Raw Brownie and Fresh Fruit Pie Recipe

Today (3/14) is National Pi Day. Fun stuff, peeps.

So - to celebrate, I made Pie. Because you know, Pi backwards is Pie.

Anyway - this is the pie I made.

Looks yummy, right?

It was yummy. :)

I saw this raw pie recipe on Pinterest. And then, because my dear friend Angela mentioned that she was craving chocolate, I got the genius idea to swap out the crust for a crust made from this raw brownie recipe.

Genius. Thanks, Angela.

To thank her for her contribution, and because I had extra brownie leftover from the crust, I made her a mini version:

I just pressed the leftover brownie mixture into mini muffin cups and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes, then topped it with all the goodies.

Anyway, here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Printable Recipe Here

Raw Brownie Fresh Fruit Pie
adapted by Shana Galbraith

Ingredients:

Crust: 
2 cups walnuts
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
12 medjool dates, pits removed
pinch cinnamon

Toppings:
3 to 4 bananas
2 lbs fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 small can mandarin oranges
3 kiwis, sliced


Directions:

To make crust:
1. Process walnuts in a food processor until they form fine crumbs.
2. Add cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt and process to blend.
3. Add medjool dates, one at a time and process until mixture is well combined.
4. Press mixture into a greased pie plate. (You will have some brownie mix leftover. I put mine in mini muffin tins to make individual brownies).
5. Put crust in freezer for 15 minutes to set.

To make filling: (after cleaning your food processor)
1. Add 5 large strawberries and 1/4 cup agave nectar to food processor. Blend to combine.

2. Slice bananas in half lengthwise and shortwise, and place in the pie crust. Top with 1/2 of remaining sliced strawberries.

3. Pour strawberry/agave nectar mixture over bananas and strawberries.

4. Open and drain can of mandarin oranges. Pile them in the middle of the pie.

5. Slice kiwis, and arrange remaining strawberries and kiwis around the mandarin oranges.

6. Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour to set. I refrigerated it as recommended in the recipe I saw, but I would recommend freezing for next time so it sets better.

There you have it. Enjoy!

Quinoa Fruit Salad Recipe

Quinoa! I LOVE quinoa! Seriously - the wonder food. You can use it in place of rice, oatmeal, couscous or any other small grain, and it's packed with protein- it contains all 8 essential amino acids, so it's a complete protein!

I usually try to put it in everything that I can.  I eat it like oatmeal, I put it in my green salads, I use it in place of rice - it's just good stuff.

I find mine in bulk at Winco - it's a lot cheaper that way than in the small boxes you'll find at a regular grocery store. Or, if you like shopping online and only wanna try out a small amount, Amazon has a great price on it :


Anyway, one Monday morning, I was out of things to put in my kids' lunches. They had eaten all the bread and all the veggies in the house while I took my Sunday afternoon nap. So - I knew I had to send them something that would be nutritional enough to be a main course. Quinoa instantly seemed like the best choice. I rummaged through what else I had on hand. And this is what I came up with.