Primal Pies: Fill ‘er Up
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A few weeks ago we previewed a recipe for a flourless pie crust. Our only regret? We didn’t actually tell you what you could be filling those pie crusts with!
With the fall season now in full swing (seriously… where did summer go?) we wanted to offer up a few Primal pie fillings. Granted, some are higher than we’d like in carb counts, but when you compare it to the alternatives, it looks a whole lot…errr…sweeter!
For all pies listed below, we recommend using our flourless pie crust recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups almond meal
2/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp (approximately) of icy water
Method:
Combine almond flour and salt in a mixing bowl, stir in coconut oil and mix until mixture resembles course crumbs. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time, until a dough is formed. Refrigerate until ready to use. When ready, roll out and place in a pie dish. Fill your favorite fruit (we recommend apples, but blueberries are also delicious) and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until crust turns a rich golden brown.
Primal Pumpkin Pie Filling
What would a Thanksgiving be if there were no pumpkin pie? Here’s a recipe which, although less sweet than traditional (read: horrendously unhealthy!) pumpkin pie, is an excellent substitute that is sure to please the palate!
Ingredients:
1.5 cups fresh or canned pumpkin (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling, which comes pre-sweetened.)
3 eggs
3/4 cup maple sugar flakes
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
Method:
Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a lightly pre-cooked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until golden.
If you are so inclined, add a dollop of freshly whipped cream to the pie instead of that Cool Whip junk.
Disclaimer: Reader Holly recommended this recipe (thanks Holly!) as one of her favorites. We can’t attest to the maple sugar flakes, but we have to admit that they are compelling. It is basically dried maple syrup. Click here and here to view a manufacturer’s site for more info, and let us know what you think in the comment boards – especially if you’ve actually used them.
Fit Day Nutrition Breakdown:
According to the fine folks over at FitDay.com, this recipe as listed contains:
Crust:
Cal: 2463
Fat: 251
Carbs: 42
Protein: 45
Filling:
Cal: 813
Fat: 64.4
Carbs: 43.6
Protein: 27
Total:
Cal: 3276
Fat: 314.8
Carbs: 85.6
Protein: 71.8
Divided by 8:
Cal: 410
Fat: 39
Carbs: 11
Protein: 9
Good Ol’ Fashioned Apple Pie Filling
There’s nothing more American than good ol’ apple pie, so do your patriotic duty – without sacrificing your diet rights – with this delicious recipe.
Ingredients:
3 cooking apples, sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
Method:
In a large bowl, combine apples, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Spoon into pie crust and dot top with butter pieces. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until apples are tender when pierced with a knife. Cool slightly before serving. To punch up the recipe, top with some chopped pecans.
Fit Day Nutrition Break Down:
According to the fine folks over at FitDay.com, this recipe as listed contains:
Crust:
Cal: 2463
Fat: 251
Carbs: 42
Protein: 45
Filling:
Cal: 509
Fat: 1.3
Carbs: 135
Protein: 2.6
Total:
Cal: 2972
Fat: 252.3
Carbs: 177
Protein: 47.6
Divided by 8:
Cal: 371
Fat: 31
Carbs: 22
Protein: 6
Give these a try this holiday season and then come back with your comments. We’d love to hear how you think they taste compared to more traditional recipes, if the pies turned out for you, and what, if any, modifications you made to the recipes.
eszter, CaptPiper Flickr Photos (CC)
Further Reading:
Eat This Today, Feel Better Tomorrow: Dessert Edition!
10 Ways to Forage in the Modern World
SlashFood: Organic Maple Flakes
Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds
Posted By: Worker Bee
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Unfortunately in my experience, there is just no way to make a decent pumpkin pie without sweetener. I think we will stick to the apple this year which still sounds quite delicious!
I’d agree with you there Grok. I also have a tough time doing my pumpkin pie without whipped topping of some sort. When it comes to whipped topping, I’ll cave and use a bit of tasty, tasty artificial sweetness.
And on the apple pie, it still all boils down to what apples you use. Since there’s no sugar in the filling recipe, I’d suggest a sweeter pick.
The maple flakes in the pumpkin pie filling are great! They compliment the taste of the pumpkin very well (think pumpkin with a splash of maple… mmmmm), while adding a sweetness to the flavor. The best part is, if bought organic, they are 100% natural, have half the calories of other sugars/natural sweeteners, have a low GI impact, and pack a healthy punch of manganese.
Thanks for the info holly. I have a major problem with one of the links touting the healhiness of maple flakes. According to their chart on sweetners, Honey is listed as the worst with “White Granulated Suger” being the closest to maple flakes. If that is a list to show whats healthiest, I think they are looking at the wrong thing. As we all know from mark, everything on the list spikes insulin and should be avoided if possible. I would be more interested if maple flakes prove to be lower on the glycemic index but the website just says “Our sources say it’s likely that maple flakes are quite low on the glycemic index” which isn’t too re-assuring. There is also the question of volume/sweetness that they don’t really take into effect. It might take more than a tsp of maple flakes to obtain the sweetness of 1 tsp of honey… I don’t know if that is true or not, I am just speculating. I know that 1 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of refined sugar are not created equal. Until we see more research/info on them, I am just going to stick to the no-sweetner attitude that I know works for me!
