y, garlicky, lemony, salty zing, you forget you're eating zucchini for pasta. Not that zucchini pasta doesn't have it's merits, it's just not, well, pasta. However, zucchini pasta keeps my blood sugars nice and stable and for me personally, I will take that over the post-prandial nightmare traditional pasta inevitably brings any day. Top your zucchini ribbons or spirals with my creamy mint pesto (which can be made in under 5 minutes) and some roasted chickpeas and you've got a rejuvenating, nutrient-packed, and balanced meal. I really hope you'll try this one, it's so quick and easy to make, but the result tastes anything but effortless. In addition to it's blood sugar friendliness (hello high-fiber beans and lack of refined pasta!), this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, rich in healthy omega-3 fats, and made from 100% real, whole food ingredients. Read the recipe below!

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Mint Pesto
By Bailey West, B.S. Nutrition/Dietetics
Serves 2

2 zucchini
1 can chickpeas
1 cup hemp seeds (pumpkin seeds work too well, too!)
1 cup mint leaves, packed
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, packed
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse chickpeas, then toss them in 1/4 cup nutritional yeast. Bake for 20 minutes or until crispy.

2. While the chickpeas are in the oven, create zucchini "pasta" using a spiralizer or a potato peeler.

3. Put remaining ingredients (don't forget the other 1/4 cup nutritional yeast!) into a food processor and blend until well combined and creamy.

3. Toss zucchini in pesto, top with toasted chickpeas and serve!