Marilyn’s Blog

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes

Recipe for the perfect raw apple crumble pie

Raw apple crumble pie
Did you know the pectin in apples helps lower bad cholesterol by as much as 16 percent? This raw apple recipe is an easy way of spicing up your everyday apples, and turning them into a healthy gourmet treat.

Filling:
5 organic Granny Smith apples sliced very thinly
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp of cinnamon
2 tbsp honey
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg

Pie crust:
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 cup raw cashews
½ cup dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp coconut oil

Crumble topping:
¼ cup raw hazelnuts
¼ cup cashews
¼ cup quinoa flakes
¼ cup dried cranberries

Directions:
1. Begin with the pie crust by soaking the hazelnuts and cashews for 20 minutes.

2. Slice the apples with a mandolin and let them marinate with the lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and honey for 30 minutes.

3. Drain the pie crust nuts, then combine in a food processor with the dates, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pulse until it sticks together and is fine. Use coconut oil to coat your pan, then mold the pie crust and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

4. For the topping put the hazelnuts, cashews, quinoa, and cranberries into a food processor and pulse until fine.

5. Drain the pie filling, then pour filling into your pie crust and sprinkle the crumble on top.
Makes 10 servings

Nutritionist Julie Daniluk hosts Healthy Gourmet, a reality cooking show that looks at the ongoing battle between taste and nutrition. Her soon-to-be-published first book, Meals That Heal Inflammation, advises on allergy-free foods that both taste great and assist the body in the healing process.

For more amazing recipes visit Chatelaine.com’s recipe section

Thanksgiving kale salad
The cranberries and pumpkin seeds in this dish will brighten up any Thanksgiving table. The sterols and zinc in the pumpkin seeds help your immune system for the cold winter ahead. The earthy sweetness of the kale is set off nicely by the nutty flavour of the quinoa. I use both red and white quinoa for a nice colour variation.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (yields 4 cooked cups)
2 1/2 cups water, divided
8 cups kale (yields 4 steamed cups), stems removed, cut into ribbons
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries (juice-sweetened)

Dressing:
1/4 cup pumpkin seed butter (use almond butter if you can’t find pumpkin)
1/4 cup apple cider
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt (reduce if needed)

Directions:

1. Place quinoa and 1.5 cups of water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat for five minutes, then fluff with a fork. Let cool.

2. Place kale and 1 cup water in a large pot and steam for two minutes. Drain well.

3. Place cooked qunioa into kale pot. Add seeds and berries. Mix well to combine.

4. Mix all dressing ingredients together in a bowl and add to pot.

5. Combine well. Serve warm immediately or chill and serve.

Makes nine cups.

For more amazing Thanksgiving recipes visit Chatelaine.com/en/thanksgiving.

Pumpkin pie with an easy and delicious gluten-free crust

  • Angela Liddon Mon Dec 12 2011
Photo credit: Angela Liddon

 

Making a pie from scratch has to be one of the most feared tasks of all time. I would say it ranks right up there with bread baking, public speaking, and drinking something green. I always had this expectation that everything had to go perfectly for my pie to turn out. If my dough ripped while putting it in the dish I would just about have a heart attack.

These days I’m more relaxed when tackling a pie crust. That comes from practice (and a bit of bourbon-spiked apple cider doesn’t hurt the process either!). I’ve learned that each pie crust tends to turn out a bit differently. Plus, when a pie crust doesn’t turn out as expected just call it a “rustic” pie and everyone thinks you are a culinary genius!

This fall, I tested a traditional lattice pie crust, a healthier spelt crust, and a gluten-free, nut-based crust. You can imagine my delight when I discovered that the best-tasting and easiest crust was the gluten-free, nut-based crust. This sweet and salty spiced pecan crust has an amazing nutty flavor, smells incredible while baking, and pairs perfectly with the pumpkin pie filling. No fussy pie crust required.

Vegan pumpkin pie with gluten-free pecan crust

This crust is absolutely worth every calorie, and then some! It’s a bit sweet, buttery, lightly spiced with cinnamon, and enhanced with a bit of salt to bring out the flavours. Best of all, no rolling is required. The lightly sweetened and spiced filling is a perfect complement to the nutty crust. For best results, allow the crust to chill in the fridge for at least four hours after cooling on a rack. The crust is very sensitive to changes, so I caution against changing a lot of things in the recipe.

Ingredients:
Make sure to use certified gluten-free ingredients if you want it to be gluten-free.

For the crust:

1 cup gluten-free certified rolled oats, processed into a fine flour OR 1 cup GF oat flour
2 cups raw pecans
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp ground flax
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (acts as the binder, honey may work if you prefer that)
1 tbsp Earth Balance, melted or other non-dairy margarine

For the filling:
2 & 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup natural cane sugar or brown sugar
1/4 cup full-fat coconut cream (or almond milk), softened
1 tbsp Earth Balance, softened or other non-dairy margarine
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves

Directions:

For the crust:

1. Grease a 9-inch pie dish and preheat the oven to 350F. In a blender, process your oats into a very fine flour. If you don’t think your machine can get the oats fine enough, then I suggest buying oat flour from Bulk Barn or other store. The oat flour needs to be very fine in this crust, not flaky or chunky. Remove oat flour and place into a large bowl.

2. In a food processor, add 2 cups pecans and process until it starts to clump and oils start to release (about 35 secs), but don’t make pecan butter either. You should be able to make a ball with the pecan dough.

3. Melt earth balance with brown rice syrup for about 30 secs in microwave. Stir. Transfer clumpy pecan mixture into a large bowl with oat flour and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Using your hands, squeeze the dough over and over to combine very well. You should be able to form a ball with it. If it’s too dry add a bit more oil.

4. Spoon the pecan dough onto the greased pie dish and smooth out evenly. Press down firmly with fingers to form a crust, bringing it up along the sides. Press as firmly as you can. Prick base with fork 12-13 times. Prebake crust at 350F for 14 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. Remove and cool for 10 mins.

For the filling:
1. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) until no clumps remain. Now add all ingredients and whisk together, adjusting spices to taste. Add more sweetener if desired.

To bake:
1. Scoop the filling into the pre-baked and cooled crust. Smooth out with a spoon. Bake for 30 mins at 350F. Remove and cover crust edges with tinfoil or crust shield (this is necessary or it burns). Bake for another 25 mins, checking crust after 15 mins or so. Place on cooling rack for 1 hour. Transfer to fridge to set for a minimum of 3-4 hours or overnight. (This step is very important!) Do not slice pie until it has set in the fridge for 3 hours minimum.

2. Slice with a very sharp knife, very slowly and carefully for best results. A bit of crumbling may occur, but that’s ok because it’s rustic and made from scratch! The main part is it tastes incredible. Yum!

Angela Liddon is the creator of Oh She Glows — a popular healthy vegan recipe website receiving over 1.6 million page views a month — and one of Chatelaine’s Women of the Year 2011. Angela’s passion for healthy vegan food is contagious and she’s eager to show others that vegan (and often gluten-free) food can blow your taste buds away.