Pumpkin Pie, Part Deux (Now Dairy-free!)

After the overwhelming success (and growing Pinterest popularity) of my first experiment at making a healthy and easy pumking pie (recipe HERE), I was still not completely satisfied with the recipe despite how amazing and delicious it came out. But, how? one might ask.  That recipe is so easy, and delicious and generally perfect all around. What could possibly be done to make a pie any more perfect and amazing than that piece of culinary perfection?

I mean, the original pie had so much going for it. It was:
-5 ingredients
-Crustless
-Eggless
-Flourless
-Gluten Free
-Easy
-Delicious

So what's the problem?

Well for starters, one of the things that bothered me about the old recipe is that while it alleges to be an easy five-ingredients-that-you-already-have kind of deal, it is very likely that the average person doesn't just happen to have ground flax seeds hanging around their pantry (such as my year-ago self).  I mean, it's also likely that the average person doesn't have cans of pumkin puree either, but it's much easier to buy a can of something that is used immediately than a whole bag of seeds that only needs a few scoops.  So there was the first problem.

Another thing that bothered me was that the old recipe claimed to be "clean", yet still used processed ingredients, like greek yogurt. I mean, it's just yogurt, but still. Not as clean as it COULD be.  Also, because of the yogurt, it eliminated being eligible for a huge category: Dairy-free.  And we don't want people feeling left out. People don't like feeling left out.

So I mulled, and ruminated, and pondered, and came up with a new and improved super easy, super clean, super normal pumpkie pie, that will definitely keep you (and me) on track to being super fit.  With a few adjustments, and a little bit less laziness, I've created a masterpiece that I am proud to proclaim is truly a clean and easy pumpkin pie.  and now it has even more going for it.

This new pie is:
-(still!) 5 ingredients (and you definitely already have these ingredients, or will be willing to acquire all of them)
-gluten free
-dairy free!
-eggless
-flourless
-crustless
-clean
-simple
-easy
-delicious. so delicious

I will call this:

"Super-Duper Clean and Easy Pumpkin Pie"

To make this magical pie, you will need 5 things:

1 cup raw almonds*
2 very ripe bananas
1 can Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup Honey
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

*You'll also need a blender. And some patience.

A few days before you are ready to make this pie, soak the almonds in water for 2-3 days in the refrigerator and remove the skin (the skin will pop right off after soaking). Wait patiently. Think pumpkin thoughts.

When you are ready to make the pie, Preheat the oven to 425.

Rinse the almonds and put them in a blender. Add water to cover the almonds by an inch or so (I just filled it to the "2 cup" line). Blend for 3-4 minutes until it is smooth and milky (basically you just made almond milk, congratulations!)  Add the bananas and blend until it is fully liquified.

While your almond banana milk is making itself, mix the Pumpkin, Honey, and Pumpkin Pie Spice together in a large bowl.  Add the almond mixture to the bowl and stir everything together.

Pour the pie into a baking dish (the one in the pictures is an 8x6x2" pyrex) and bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 and continue baking for about 1 hour.  Turn off the oven and let it cool IN the oven for at least 20 minutes before taking it out.  When the pie cools to room temperature, put it in your mouth in the refrigerator overnight to set.

See how easy that was? (In theory, you could just dump all of the ingredients into the blender and make this an "insanely super duper easy" pie, but I am not that adventurous. If I ever win the lottery and get a Ninja blender, this will be the first thing that I try.)

Here, try a bite. A delicious, guilt-free bite