Japanese Pumpkin Pie (kabocha squash)

INGREDIENTS:
For the pie:
2 cups pureed cooked kabocha squash (Japanese Pumpkin)*
1¼ cups water
1½ Tbsp agar agar powder
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup yacon syrup
1 Tbsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp ginger powder
½ tsp nutmeg powder
¼ tsp clove powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the crust:
1 1/2 cup almond flour (you can make this by grinding almonds in a food processor)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp palm sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Make the crust first. Preheat the oven to 325 F. In a food processor, combine all the crust ingredients until a crumbly dough has formed. Dough should stick together when pressed – if not, add a touch more water. Press into a pie pan evenly, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make the filling, bring the water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the agar agar powder, and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, or until powder is completely dissolved. Let cool for a moment, and pour into a blender.

Add the cashews into the agar mixture, and blend until a smooth milk has formed. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again to form a silky puree. Pour the warm mixture into the prepared pie crust, and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until pie has set. Serve as desired.

*To make kabocha puree: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Slice a small squash in half and remove all the seeds and stringy material. Fill a baking tray with water about half an inch high. Place the the two halves face down in the water, place the tray in the oven, and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until squash is tender. Turn the squash upside down and let cool before handling.

Use a spoon to scrape out the orange flesh from the soft green rind. Place in a blender or food processor to whip into a puree. (The quantity for the above recipe is measured after the squash has been processed.)

Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars

Not too sweet, these one-layer moist lemon bars are an excellent grab-and-go energy snack at any time of the day.

Ingredients:
1½ Tbsp chia seeds
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup oat flour
½ tsp baking powder
pinch sea salt
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp shredded dried coconut, divided
2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup or agave nectar
½ cup packed soft medjool or honey dates, pitted (about 8-9)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 8×8” baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and chia seeds. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together the oat flour, baking powder, salt, and ¾ cup coconut flakes. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and mix again until distributed.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, apple sauce, and agave nectar. Mix in the soaked chia seeds. Chop the pitted medjool dates finely, and mix in with the other wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until blended. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan, and use a spatula to flatten out the surface. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp coconut on top, patting them down lightly into the mixture.
Bake for 25-28 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden brown. Cut while warm into squares. Makes 16 2”x2” squares.

Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate

An instant new holiday tradition! If store-bought hemp milk is used as opposed to homemade, I recommend Living Harvest brand – it has a white, smooth viscosity that is ideal for this recipe. Rice milk works as well, but consider leaving out some of the water as rice milk it is naturally a thinner type of milk.

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup water
1 cup unflavored hemp milk
1½ Tbsp shaved cacao butter
1½ tsp agave nectar, or to taste (stevia also makes a good substitute)
3-4 drops mint extract
¼ tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
In a small saucepan, heat all the ingredients over low for about 5 minutes (cacao butter should be entirely melted at the surface). Transport to a blender and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify cacao butter into the beverage. Or, keep liquid in pan and use a hand-held blender to whisk directly in the saucepan. Serves one.

Natural benefits: low sugar, omega fats

Sweet Seed Candies

Similar to the traditional Greek sesame candy “Pasteli,” which is made with honey and sesame seeds, these superfood candies take advantage of yacon syrup’s more complex flavor and healthy benefits. Crunchy and chewy at the same time, these all-natural candies are addictingly delicious. If you cannot find pre-roasted/toasted sesame seeds, use raw ones — just pop them in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup  yacon syrup
¼ cup hemp seeds
½ cup toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:
Oil a baking tray.

Over medium-low heat, warm the yacon syrup for a minute until it gets bubbly. Reduce the heat to low, add the seeds, and simmer for 3-4 minutes longer, stirring constantly.

Spread the mixture onto the pre-oiled tray into about a ¼ inch layer. Let cool completely (about 15-20 minutes). Use kitchen scissors to cut into squares or desired shape. Makes about 2 dozen candies.

healthy benefits: gluten-free, calcium, protein, essential fatty acids, low(er) sugar, prebiotics (healthy digestion)

© 2009 www.juliemorris.net

Apple Pear Energy Tartlets

As mentioned in my blog post, feel free to substitute like crazy in this quick recipe. Another great energy bar to use instead of the Vibrancy bars are Larabars (Apple Pie flavor), though you may have to use one additional bar for the recipe as they are smaller. The Vibrancy bars are my favorite from a nutritional standpoint, plus the gentle crunch from the sprouted buckwheat they contain is absolutely ideal for the base of a tart.

And of course, simply doubling the recipe and making one large tart works all day long.

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium sweet crunchy apples (aka Fuji or Gala)
1 medium soft pear (aka Barlett or bosc)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon
1 Tbsp yacon syrup (optional)
3 Vega Whole Food Vibrancy Bars, Original Flavor

DIRECTIONS:

Make the filling: chop the apples and the pear into a fine mince. Toss with pumpkin pie spice and yacon syrup until well combined. Set aside.

Assemble: Using a standard-sized muffin tin or tartlet molds,  tuck a layer of saran wrap into a cup to use as a mold. Break off half of an energy bar.  Press the bar firmly into the cup, coaxing the bar “dough” evenly along the bottom and up the sides about 1/2 inch with your fingers to form a tartlet base. Use the saran-wrap to remove the packed base from the muffin tin, then peel away plastic. Use the plastic again to form the remainder of the tartles. Liberally spoon in the apple-pear filling evenly inside of the each of the tartlet crusts and serve.

Makes 6 three inch tartlets

Healthy benefits: protein, antioxidants, high fiber, dairy-free, gluten-free

©2009 www.juliemorris.net

No-Bake Brownies

Somewhere between a brownie, a fudgey square, and an ‘oh my god’ exclamation, lies this fantastic dessert. Yet made with just fruits, nuts, and pure cacao, this treat is nutritionally on par with a natural energy bar or trail mix — what a deal!  Not that you actually needed an excuse to eat a brownie. Check out the No Bake Brownie VIDEO!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup raw walnut pieces
½ cup cacao powder
pinch sea salt
1 Tbsp – ½ cup Navitas Naturals Sweetened Cacao Nibs, or regular raw cacao nibs (use quantity to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix: Place walnuts in a food processor and grind for a couple seconds to form a coarse flour. While machine is running, add pitted dates, cacao powder and salt, processing until a moist, crumb-like dough has formed.

Form: Spread into an 8×8 inch pan, sprinkle with cacao nibs, and press firmly into a solid brownie layer. Cut into bite-size squares and serve. Alternately, press and roll brownie dough into small balls to make brownie bites.

Makes about 2 dozen small squares.

Healthy benefits: high antioxidants, magnesium and iron, dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free

©2009 www.juliemorris.net