Blueberry Pie with Whole30 Crust

This post has me grinning from ear to ear. 

 

I've been looking for some dairy-free dessert options, thinking about making a cobbler or pie but wasn't sure I wanted to conquer that. But bang! It's mid-summer and berries are bountiful, so I finally took the plunge! 

I'm so glad I did. 

 

This pie is wonderful! A great dessert but not so sweet that it feels like you're maxing out in sugars and will be left with a food hangover. 

I tried a few different crust variations and am so pleased with how this turned out! 

Enough about me, let's get into the recipe already!

Ingredients

For the filling: 

3 cups (or more) blueberries

1/2 cup coconut sugar

3 Tablespoons potato starch (or arrowroot starch)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

6 Tablespoons coconut flour

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a pie plate with coconut oil, set aside.

Combine filling ingredients in a storage bowl with a lid. Lightly mash a few berries (with a masher or fork) to burst them and get their juices flowing. Secure lid of bowl and shake vigorously to toss all of your ingredients together, stir if necessary, set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine all of the crust ingredients until dough forms. It will be a bit crumbly but should come together better once you roll it out. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap. Lay a second piece of plastic wrap over dough and roll out to no thicker than 1/4 inch. 

Carefully move dough to pie plate and press around to smooth. If you have cracks or tears in your dough just piece it back together by hand. Pastry work can be tricky especially when you're working grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. Give yourself some grace here. It's will still be delicious! You'll have enough dough to make the bottom crust and a top crust, I opted for some cookie cutter stars since it's almost July 4, and top crusts are even tougher to wrangle. I sprinkled the tops of my stars with coconut sugar just for an added touch of sweet.

 

Once your crust is in place spoon your filling over the crust. Add top crust (with slits to vent) and pinch the edges together OR decorate with crust cutouts. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes then loosely cover with foil and return to bake another 20 minutes.

 

The perfect pairing with this pie? Coco Whip! 

 

Yep, think of our Ol friend Cool Whip after a Whole30. It's made by So Delicious, it's Dairy-Free and Dang Delicious!

I bought mine at Sprouts and brought them to the beach with me since I was pretty sure I couldn't easily find any down here. I'm so glad I did! This was the first time we've tried it and it was awesome! 

I hope you'll believe me when I tell you this is a delicious dessert and simple to put together! I read lots and lots and lots  of pie recipes before trying this out. I got the gist of Paleo crust making but then simplified things because sometimes I feel like some cooks who are trying to create paleo/whole30 recipes are trying too hard to show off their culinary skills when all we really want to do is make something delicious without going to too much trouble. 

There are only 10 ingredients in the whole thing and it's great and festive and a wonderful dessert for the whole family! 

It's also divine when typing up a late-night blog post about pie! 

I hope you enjoy sharing this with your family! 

 

Dairy Free Sour Cream Saves the Day! -Whole30

Since giving up dairy, I've wanted to make sure we didn't feel like we were missing out on any of our favorites and Mexican food is certainly a favorite in our house. 

It was well after I completed my Whole30 that I discovered this little life saver, so I'm making sure to mark this recipe as a Whole30 Must-Have because its so simple and really satisfying. All you need is a can of unsweetened organic coconut milk, some citrus, a little salt and a mixer. 

It literally couldn't be any easier to make your own fresh and delicious dairy-free sour cream!

 

Ingredients

1 chilled can of unsweetened, full fat coconut milk (organic is preferred- -I use Thai Kitchen)

Juice of 1 lemon or 3 limes

Salt to taste

Method

Turn can of refrigerated coconut milk upside down, open the can and pour off the liquid. Spoon the cream into a small bowl. Squeeze in lime juice and add a dash of salt. Mix with the whisk attachment of a handheld mixer on high for about 30 seconds. Enjoy!

 

Comfort Food Stuffed Peppers- Whole30

You guys. 

Growing up stuffed peppers were always a favorite. I always asked my mom to make them for my birthday, I make extra filling every time I make them because I love it and can eat it by the bowlful.

But the way my mom makes them and therefore the way I've always made them they have rice and corn and oh yes, Velveeta. Since completing my 1st Whole30 and cleaning up what I eat for months and months those ingredients are off my list. 

I've seen lots of recipes out there for Whole30 compliant stuffed peppers, and read through them but none seemed like they would even compare to my childhood favorite. So, I decided to just go for it and use the skills I've gained using different veggies in new ways and come up with my own. 

Its a winner! These have a great, rich texture. You might swear you're eating rice when you taste this filling. This recipe makes enough filling for 8 generous peppers-- but I just stuff 4 peppers and keep half of the filling (freeze it for next time, eat it for lunch with a salad, use it another night with some zoodles or a baked potato--I've done it all!)

Ingredients

2 pounds ground venison (or lean beef, or bison or whatever your red meat of choice is--mix it up if you want)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

4 red bell peppers tops, seeds and membranes removed (or 8 if you want to use all of the filling now!)

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 medium squash, grated

1 medium zucchini, grated

1/2 onion, grated

1/2 head of cauliflower, grated

1 can organic tomato sauce ( I used Muir Glen from Publix)

1/2 cup organic Chicken Stock (I use the Kirkland's brand from Costco)

2 Tablespoons Coconut oil

1 Tablespoon Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method

Preaheat oven to 350, drizzle olive oil over prepped peppers and place them upside in a glass baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile melt coconut oil in a large saucepan or pasta pot over medium high heat to brown your meat, season with garlic powder and place a small skillet over medium heat.Add cauliflower and chicken stock to the skillet, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. Brown meat then drain and set aside. In the same pot saute diced bell pepper, squash, zucchini and onion. 

Now is a good time to add salt and pepper to the veggies and the cauliflower simmering in the skillet.Remove the peppers from the oven and turn them over to let them get ready for the filling. 

Once the veggies are soft, return the browned meat to the pot and stir in tomato sauce. After combining, fold in your cooked cauliflower rice. Your filling is done!

Fill the peppers and pop them back into the 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. 

You can freeze the other half of the filling or use it for more meals this week! 

A classic.

Comfort food.

Whole30 Compliant AND delicious. 

7 veggies, protein and healthy fat in one delicious entree. 

Happy, happy, happy!