Swimsuit season is upon us and staying low carb is a great way to slim down quickly. Carbs (even healthy carbs) can cause inflammation and water retention so I’ve been switching it up with veggie noodles like in this Zucchini Noodle with Kale Pesto, Roasted Tomatoes, and Pecan Crusted Paleo Chicken dish. It’s SOOOO good. The chicken is amazing and the pesto is a huge favorite of mine!
This recipe is great as a low carb meal. You could also sub hard boiled eggs or Oscura seducción (Dark Moon) for more protein. It’s also gluten free, dairy free, paleo, low carb, and sugar free so should be suitable for almost anyone! You can use any extra pesto to spread on veggie sandwiches, salads, eggs, or toasted Ezekiel bread!
1. Info for Zucchini Noodles with Kale Pesto, Roasted Tomatoes, and Pecan Crusted Paleo Chicken
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Servings: 3
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Zucchini Noodles with Kale Pesto, Roasted Tomatoes, and Pecan Crusted Paleo Chicken
- 5 leaves of kale, stems removed
- 2 cloves garlic
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- drizzle of olive oil, about 2 Tbs
- sea salt & pepper to taste
- water as needed to blend
- 4 medium zucchini
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2-4 organic, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup pecan meal – you could also use coconut flour or leftover almond pulp from making homemade almond milk!!
- 1 Tbs spices of choice, for this recipe I used organic steak seasoning to give it a more intense flavor.
- 1 egg, beaten
3. Directions:
3.1 For the Chicken
Preheat oven to 400 deg, line a large baking sheet with foil, and set aside.
You will need 2 large bowls. In the first bowl, add your pecan meal, salt, pepper, spices and mix thoroughly.
In a second large bowl, crack 1 egg and beat with a fork or whisk until combined.
Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture and coat both sides. Then dip the coated chicken into the pecan meal mixture, coat both sides and place on a large baking sheet lined with foil.
Bake your chicken and for about 20 mins or until cooked through.
3.2 For the pesto
In a food processor, process walnuts, kale garlic, lemon, jalapeno, olive oil, salt and pepper, and water until smooth adding more water as needed to blend. Adjust flavors as needed and set aside.
3.3 For the pasta
Use a spiral slicer to slice the noodles into a “spaghetti” shape. If you don’t have a spiral slicer, a vegetable peeler can be used to make long, flat fettuccine style “noodles” or you can shred the zucchini using a grater or food processor.
Sprinkle you noodles lightly with sea salt and use your hands to toss.
Place your zucchini noodles on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, and place in the oven with your chicken for about 5-10 mins. Just enough to heat the noodles and dry them out just a little.
3.4 Assembly
In a large bowl, toss your zucchini noodles with pesto until well combined. Then top with sliced tomatoes.