I try to use powdered or liquid stevia as a sweetener. It is just an herb. You have to be careful though and buy a good brand, cheaper brands can have a bitter taste. My favorite is the little packets made by NuNatural. I keep them in my purse and use them to sweeten tea or coffee when I want a sweet taste. I also use in food I make for my kids that I want to sweeten for them. I am sure it could work in the pumpkin pie recipe instead of the maple flakes. Not sure about how much to put in but I am sure that info could be figured out with an online stevia search.
Jenn, you’re right that not all stevias are the same. I’ve had some horrid stevias. My favorite is KAL brand Stevia.
I plan to make this pumpkin pie recipe using stevia– I think about 3 tiny scoops should sweeten it sufficiently.
An alternative to pumpkin is permelon, a sweeter relative of the pumpkin. I’m not sure how common it is, but it grows fine here in Southwestern VA and I can get it at the farmers market. People make permelon butter with it, similar to apple butter, or serve it like any other squash. I’m sure it would make a fantastic pie filling, I ought to get one next week to try it out.
Only three apples for apple pie? I usually use 5-6! I like your crust recipe. I do something similar but less primal, combining oat flour and almond meal. I found all-nut-flour crusts didn’t quite work, so I compromised.
Nice to know the coconut oil works. I’ve been meaning to try that for a friend with a dairy allergy.
Debs
Food Is Love/Seattle Local Food
Thanks for sharing this crust recipe! I will give a shot with my dairy-free erythritol sweetened pumpkin pie this year.
My crust melted a bit cooking this for 30 minutes. Otherwise it’s good.
Maple flakes are pure sucrose though, which is 50% fructose by weight once the digesting system gets a hold of it. That hits the liver pretty hard.
I had some problem with the pie crust consistency. The 2nd time around I used 3/4 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup corn meal. Much better consistency. I’ll have to mess around more with pure almond meal and adding an egg or honey to make it stick better.
Thanks for the feedback, Kevin. Yes, working with almond meal for baking purposes can be pretty tricky. Sometimes it helps if the almond meal is ground to a very fine consistency. But be careful if you do it yourself. If you go too far you’ll end up with almond butter.
I also am having trouble with the consistency. mine looked more like oatmeal. I have it in the fridge right now trying to form. My coconut oil was liquid, is that my problem?
Thanks for your help.
Looking for a good Rhubarb and strawberry recipe
I recently ate a piece of fruit tart in Colorado Springs where the crust was made with almond meal, butter, sugar etc. The chef was kind enough to volunteer the ingredients but not the amounts. I certainly understand. But if any of you know the tart recipe, I would love to have it. Thanks! julie anne
I know this post comes a year late, but I’m hoping for some feedback anyway. I tried making the nut crust last night, and it was a bit of a disaster!
With 2/3rds cup of coconut oil, the mixture was so wet, it was impossible to form dough. We had to add twice as much almond flour just to make it somewhat solid, and even then, the crust is just dripping with oil. (Almost too heavy to eat!) Besides that, coconut oil dripped all over the oven and burned. Quite a toxic evening!
In any case, I wanted to check if the proportions were right, or if others might have had this problem. Because the pie came out quite nicely, otherwise!
(Incidentally, for our pie, we just used unsweetened pumpkin, spices, and some currants for sweetness. I don’t know why everyone else is all up in arms: I think the taste of unsweetened pumpkin is quite sweet, all on its own — I suppose some people are only comfortable eating what they’re used to…)
+j
Why maple flakes and not agave? I know I’ve seen some of the posts saying that agave is bad… but honestly agave has a lower glycemic index. I’ve had to use it because my hypoglycemic and it really doesn’t spike my blood sugar.
You know, when doing the pumpkin pie… all you really need is the pureed pumpkin and the spices… no need to add the other extras like coconut milk and maple sugar flakes… you can simply sweeten the mixture with stevia. I eat that mixture every morning for breakfast and it tastes just like the real thing… with even less calories then what your recipe calls for.
Agave Syrup is advertised as “low glycemic” and marketed towards diabetics. It is true, that agave itself is low glycemic. We have to consider why agave syrup is “low glycemic.” It is due to the unusually high concentration of fructose (90%) compared to the small amount of glucose (10%). Nowhere in nature does this ratio of fructose to glucose occur naturally. One of the next closest foods that contain almost this concentration of glucose to fructose is high fructose corn syrup used in making soda(HFCS 55), which only contains 55% fructose. Even though fructose is low on the glycemic index, there are numerous problems associated with the consumption of fructose in such high concentrations as found in concentrated sweeteners
[http://www.living-foods.com/articles/agave.html]