Raw Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie. Vegan. Gluten Free.

I dream about food… well recipes.  Is that weird? Well Monday night I didn’t get much sleep.  I was wearing a holter monitor and being hooked up to tons of wires with a mini computer impacts sleeping big time – especially when you’re a stomach sleeper. So what did I do in my sleepless hours…   I started thinking about some fun recipes and came up with this pie idea.

I got to work on this recipe yesterday and then set them aside in the freezer to set up overnight.  They will serve as dessert tonight if I can keep them away from peering eyes after school.  I had fun with topping each of them differently and its a great way to use up some ripe bananas (instead of making bread) you have on your counter.

So happy tax day – now let’s eat!

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup of nuts (I mixed walnuts, Macadamias and pistachios)
1 cup of pitted Medjool dates
Pinch of sea salt

Crust Directions:

Add everything to your food processor and blend until the nuts and dates are broken down and incorporated.  When you can pinch the mixture and it adheres together, it’s ready.  If its too thick and hard – add another date.  If it’s too loose, add additional nuts.

To prepare your muffin pans – I cut pieces of cellophane into squares (or there about) and lined each muffin tin with them.  If you have a removable bottom mini tart pan you can omit this step or if you wish to make one large pie – using a tart pan with a removable bottom you can also skip this step.  I wanted to try my muffin pan to see how that worked.

I spooned some of the crust filling into each prepared muffin tin.  I filled it about 1/4 of the way.  I then pressed it down and up the sides a bit with a 1/4 cup measuring cup then my fingers.  Repeat until complete.

Filling Ingredients:

Soak for 3-24 hours 1 cup of cashews in filtered water
2 bananas, super ripe
1/4 cup of lemon or orange juice – I used oj
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons of softened peanut butter (I prefer Justin’s)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Filling Directions:

Drain and rinse your cashews.  Place all of the ingredients into your high powered blender and blend until super creamy.  This may take a minute or so.  Then spoon the mixture atop each crust.  I filled it to the top of the muffin tin.

Now as an option, I melted some vegan chocolate chips and spooned some on top of the muffins.  Again, just an option.  Some I drizzled it on… some I poured it for a layer of chocolate.  Freeze until set for about 30 minutes.  Before serving, let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to soften.  Then store in the freezer covered if you have any leftovers.

Fitness update for the week:

Saturday:  9 outdoor miles
Sunday: 6 outdoor miles
Monday:  4 treadmill miles/weights/abs
Tuesday:  4 treadmill miles
Wednesday – 3 progressive miles on the treadmill (8:43/8:22/8:11) then weightlifting focusing on upper body and abs.

This week I’ve been having a lot of heart testing for those of you who follow my crazy journey since the marathon with my excessively high heart rate.  Some answers and more testing scheduled.  I did defer my half marathon that I was supposed to do at the end of this month but still have my race in Philly on tap.  My cardiologist thought two back-to-back races wasn’t the best idea right now without having all of the answers -I concurred.  I’m still looking forward to running Broad Street as it is my favorite race.  Pace to be determined 🙂

Wishing you all a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

— Knead to Cook