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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

No Bake Healthy Peanut Butter Pie- Gluten and Egg Free


Happy (almost) New Year! I know it's late, but I hope you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, faith and good food. It was nice to take some time from the blog to enjoy the holidays, family, friends and spend some time by myself figuring things out. When spending time with my family there is never a dull moment...

I am not a dessert person. My body has a really hard time with artificial sugars and I get really sick from them, so I tend to stray away from eating them. In the past dessert (of any kind) has been a "fear food" for me- I was scared to eat it because of the amount of calories it contained, I was terrified of getting fat. It's something I have been working on and this year I wanted to make a healthy dessert. Not to toot my own horn, but this pie was the BOMB! 

This pie is refined sugar free and gluten free. Best of all it is BURSTING with peanut buttery goodness! It really is a peanut butter lovers dream pie...aka no one better touch the leftover piece currently in the fridge or things will get physical. Another awesome thing about this pie is it is ridiculously easy to make! You could make this pie today and it would be ready for tonights festivities and you wouldn't have to feel guilty about indulging in a piece (or four).

*A quick note about the crust. I chose to make my own crust using gluten free graham crackers. There are several ways to make a homemade crust and there are gluten free crusts available in most grocery stores. Because every crust will differ I did not include the crust in the nutrition information.

No Bake Healthy Peanut Butter Pie
  • 2 cups Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Greek Yogurt
  • 1/2 cup organic creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 small ripe banana

In a blender or food processor combine yogurt, peanut butter and banana. 

Blend until smooth and no chunks of banana remain (you don't want a chunky pie!)

In a pie crust of your choice scoop contents of blender or food processor out of container and into pie crust. Use a spoon to spread it evenly. 

Refrigerate overnight or until firm (a few hours, or you can place it in the freezer for short periods of time to help it firm faster) to allow pie to firm up. The filling will be a darker shade of brown when it is firm.   

Pie "Filling" Nutrition Information
Calories: 128 
Carbs: 10 grams
Fat: 8 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Sodium: 53 mg
Sugar: 6 grams

*Some may think the nutrition info is not healthy at all, but think about it. It is good fats, natural sugars and full of protein that your body needs. 

Pie Crust Options
There are several different ways to make a pie crust, bake and no bake options, but both are very simple. 

The first method for a "sweeter crust" is to use:

  • 1 box (about 12 crackers if they're small 10 if they're large) gluten free graham crackers- if you're using regular (gluten full graham crackers) use 11 sheets
  • 1 small banana
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Combine ingredients in a hardy blender or food processor and process until a dough forms.

Scoop dough out and use a spoon to spread out into a pie pan. The dough will be very sticky so I do not recommend using your hands. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes. The dough should have risen slightly and be a light golden brown. If there is a dark spot anywhere on the crust allow it to bake for an additional 3-5 minutes and check again.

Allow to cool for 30 minutes before scooping pie filling into crust and refrigerating. 

Another pie crust option is a more basic pie crust, which can be done as a bake or no bake:
  • 1 box (about 12 crackers if they're small 10 if they're large) gluten free graham crackers- if you're using regular (gluten full graham crackers) use 11 sheets
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
  • 1 tablespoon oil or butter spread (I use Earth Balance)

Combine ingredients in a hardy blender or food processor and process until a dough forms.

Scoop dough out and use a spoon to spread out into a pie pan. This dough will be less sticky so you can use your hands if you want to.

You can use this crust as a no bake crust! It will be slightly more crumbly than a baked crust.

If you want to bake it bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. The dough should be a light golden brown. If there is a dark spot anywhere on the crust allow it to bake for an additional 3-5 minutes and check again.

Again allow the crust to cool for 30 minutes before scooping pie filling into crust and refrigerating.




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