Before the cleanse, I was constantly eating pasta. However, now that I am 18 days in, the same sad stack of Trader Joe’s ravioli lies dormant in the dark corner of my freezer, wondering when I am going to choose a package of carbs rather than a bag of frozen fruit before sealing them in that frigid gloom yet again. Little do these frozen nuggets know that it’s a long three days before we reunite…

In the meantime, I have found a recipe for a pasta dish to tie me over, and it even includes pesto. Nora, you might ask, how are you going to have pesto without cheese? Easy, I would reply, just use broccoli instead. Now, I won’t lie to you. This broccoli-based pesto is a bit of a reach from the real thing, but it is just as satisfying and worth at least one try. You are also going to want to make sure you have the right amount of basil, if not more. I did not and I think that made my pesto less flavorful. The lemon juice and garlic will also be important to have in order to combat this risk of slightly dull-tasting pesto. I would make sure to add these ingredients to taste. While this dish was tasty, I felt like it was missing something, perhaps a tang. I wanted to add sun-dried tomatoes to the dish for an extra zing, but the ones I had on hand were not cleanse-friendly. Worth looking into the next time around. Let me know how you doctored up this dish to make it more dynamic!