Since I was a little girl I have always loved pumpkin pie and with pumpkins galore at halloween I thought I would try my first homemade gluten free pumpkin pie.  Pumpkins are an amazing vegetable that can be enjoyed in both savoury and sweet dishes.  It provides 2 1/2 times your daily recommended amount of Vitamin A as well as Vitamin C, Iron, Zinc, polyphenols and antioxidants.  So why not throw it into your next recipe or give this pumpkin pie recipe a try.

HEALTHY GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN PIE
Serves 1 pie
 
Ingredients – Pie shell
1 cup of gluten free/whole oats (ground)
½ cup of sunflower seeds
¼ cup of macadamia nuts
¼ cup of almonds
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed (3 tbsp. water)
1 tbsp. coconut oil (melted) or olive oil
2 tbsp. filtered water
 
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and combine until it forms a slightly sticky crust – grease a pie tin with coconut oil or olive oil and then press the pie crust into the tin
Preheat oven to 175C and bake for 12-15 minutes, remove and fill with pumpkin pie mixture

Adapted from Oh she glows
 
Ingredients – Pumpkin Pie Filling
2 ¾ cups of pureed pumpkin (made from fresh pumpkin)
½ cup of maple syrup
1/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk/or coconut milk
2 ½ tbsp. arrowroot powder
½ tsp. ginger, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. cloves, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. all spice
¼ tsp. sea salt
 
Directions
 
Steam the pumpkin until soft, then mash with a fork or potato masher. Add in the other ingredient and combine until smooth.  Then pour into the pie crust and bake for 50 minutes until cracks form on the surface.
Allow to cool and then place in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight (if you can wait that long)
 
Adapted from minimalist baker

The Autumn season is now in full swing and that means we get to enjoy warming, spice infused and comforting foods.   I love this time of year not only because all of my favourite vegetables come into season but also because I love when the trees change colour, the leaves fall onto the ground and we get to breath in the crisp clean air (well when it isn't grey and dreary here in the UK)

If you don't already know I love baking and finding healthy alternatives to share with my family, partner and my clients.  I always bake using gluten free grains, coconut flour or ground nuts/seeds and substitute sugar with healthier alternatives including Maple Syrup, Raw Honey or Liquid Stevia.  It just takes a bit of playing around to find a recipe that works, sometimes the result is a bit of a disaster (still edible) other times they are a huge success.  So I decided to give this Autumn Spiced Apple Cake a go which I have adapted from A Tasty Love Story making it gluten free and refined sugar free.

If you are looking for a healthy treat to enjoy over the weekend this is a great one to try.  Why not top with a raw chocolate ganache for an extra special treat.  The kids will love these too.

AUTUMN APPLE CAKE
Serves 10-12 slices
 
Ingredients
100g buckwheat groats (ground)
50g organic oats
50g organic oats (ground)
3 organic/free range eggs
50g of coconut oil (melted) or 1 mashed small banana
2 tsp. baking powder
½ cup of maple syrup
3 apples peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 medium carrots finely grated
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground ginger (or 1 tsp fresh)
½ tsp. cinnamon (optional)
2 small handfuls walnuts (optional – for extra crunch)
 
Directions
Mix the eggs, oil or banana, maple syrup and spices. Then add in the ground flours and the oats, baking powder, apples, carrots and walnuts if you are using them.
Mix to combine.  Preheat an oven to 160C and line a square baking tray with parchment paper.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and slightly browned on top. Let the cake cool.  Then frost with optional frosting below.

Raw Chocolate Icing
¾ cup of maple syrup
¾ cup of raw cacao powder
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted or 1/3 cup cashews soaked (2 hours)
pinch himalayan sea salt
½ tsp. vanilla (optional)
½ tsp. almond extract (optional)
 
Mix all ingredients in a blender until well combined and creamy
 
Source: Nouveau Raw