Tag: Holiday Recipes

‘Tis the season to be festive, so Rick and I thought we would share one of our favorite holiday recipes with you! We have always loved pumpkin pie, so this recipe is a raw, whole food sweetened version of the filling for the traditional favorite.

A very popular question that we are asked is “what type of sweetener do you use?” We very rarely use sweeteners in our recipes, but when we do use a sweetener, it is dates. There many possible alternative sweeteners which each may be more appropriate for specific recipes, but we prefer to use dates because they are a whole food and we enjoy the taste. We also consider simplicity and nutrient content when developing our recipes.

Here is the recipe, which makes 24 ounces or four 6-ounce servings:

1. 2 Cups peeled fresh butternut squash
2. 6 Medjool dates or ¾ cup of other type of dates
3. ⅓ Cup soaked raw almonds (best if soaked for at least 8 hours prior to making recipe)
4. ½ Cup good quality water (more may be necessary)
5. 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
6. ½ Tsp. chopped fresh ginger
7. ¼ Tsp. ground nutmeg

This recipe can also be used as filling for a raw pie, or one can substitute 2 cups of chopped pumpkin for the butternut squash if desired. Just remember to use pie pumpkin, which we have found to be more flavorful than the Jack-o-lantern type. 🙂

Here is how we prepare this recipe:

1. Add ½ cup water to high powered blender, followed by spices and dates
2. Blend until ingredients are reasonably homogenous
3. Add ½ cup of butternut squash to mixture and blend, then add ½ cup of squash and blend, continue this process until all squash is blended with the mixture
4. We often add some extra water during this process, if the mixture is too thick
5. Add soaked almonds to the mixture and blend until mixture is completely smooth
6. Pour into dessert glasses and sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon on top
7. Chill and enjoy!

Have a Happy Thanks Living!

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