It is finally that time of year for baking and for sweet potato pie! In Santa Barbara, where this summer scorched us through October, evenings are thankfully, cooling off. My daughter, the ultimate salad-lover, is making hot chai tea and sweet potato pie. With cooler weather, she craves the culinary delights of autumn, and the smell of pies and cookies baking in the kitchen.
But can you afford to splurge on these type of dishes if you are doing a Fall Cleanse? You bet–if they are gluten, sugar, and dairy-free. It is time we re-frame the idea of cleansing as restrictive, boring, and socially isolating. It will not be hard to find a Cleansing Buddy when you tell them this treat is on the Happy-Gut Makeover Cleanse!
Luscious Sweet Potato Pie
2 large or 3 small baked sweet potatoes (or yams), without skin
1 tbs. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tbs. vanilla extract
3/4 cup agave nectar or 3/4 cup date sugar
1 Pie Crust (recipes below) pre-baked
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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In a large bowl, whip together the baked sweet potatoes/yams, eggs, spices, agave, vanilla, and salt until well blended. Pour mixture into the crust. Bake for 50 minutes, until the filling is firm. Let the pie cool for thirty minutes. Serve warm.
Super-Easy Gluten-Free Cupboard Pie Crust
What I love about this crust is that it calls for ingredients available in your cupboard. Try using your favorite gluten-free granola, cereal, or cookies. I have used everything from Rice Crispies to left-over rice-flour cookies, and it always works.
3 cups gluten-free/sugar-free cereal, granola or cookies
1/2 cup butter or ghee, melted
Mash or grind the gluten-free grain until it becomes a fine, flour-like consistency. Add the melted butter or ghee and mix together well. Pour into a pie pan, and press it flat, so that it forms a crust on the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. Let cool before filling.
Gluten-Free Pie Crust, with Flour
2 cups almond or rice flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup butter, ghee or coconut oil
2 tbs. agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Stir them together until thoroughly combined. Press the dough mixture into a pie pan and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool before filling.
There’s Goodies and Then There’s Goodies
It’s one thing to just say NO! to sugar-laden holiday junk food. It is another thing to imagine going without goodies completely. These foods make us feel like part of our tribe. What is your favorite holiday treat? Is there a way to creatively transform your grandmother’s pecan pie recipe so that it won’t put you into a diabetic coma? (I found a fabulous recipe that I will share in December!)
Join me in a one-week post-Thanksgiving Cleanse, Nov. 30-Dec. 6. You will shed weight you may have gained during Thanksgiving, and learn tricks to save your mind and body throughout the holidays… and beyond!
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