pie

For Christmas I knew I would be traveling to farm country, Grand Rapids MI. I also knew I would be around wonderful cooked food, amazing baked treats, meat, dairy and with family who enjoy a completely different diet than my own. I have no issues sitting down to dinner with cooked food, meat, dairy.. whatever, to each their own and what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. I'm definitely not here to make assumptions or pass judgment on other peoples food choices, It wasn't that long ago that I would have enjoyed a big cooked meal for the holidays. I also knew that this meant I either had to prepare to enjoy some of my favorite cooked foods or bring my own meals, I went for both. I had delicious cooked squash and apples and baked treats, along with my first attempt at a raw pie! Hello raw-vegan sweet potato pie (a crowd pleaser)

I used this recipe for Pumpkin Pie (which I plan to make later) from livelifeveg.com

Raw Pumpkin Pie
Raw Pumpkin Pie Crust

* 2 cups raw pecans or walnuts (I decided to go with raw cashews instead)
* 1/2 cup soaked dates
* Dash of sea salt

Note: I also added dried coconut flakes that I had on hand

Blend the crust ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor, then evenly distribute in the bottom of a pie plate.

Raw Pumpkin Pie Filling

* 2 cups shredded pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potato flesh (I used raw sweet potato chunks from Trader Joes)
* 1 cup soaked dates
* 2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1 tsp freshly diced ginger
* 1 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp coconut oil (here instead of coconut oil I used half an avocado because it was what I had and because I try to opt for natural whole foods first, if I had had coconut meat I would have used that)
* Dash of vanilla
* 1/4 cup almond milk or water to help blend (here I used the soak water from the dates)
Note: I also added a pumpkin pie spice blend that I picked up from Trader Joes.


Directions:
If you donʼt feel like shredding the pumpkin by hand, simply cube and place in a high speed blender or food processor until itʼs nicely chopped. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until nice and smooth. You might need to add more liquid to get it to blend well. Pour into crust, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. You can top it with some raw chopped nuts or a bit of cinnamon if you’d like.


The pie was a smash hit and I ended up using some leftover ingredients to make a persimmon-banana-sweet potato-date ice cream and have been adding sweet potato and pumpkin pie spice to most of my smoothies. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed some great food and time with loved ones!

xox Stephany