I wrapped up the recipe testing for my book on March 1st and felt like I needed a break from desserts and then went to Austin for Paleof(x) and continued to eat by lots of treats, so April 1 was my hard stop. Well sort of. Not a great time of the month for me to chose to cut out my beloved chocolate and the bag of Enjoy Life chocolate chips in the freezer has never tempted me so badly. I've caved twice – once after a two hour battle for bedtime with Asher and once when I was crashing in the afternoon after a long day entertaining an energetic toddler. Word of advice if you decide to do the sugar cleanse: rid your house of everything sweet! Your sugar monster will find it, even if it's hiding deep in the freezer.

I've actually done quite well considering though and have seen it more as a challenge for recipe creation than a hinderance. I really wanted to put mango in my avocado salsa the other day to top a blackened fish, but that will just have to wait for a few more weeks! But you better believe that I will find a way to make a baked good or two during this detox all while keeping within the protocol. 🙂

This pesto sauce is killer and does not include parmesan cheese as my old recipe does. I am using it in a few savory recipes coming up, so I wanted to publish the sauce first so you can make a jar of it ahead of time if you choose!