Sometimes Pie Is A Good Thing!

Having just gone through Thanksgiving trying to stay 100% low fat raw and struggling, I am reminded of this pie recipe I came up with last year. I think my downfall was trying to ignore the holiday and just eat fruit. It lead to feelings of deprivation and I ended up trying to indulge in regular Thanksgiving food from restaurants and not really enjoying it at all. I would have been much better off with my Raw Holiday Favorites like this pie!

I think the better approach for me would have been to prepare for a Thanksgiving meal and make the raw food that we enjoyed in the previous year. So what if it's high fat! It's still raw, much healthier and delicious and I would not have felt I was missing out. 

I think now I am better prepared for Christmas and the birthday celebrations we have coming up this month of December.

So in honor of previous raw holidays, here is my recipe:

Raw German Chocolate Pecan Pie or Raw Chocolate Pecan Pie

For the crust: 

2 cups almonds 

1 packed cup of soft dates (soak if necessary to make soft) 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

Mix in food processor until fine and crumbly and sticks together between fingers. Grease pie dish lightly with coconut oil or olive oil to keep pie from sticking. 

Press mixture into pie plate, making sure to push up sides as well. Place in freezer to set. 51 

For the filling: 

25 dates soaked for about 1 hour - drained and liquid reserved 

2 cups pecans 

½ teaspoon sea salt 

½ teaspoon vanilla 

2/3 cup cacao, cocoa or carob powder 

2/3 cup shredded coconut ( omit if you want just chocolate pecan pie)

extra whole pecans for topping 

Process pecans until finely ground in food processor but not too much or they get oily, then add dates, salt, vanilla and process until smooth. Add date water as needed to keep it from balling up into dough. When it becomes the texture of brownie batter, add in cacao and coconut ( if using) until well mixed. 

Spread filling over piecrust and arrange pecans over top. Chill in refrigerator to set. 

For the cashew cream topping: 

1 cup cashews 

1 cup water 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 ½ teaspoon agave nectar or raw honey 

Add cashews with just enough water to cover them to the bottom of blender. Blend until smooth and all bits of nut are no longer apparent. 

Add the vanilla extract or substitute ½ small vanilla bean. Add 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons agave or honey to sweeten to taste. Add more water or more nuts to get right consistency. Cover and refrigerate until cold, set and ready for topping pie. 

This is just one of my recipes  along with many other fantastic raw holiday menu ideas that can be found in Penni Shelton's and Raw Food Rehab's compilation ebook, Raw For The Holidays. Click on the link and look for the picture link to buy on the left side of the page. I have made so many great things from this book. and for $15 it is more than an bargain. I made things from this book all year.

I will be getting this book out myself and planning for our next upcoming holiday celebration. 

For now, I'm back to my clementines.