Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Alternative: Creamy Apple Pie (Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

"It's like an apple punched me in the face," exclaimed my husband as he described this Creamy Apple Pie I made for Thanksgiving this year. You see, the concept of Pumpkin Pie is completely foreign in my family. I wasn't born in the United States and in Latvia we didn't have Thanksgiving or canned pumpkin puree on the shelves in supermarkets. But we did have apples, applesauce, and apple pie. The hubby and his family, although also not US born, acclimated much better to the American culture and the love for pumpkin pie. I can say he's obsessed with traditional Thanksgiving dessert. My family, not so much. So after years of having him be the only person eating Thanksgiving dessert, I decided to create a pie everyone would love. And I was right! This year EVERYONE ate dessert. And so I share with you the most delicious and unique Apple Pie recipe you will find! Creamy Apple Pie!

Creamy Apple Pie

Ingredients:
Crust (adapted from Deliciously Organic)
2 cups Almond Flour
2 tbsp Coconut Flour
1/2 tsp Great Lakes Gelatin
1 pastured egg yolk
1-2 tbsp Coconut Sugar
1-2 pinches of Celtic Salt
6 tbsp of Coconut Oil

Filling:
2 cups of Home Made Apple Puree/Sauce (see below)
1/2 cup Creamed Coconut/Manna
1 cup water
2 pinches of salts
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp Great Lakes Gelatin
3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp boiling water

Process:
1. For homemade applesauce/puree. Put 6 apples unpeeled into a Dutch Oven and bake them covered for 2.5 hours at 350 degrees. Once baked add 2 tsp of Apple Pie spice. Let this cool and then remove the apple cores. I made this a few days in advance.

2. For Crust. Put Almond and Coconut Flour, gelatin, sugar and salt into a food processor with an s-blade. Pulse 8-10 times to mix well. Add yolk and coconut oil to the food processor and leave it on until the dough forms a ball. Remove dough and pressed into a 9-inch pie dish. For those that like a thinner crust, remove 1/2 cup of dough and press the rest into the dish. Place into refrigerator to set.

3. For Filling:
a) Preheat oven to 325 degrees

b) Place 1/2 cup of Creamed Coconut/Manna, water, and honey into a small saucepan over medium heat until coconut and honey are completely melted. Remove from heat.  

c) In a bowl, mix homemade applesauce/puree, salt, ginger, and coconut/honey mixture into a mixing bowl

d) In a small bowl or dish, mix gelatin with cold water and then add boiling water and mix until gelatin had fully dissolved and the mixture is clear

e) Add gelatin into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients

f) Once the pie crust has spent 30 minutes in the fridge, take it out and pour the filling into the pie crust

g) Bake for 75 minutes, but check to see after 60 minutes to make sure the edges have not burned. If they seem to be burning turn off oven for 10-15 minutes and leave pie in there. Then turn back to 325 and bake for another 10-15 minutes

h) Remove pie from oven and let cool. After pie has cooled, place in the fridge overnight

i) Slice and Enjoy!!

Molasses Cake from Kathleen Grissom's The Kitchen House (Gluten Free & Vegan)

Recently over dinner, one of my best friends said she has a proposition for me. Immediately, I thought she was going to come up with a brilliant idea for a money making start-up. I began imagining myself as a COO of a hip, up-and-coming, company filled with smart and innovative talent. She interrupted my revelry with an announcement about putting together a book club. I smiled, while my get rich quick hopes were dashed and we discussed the details. In all seriousness, the book club was a great idea! Five us meet monthly to discuss books, motherhood, life, and a variety of other female-centric topics.

Super Moist Grain Free Vegan Blueberry Muffins Made with Tula's CoCoYo

I lived in communist USSR until I was 5 years old. Even at my young age, I still remember the long lines for food rations.When we came to the United States, the extreme abundance was overwhelming. Our fridge was consistently packed with cheap processed food, which, at the time, seemed so incredibly and miraculously affordable.

My new American diet consisted of sugary cereal and homogenized milk for breakfast, tater tots and breaded chicken patty sandwiches with corn syrup sweetened chocolate milk for my free school lunches, and for dinner we would celebrate our homeland with a more traditional dinner. My family also liked to shop at Costco, where we could stock up in one shopping trip and eat for the whole month. Almost every trip we made to Costco, we'd buy their muffin pack filled with 12 variety muffins. At 620 calories a piece and 32g of fat, these monster muffins were my favorite comfort dessert. My favorite was blueberry. I still can't believe how many of these I consumed as a child.

 

Nowadays, I steer clear of Costco unless I'm shopping for a birthday party and, every once in a while, I find some gems there like Wild Planet's Sardines and TruRoots Three Bean Trio. On a recent trip, I spotted those infamous blueberry muffins and decided to bake a much smaller and more healthy version as an homage. 

My secret ingredient in my blueberry muffins is Tula's CocoYo. This is my new favorite "yogurt." I usually eat it with homemade raw buckwheat granola to reap the benefits of the 80 billion CFU live probiotics (a lot!) per 1/2 cup serving. For this recipe, I decide to use the delicious stuff to add moisture to my muffins. It's honestly the best alternative to dairy yogurt I've ever tasted. Tula's CocoYo is all natural and is made with just 5 ingredients: raw young coconut meat, raw young coconut water, alcohol free vanilla, probiotic cultures, and stevia. I guarantee that you will not find a more natural yogurt substitute.  Tula's also has a line of Coco Kefir, which comes in the 3 flavors: Regular, Apple Cinnamon, and Citrus. The Coco Kefir, like the CocoYo, has a high volume of probiotics (15-25 CFU per 1/4 cup serving). I tried the regular flavor and really enjoyed its sweet and tangy flavor.

Crafty Grain Free Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Blanched Almond Flour
1/2 Coconut Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 tbsp Chia Seeds with 3 tbsp water
1/4 tsp Celtic or Himalayan Salt
1 cup Tula's CoCo Yo
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 cup blueberries
2 tsp vanilla powder
1/3 cup melted ghee or coconut oil





Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

2. Mix chia seeds and water and let stand for 10 minutes

3. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla in one bowl

4. In another bowl, mix yogurt, oil/ghee, chia gel, and blueberries

5. Add wet ingredients into the bowl of dry. Using a mixer, mix until all ingredients are well blended

6. Scoop batter into lined muffin tin (makes 12 small, 10 medium muffins)

7. Bake for 22-25 minutes

8. Let stand in oven for another 5 minutes and then let cool on rack

9. Enjoy!