Cod fillets with spinach pesto on barley with asparagus

Again not a planned meal. Stopped on the way home to pick a veggie to build a meal around. Asparagus was a decent price and looked pretty good. Then I thought of what I had at home and built around that. This was the result. Turned out pretty tasty. Since there is no processed food (except what I processed myself) I won’t do a calorie breakdown.

Cod fillets with spinach pesto on barley with asparagus

2 cod fillets
1 cup pot barley
1 lb asparagus snapped into bite sized pieces
2 cubes of spinach pesto

Bring 2 ½ cups of water to boil, add the barley. Bring to back up to boil and then reduce to simmer. Simmer until almost all water is absorbed and the barley is tender. Should take around 45 mins.
Meanwhile fry up the fish in a little olive oil with salt and pepper.
Boil smaller pot of water and toss in asparagus. Cook until tender crisp. Drain.
Combine barley and asparagus, season with a little salt and pepper.
Heat up pesto and spoon onto cod.

It serves 2 with extra barley and asparagus for lunch the next day.

Chia fresca

This startling looking concoction is a drink we read about in "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. Supposedly a super energy drink and all things wonderful. It tastes lovely and is fun to drink. Also something that is ridiculously easy to throw together into a bottle and take it with you.

Chia fresca

1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Stir all into a glass of water and mix it up good. Let it sit until it looks like a glass of frog eggs and then enjoy!

Gnocchi with peas, black beans, olives, and spinach pesto

This is a quick and tasty meal, especially if you prepare the pesto ahead of time. Change it up with any type of pasta (or a whole grain), beans, and veggies you have on hand.

I wanted leftovers since I was convinced this would make a great lunch the next day. So this recipe makes enough for 4 good sized servings. After doing the calorie breakdown (and sadly after eating it) I saw that the gnocchi adds a crazy amount of calories and the olive oil could probably be scaled back considerably. Not a healthy meal the way it is, but could be with some tweaking.

Tweaks:
I would also like to be using dried beans instead of canned, but this was a last minute lack of planning kind of meal.
I would like to take it down to about a tablespoon of oil.
Switching out the gnocchi for whole wheat pasta or, even better, barley or quinoa.
If served cold cucumbers would be a good veggie to replace the peas.


Gnocchi with green peas, black beans, olives and spinach pesto

2 500g pkgs of gnocchi
2 cups frozen green peas
1 540ml can of black beans
3 tbsp sliced kalamata olives
3 tbsp spinach pesto

Cook up the gnocchi according to the directions, add the peas for the last couple minutes. Drain and rinse the beans. Toss the gnocchi, peas, black beans, olives, and pesto. Enjoy!

Spinach Pesto

4 cups washed, torn spinach leaves, stems removed, well packed, 16 to 24 ounces
4 garlic cloves, halved
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. salt

Toss a cup of spinach leaves, the garlic, basil, and a little oil in the blender and puree. Continue to add spinach and oil until you get it all in there and you have a gorgeous green paste. Use a rubber spatula to 'encourage' the mix down to the blades. Add the Parmesan and salt and blend until smooth.

Any of the pesto you aren't using immediately can be scooped into an ice cube tray lined with plastic wrap and frozen into individual cubes of green goodness.


Calorie breakdown
gnocchi 1450 cal
green peas 213 cal
black beans 562 cal
kalamata olives 105 cal

Total calories: 2330
4 servings = 583 cal/serving

Pesto
spinach 28 cal
garlic 20 cal
extra virgin olive oil 480 cal
Parmesan cheese 60 cal

Total calories: 588
12 servings = 49 cal/serving