Raw Vegan Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Lately, I have really been into the raw desserts. I love raw desserts because they are so tasty, yet so nice on the tummy! Plus, they are so fun to make and you just feel good after eating them. Also, most of them are naturally gluten-free. My favorite! So when I saw Rachel @ Almonds & Avocados Banana Coconut Cream Pie, I knew that I wanted to make something like it. So, I decided to try and play around with the idea. What better activity for a Saturday evening?? 
These raw banana coconut cream pies are great because:
1) All the ingredients are natural. The best!
2) No additional sugar is needed! I think of dates as nature’s candy. Besides being super sweet though, they also have great nutritional benefits. They are a good source of dietary fiber, and the type of fiber they have (beta-D-glucan) helps decrease the body absorption of cholesterol and help blood sugar even by delaying the small intestine’s absorption of glucose. Therefore, the release is gradual instead of super fast like many refined sugars!
3) Single servings! - Perfect sized portions! Easy for a quick and satisfying dessert after meals.
4) Naturally gluten-free! No substitutions necessary. No wheat, barley or rye in this recipe!
5) Plus, these pies are really, crazy good.
So good
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup of dates
1 cup almonds (or any other nut like pecans or walnuts)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of coconut oil (optional)
The crust! Yumm!
Cream Filling
3 frozen bananas
1/4 cup of shredded coconut (adjust according to taste)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon of agave (for non-vegans honey) *optional depending on sweet tooth. You can easily omit!
Process
1) First, the crust. Blend dates, almonds, cocoa powder & coconut oil (optional) together in food processor until ingredients stick well together and you get a chunky consistency.
2) Put a thin layer of your crust into muffin containers.
3) Next, mix up the filling. First, blend bananas well in food processor until bananas become creamy like the texture of ice cream.
4) Then, add in vanilla, coconut and additional sweetener if you desire (you can easily omit the sweetener). Blend well.
5) Place cream filling on top crust in muffin containers.
6) Freeze muffins for about 2 hours or until hard. Leave in freezer and take the pies out about 5 minutes prior to serving so they can unthaw.
7) Garnish with shredded coconut, chocolate or whatever you heart desires!
Sit back and enjoy!
For the month of September I am also going to be taking part in Kelly @ Foodie Fiasco’s Smile of the Day Challenge. In each post, I will write about something sweet someone has done for me or I witnessed that day. I think it’s important that we recognize the nice things that people do in this world because we just don’t do that enough.
Join the fun
For today- All of your awesome comments on my last post! I love all the support and it felt really good to know that many of you are on the same page about balancing school & sanity. I am so thankful to be part of this foodie world!