This is the most delicious vegan pumpkin pie I've ever had! The filling is from Elana's Pantry! You don't have to bake the filling, which makes it the easiest pumpkin pie to make!
1 cup coconut milk fat, from 2 cans *I use this Coconut Milk
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. maple syrup *I did 3T and 1/2T Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla stevia *I didn’t do stevia, just plain vanilla
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice *Made my own
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1 Nut-Free Egg Free Pie Crust, baked & cooled *I made a Paleo crust
Instructions
Place pumpkin on a plate and set aside
Get two cans of coconut milk and turn heavy side on the bottom, you want all the coconut fat at the bottom. Open the top and pour/save the coconut water into another cup. Then scrape the coconut fat out of the can.
In a medium pot, melt coconut milk fat and coconut oil until liquefied
Stir in pumpkin and maple syrup until mixture is very warm
Transfer mixture to a blender and puree on high speed until very smooth. *I don't think you have to use a blender if you are using canned pumpkin, it's already smooth.
Blend in vanilla stevia, pumpkin pie spice, and salt
Transfer mixture into nut-free egg-free pie crust
Refrigerate for 2 hours to set
This pie crust was NOT a nut-free, egg-free crust. It was Against all Grains' paleo "Honey Graham Cracker Crust." So, this pie crust isn't vegan because of the egg.
But it's really good!
With a few changes to the recipe, I replaced the honey with maple syrup and the almond meal with hazelnut meal because that's what I had.
It's so so good!
If you have food allergies or sensitivities, this is the perfect pumpkin pie for you. Or if you just want to make an extra healthy pumpkin pie that is gluten free, egg free, dairy free, and is Paleo, Keto and Low-Carb friendly!
Last but not least serve with some coconut whip cream on top...soooo good!
Coconut Whip Cream
1. The most important thing to do is put a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. To let all the fat solidify at the top of the can.
3. To open the can turn it upside down, so the cream is on the bottom end and then open it up with a can opener.
4. Pour out coconut water into another container and save if you want.
5. Scrape out the cream into a mixing bowl.
6. Add some kind of sweetener...white sugar, powdered sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave, etc.
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. raw honey (I subbed maple syrup)
1 cup coconut milk
6 eggs
4 Tbsp. Nutiva organic coconut oil, melted
4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. Nutiva organic chia seeds
1 cup organic blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 deg. Sift the coconut flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl or blender, whisk honey, coconut milk, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla. Gently stir wet mixture into dry ingredients and mis in chia seeds. Fold in the blueberries and pour batter into greased or lined muffin tins, until 3/4 full. Bake for 25 mins until muffins begin to turn golden brown and are cooked through. Immediately remove from tins and cool on rack.
*When baking with coconut flour you'll notice that it requires lots of eggs and that's because coconut flour recipes don't call for xantham gum like most other gluten free recipes. The eggs do the binding.
Preheat your oven and mix it all together in a big bowl and drop them into the baking cups.
It's from the Pioneer Women, which I love pretty much all of her recipes!
I changed this one up a bit though because we limit cows milk as much as possible, so instead of using the heavy cream I made a white sauce with butter, flour, and coconut milk. Very easy. Directions here.
I've also got lots of help in the kitchen! My little one opens the cans of organic tomato sauce and while another grates the parmesan cheese. Very helpful!
Mine didn't turn out so orange, but the family said it's super super good and we've had it quite a few times these last few weeks with organic pasta.
2 cans (15 Oz. Size) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
1 cup Heavy Cream
Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
Fresh Basil, Chopped
1-1/2 pound Fettuccine
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.) *Switch out the wheat noodles for gluten-free to make it gluten-free!
Family and friends who know of my food struggles/intolerances/sensitivities/decline in health would be jumping for joy for me.
For the last year I have greatly struggled to find foods that my body will tolerate/digest/breakdown/absorb. It's been such a rough year.
However, challenges can bring a monumental amount of strength and growth.
I always say, "You gotta know the bad to know the good."
And good health is SO important! You have probably heard the phrase...
"You are what you eat!"
Which is sort of true. The more correct phrase would be...
"You are what you can digest."
