Pumpkin Pie for The Body Ecology Diet (stage 1)🍂

Originally published on October 6, 2017.

My 10 year old asked for pumpkin pie for this year’s birthday. My challenge was to make a delicious pie for a child unable to eat gluten, nuts, dairy, or flour. As a family, we currently follow The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) and steer away from refined sugar so this was all taken into consideration.

Below is the no-bake pumpkin filling I came up with; smoothed in a baked pumpkin seed crust; free of common allergens (i.e., dairy, eggs, nuts, gluten, peanuts, soy) and stage 1 B.E.D.-friendly. See stage-2 pumpkin pie.

Enjoy my creation!! Watching my boy smile as he blew out his candles was worth every minute it took to make this pie a good one ….

Pumpkin Pie (stage 1, B.E.D.) 

For crust:

1 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, ground in blender

3 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee, melted

2 Tbsp. chia seeds, finely ground and soaked in 2 Tbs. water 

2 Tbsp. lakanto

1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

For filling:

2 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

1 cup water

3 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, or flax seeds, ground into a powder 

2 Tbsp. agar agar flakes or gelatin powder

1 Tbsp. kuzu* stirred into 1/4 cool water

1 tsp. stevia green leaf powder (or 1/4 tsp white stevia powder or 4-6 Tbsp. lakanto)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, glycerin and alcohol free

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp. ginger powder (or 1 tsp grated fresh)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. each of cloves, allspice, and nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Grease a 9-inch pie pan with a bit of coconut oil.
3. Mix crust ingredients in a bowl and press into pie pan.
4. Bake crust for 10-15 minutes, removing as it starts to brown.
5. While the crust is baking, combine all pie filling ingredients (except kuzu) in a heavy-bottomed pan.
6. Over low flame, gently simmer and stir occasionally with a whisk.
7. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until the agar agar has dissolved.
8. Add in the kudzu that has been pureed in a 1/4 cup of cool water and return to a simmer to heat until thick, about 2 minutes.
9. Pour and smooth the filling into baked pumpkin seed pie crust or heat-resistant individual custard cups and chill.
10. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and top with cultured cream.

Tips and tricks

• For an easy-to-digest and more healing food, soak/dehydrate pumpkin seeds prior to grinding them.
• For additional fat, you can add 2 Tbsp. coconut oil into the filling.
• For a slightly sweeter filling, add 1-2 Tbsp. of lakanto
• The filling makes a wonderful custard, just pour filling into custard cups and top with cultured cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• Substitute 2 egg yolks for chia seeds in crust, if tolerated.
• If you transitioned to B.E.D. stage 2, here is recipe for pumpkin pie with an almond crust.
• This is a Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) “stage 1” friendly dessert.

*Best to limit or avoid kuzu root if you experience diarrhea or abdominal pain. 

This blog post may contain affiliate links, you can read here to learn more.

May all bellies be happy!

Cultured Creme Fraiche

Celebrate Thanksgiving on B.E.D.

Tara Carpenter, NC.