Raw Strawberry Pie

Monday, June 16, 2008

Raw Strawberry Pie

We've had plenty of fresh strawberries from our little patch and Adi suggested the other day that we make some strawberry pies! I thought that was a fabulous idea, and even better, why not make it raw!!

So I already had some date/nut balls on hand - all ingredients are raw:

Date/Nut Balls

1 cup soaked hazelnuts (or whatever kind you like - soaked overnight and rinsed)
7 dates
1 tsp agave nectar
pinch salt
dried coconut flakes

Process dates and nuts in food processor, add agave and pinch of salt. Shape 'dough' into balls and roll in coconut flakes.

Adi likes Strawberry Shortcake so I used her cupcake liners placed in a cupcake tin and pressed one nut/date ball in the bottom of each one to create a crust.

Divide sliced strawberries among the cupcake liners and add agar agar syrup ---

Agar Agar Syrup

1/4 cup hot water (not boiling)
1 tsp agar agar powder (agar agar is like gelatin but made from seaweed and is not 100% raw but a great vegan substitute for recipes needing a bit of form)
2 Tbsp agave nectar

Chill in the refrigerator until set and enjoy! We did :)

Note: this recipe does not follow proper food combining rules.

I'm landing at a place right now that leads me to believe that food combining is far more important when eating cooked foods. I choose to believe that raw foods are digested in a completely different way... I may be in denial. Regardless, this recipe rocks and Adi couldn't get enough of it and I don't feel in the least bit bad for letting her eat not one but two pies for breakfast!!

3 comments:

Tammy Bridenbeck said...: You are right. Food combine is NECESSARY when eating cooked/dead foods. It is so horrible to try and digest so when you combine properly, at least your digestive juices can try to beat it in some form of recognition. I haven't food combined since I went raw!; October 19, 2010 at 9:10 AM
Unknown said...: Looks beautiful and delicious.....I am interested in using agar agar as a thickener in my raw recipes but I don't know much about it. Do you ever use it in pudding or mousse?; April 15, 2011 at 11:12 PM
Stacey D said...: @Bridget - I haven't used agar agar in much else though I'm also interested in trying it in other recipes. Gives me something to think about. Maybe I can come up with something fun to use it for. I'm imagining some sort of a Thai dish with a nice thick sauce...; April 16, 2011 at 1:24 PM

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Why Eat Raw Foods?

I've been asked this question over and over again, and to be honest, there are so many reasons. But when I go online to try and find a more scientific explanation that I could post here I am too often met with statements such as, "cooking food changes that molecular structure rendering it toxic" which feels like a fear based statement that isn't very encouraging. I personally don't believe that cooked food is poison as many raw foodies do.

Ultimately, eating foods that are not heated above 115 degrees means that all of the enzymes in that food are intact. What does that mean to you and me? Well, just think of enzymes as the "life force" of food. Foods that have their "life force" intact are going to make you feel different when you eat them than foods that do not. It's kind of like eating energy.

So I guess I like to eat the majority of food while it still contains most of it's energy so I can get some :) Who doesn't need more energy? Not to mention that choosing to eat mostly raw foods automatically eliminates a lot of foods that were never meant to be eaten on a regular basis in the first place (chips, soda, etc.) and believe it or not, this whole lifestyle has helped reveal my emotional eating patterns and actually change them.

I just want to be healthy. Health is wealth, no?