Pesto Sauce and its benefits

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh Basil leaves
1/2 oz of pine nuts
1 1/2 cup of fresh pasley
2 garlic cloves
pinch os salt
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp EVOO

Preparation:

Put basil, pine nuts, parsley, garlic and salt in a mortar and pound until you have a thick paste. For those of you lazy like me you can use a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and with a wooden spoon gradually work in the Parmesan cheese, followed by the EVOO to make a thick creamy sauce. 

Pesto is a great sauce to not only add to pasta but to plenty of other dishes. The benefits you may ask? Well herbs and spices are like anti-cancer in a teaspoon! Here are some to name a few!

Basil - This very tasty herb is packed with 2 flavonoids: orientin and vicenin which protectcell structures as well as chromosomes from radiationand oxygen-based damage. Basil has also shown to provide protection against wanted bacteria growth, its also a very good source of vitamin C, iron, calcium and potassium.

Parsley - This is the world's most popular herb and contains 2 special nutrients: volatile oils (limonene, eugenol, myristicini) and flavonoids (apiin, apigenin, crisoeriol and luteolin). Booth have been shown to block tumor formation, protect cells from oxidative damage and increase antioxidant capacity in the blood. Parsley also contains Vitamin C, Vitamin A, iron and folic acid. 

Garlic - A herb rich in powerful sulfur-containing compounds. Garlic is an excellent source of magnesium and selenium and a very good source of vitamin B6 and vitaminC. It has been shown that consumption of garic reduces the risk of cancer for the oral cavity and pharnyx as well as esophageal cancer. It also reduces risk for colorectal cancer, renal  cancer cell and laryngeal cancer.

You might ask why all these facts? I attended a cancer prevention cooking class and I got some very good healthy recipes that will help keep your body on a cancer fighting mood!

Have a healthy day =)

CM