Raw Vegan Ginger “Bananavo” Pie with Cacao Pepita Crust

Happy Friday! Today is 3/14, aka Pi Day. So instead of doing my bi-weekly Food Feature Friday, I’ll be posting a pi(e) recipe instead! This pie isn’t your typical pie. It doesn’t contain any flour, butter, or sugar. There’s no milk or cream. Yet it’s one of the creamiest pies I’ve ever eaten. So what is it, you ask? It’s raw. And vegan. And as far as the internet has told me, this pie doesn’t exist. Yet. Execpt for in my stomach. Right now.

I’ve been wanting to make a raw vegan pie for a while now, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. While I don’t follow a raw or vegan diet, I do tend to incorporate raw/vegan foods into my diet fairly often — and who says your diet has to have labels anyway? Anything that’s healthy, delicious, and REAL is good enough for me. I also wanted the pie to be GREEN for St. Patrick’s Day on Monday! So it’s a Pi-Patrick’s Day Pie. That’s a thing, right?

I’d never used avocado in baked goods before, and the interwebz told me that Avocado Pie is a California “tradition” — but seeing as I’ve lived in California, oh I don’ know, my entire life and have never tried it before, I think they might be wrong. The traditional recipe calls for condensed milk which is obviously a big no-no if you’re dairy-free or vegan. So I decided to add cashews and banana instead. (P.S. Banana + Avocado = Bananavo… get it?)

So what’s it like? The avocado-cashew-banana base is thick and creamy and while it tastes ever so slightly of avocados, the ginger and banana definitely shine through. The subtly sweet cacao pepita (pumpkin seed) crust pairs perfectly with the soft spice of the filling. And all you need is a food processor to make it. What’s not to love?

Clean Cranberry Chocolate Orange Pie – GF/DF, refined sugar free

Happy New Year! Here’s a recipe from some of my (post) holiday baking. Due to scheduling conflicts my family had a post-Christmas Christmas this year, and this is what I made for dessert! This delicious pie is sweet, tart, and chocolatey — the perfect treat to indulge in without feeling too indulgent.

There is absolutely NO refined sugar in this recipe, and no added sugar whatsoever in the fudgy chocolate layer! Pretty impressive, huh? This high-protein treat uses unflavored grass-fed gelatin in each layer, which helps things thicken up and stick together where more sugar or cream would typically be added. So if you’re still celebrating with loved ones into the New Year, try this treat as a nutritious alternative!

This recipe is:

• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Casein-free
• Soy-free
• Refined sugar free

Fresh Cranberry Cake: Dairy-free, Easy Gluten-free Option

The Kitchn, though more of a “traditional” recipe site (full gluten, dairy, etc.) is one of my favorites for recipe and cooking design inspiration, and one of my favorite tools in my never-ending quest for delicious GFDF recipe ideas. This recipe was inspired by Faith’s own Cranberry Cake recipe, which can be found here. The flavor of the fresh cranberries really pop against the sweet crumb of the cake. I’ve made this cake twice now, once using spelt flour (not gluten-free, but lower in gluten than traditional flour for those that can tolerate it) and coconut sugar, which yields a slightly darker cake, and once using Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour and organic cane sugar. Both turned out deliciously, so whichever flour or sugar suits your dietary needs is the one I suggest you use! To make the bread dairy-free, I used Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread.

Though the original recipe says it yields 10-12 cups, I’ve found it makes about 8-9, so keep that in mind when you select your choice of pans. Though titled a cake, I feel this is more of a sweetly flavored bread as it’s slightly denser than a cake. Whatever you decide to call it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

This recipe is:
• Gluten-free (with GF flour option)
• Dairy-free
• Casein-free
• Soy-free

Gingerbread Pumpkin Butter

Here’s a last minute holiday gift perfect for anyone on your list! Classic pumpkin butter gets a holiday makeover with a healthy helping of blackstrap molasses and ginger. Thick, creamy, sweet, and slightly tangy, it makes a great hostess gift or stocking stuffer. Just package it up in a jar, and top with a gift tag or bow for an extra special touch. Happy holidays!

This recipe is:
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Soy-free
• Refined sugar free
• Vegan

Four-Layer Paleo Pumpkin Bars

This recipe started out with me wanting to make a gluten- and dairy-free pumpkin dessert that could be eaten by hand at a party. But I didn’t just want to make regular one-layer pumpkin bars or pumpkin blondies, and I wanted it to have a little more to it than pumpkin pie – but it definitely had to have a crust. I found recipes for pumpkin layer bars, but they all had coconut or coconut butter, which I feel takes away from the pumpkin-ness a bit.

After much research, inspiration, and experimentation, I present to you: Four-Layer Paleo Pumpkin Bars. Almond meal crust, date-cashew butter caramel, creamy pumpkin custard, and crisp maple pecans.  They’re a bit of work, a little rich, and ultimately indulgent… but best of all they’re clean as can be. No refined sugar or anything :)

Be sure to keep the bars refrigerated until serving, otherwise the pumpkin and caramel layers will soften and become much harder to eat with your hands. If you don’t mind the mess or prefer to eat them with a fork (perhaps topped with some dairy-free ice cream?) then disregard this and do yo’ thang.

This recipe is:
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Soy-free
• Refined sugar free
• Paleo