The hardest part for me was that for these last 10yrs. I've learned so much about good overall health, well-being, and diet, yet the harder I tried to eat more healthy the sicker I got. Weird I know. My body was having such a hard time digesting food and left me with little to no energy, constantly fatigued, which with both of these I related to having kids and being non-stop pregnant and/or nursing for six years = little sleep and rest, and losing a great amount of weight, eventually a dangerously amount because my food sensitivities became so great, I was left with almost nothing to eat. My diet has been so healthy and clean it's crazy....very minimal to no processed foods, no refined grains, sugar, foods, no dairy, no unhealthy oils, no this and no that! You'd think I'd be on top of the world eating organic, raw/cooked veggies, pastured meats, plant based, vegan, paleo, and all this healthy diet and that healthy diet. But, nope I've had such huge and extreme abdominal discomforts of bloating, gas, burning, diarrhea, constipation, cramps, pain, pain, pain. I've seen so many doctors and specialist both conventional and functional (naturalpathic). That eventually they say, "I don't know what to do with you." Great. It has been discouraging. It's hasn't been until I've been in my own way my own doctor that I've been able to put the pieces together and figure this out. Ultimately, it has been through much prayer that I have been able to get through this. There is only one heavenly being that knows what is going on with me and know how to help me. And how THANKFUL I am for a wonderful and loving Heavenly Father who hears our cries, listens to our prayers, knows how to help, and guides us in every way possible. Even if that means learning the hard way by taking lots of dead ends. I know that I've needed to travel these rough roads to have the knowledge of what wouldn't help and what would. It's been a slow road, but things are coming into perspective and I'm able to make much better choices about the way I go about this. I have read so many articles, websites, blogs, books, etc. about health and our well-being. In conclusion...OUR BODIES ARE INCREDIBLE AND SUCH A WONDERFUL GIFT. We think we may know so much about these magnificent bodies, but really we know so little. It is only our great creator that truly knows how to help and heal our spirits, mind, and body. But, we have to be in tune with our bodies and seek for that inspiration to know how to retain good optimal wonderful spiritual, mental, physical health. Which leads me to this video clip from Elder Nelson, a LDS Apostle, "God's Greatest Creation" I love it....
So, finally for me on this health journey I finally discovered what the major problem has been. And is called FODMAP's. Yeah, FOD-what? you might be saying. It's a crazy acronym for a crazy complicated name that stands for...Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, And Polyols. These are quote, "All types of carbohydrates found in many different types of fruits, vegetables and grains." And, AND..."The most common Paleo foods high in FODMAPs are:
Fruits: apples, avocados, cherries, mangoes, peaches, pears, watermelons, fruit juices and dried fruit.
Other: sugar alcohols (any sweetener that ends in -ol), honey, agave.
This isn't a complete list, but it gives a small idea of problematic foods. It's no wonder I was in so much pain trying to eat fruits, veggies, plant based foods, etc. All this research about FODMAPs is quite new too, within the last decade. It has greatly helped solved much of the IBS community sufferers digestive problems. I also have a fructose malabsorption again fructose is found in SO MANY AMAZING WONDERFUL fruits, veggies, plant based foods. Sigh.
Read this article that explains the FODMAP problems, diet, and explanation very well...
It's no wonder, it was my latest attempt at following a strict Paleo diet with supplements that threw me overboard that greatly exasperated my symptoms and problems. Inside I blew up with pain, inflammation, and lots of suffering. This last year has been quite terrible, but it very good to know why. WHY WHY WHY has been a huge question. But, the better question to ask is HOW HOW HOW, how do I fix this??? Slowly, but surely I am learning how to help my body heal and why it has had such difficulty. It's still hard to think about sometimes and I get so frustrated and miss my days as a child, adolecsent, and young adulthood days of a properly functioning and working body.
One day I will be better and stronger than I ever have been. That's a promised blessing and I will not give up and I will fight and I will win. It's taken a year for me to get a hold of this and things are finally calming down in my body to where just recently I can eat something like this among a few other things. WHAT A BLESSING. Seriously. "Count Your Many Blessings..."
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your Lord on high.
So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
So, all in all, to those wanting to regain your health, slow down, regather your thoughts, meditate, pray, and listen to your spirit, listen to your body.
