by Carissa Leventis-Cox
My cousin Miguel e-mailed me out of the blue last week and after reading my posts, he immediately set out to make his own Coco-Nutty Banana Cream Pie. I was so impressed when he e-mailed me just 2 days later with a photo of his own pie. Although his was made with a Graham Cracker crust, the rest was all raw. He and his 2 year old little girl, Estelle, devoured it. His response brought a smile on my face, “I’m SOLD! I’m inspired to eat raw desserts! Any more desserts involving strawberries or peaches in the making? “
Needless to say, I’m always so excited when others are motivated to eat less processed and more raw foods. So today, I looked in my fridge: strawberries – check, almonds – check and macadamia nuts – check. Thought I’d create a Strawberry Cream Pie!
So, Miguel, this is for you and Estelle!
What’s so great about Strawberries?
Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and manganese. They are also a very good source of dietary fiber and iodine, the latter nutrient helps protect our thyroids and gonads from radiation exposure of iodine-131. Strawberries also contain potassium, folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, copper, and vitamin K. And they are abundant in the spring. In fact, City Roots just announced that their strawberries are ready for picking.
The Soft Cookie Crust
Pulse together in a food processor:
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 T extra virgin coconut oil, liquified by placing bottle in warm water
1 1/2 T raw local honey
1 cup raw almonds, unsoaked, process to a powder
Create the crust in molds (first grease with coconut oil) or on two 5-inch pie pans or free form rounds. Freeze.
Orange Cream
Puree in a high speed blender:
2 T raw local honey
1 organic orange, juiced, around 1/3 cup
1 cup raw organic macadamia nuts, unsoaked (or cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed)
Refrigerate until needed.
Filling
1 pint of organic strawberries
Garnish
Mint from the garden
To Serve
Make sure everything is cold when served and after putting it together, serve immediately.
To put together:
1. Place an almond cookie crust on a plate.
2. Top with strawberry slices.
3. Spread orange cream on top.
4. Top with more strawberries.
5. Garnish with a mint leaf.
Enjoy!
