Elimination Diet Phase Two Recipe: Apple Pie

While I'm stuck in elimination diet limbo, anyone who's doing this diet can reap the benefits with recipes. I can't say I'm having the best time coming up with elimination diet recipes, but it's certainly making me get creative. It's also forcing me to simplify. In this case, simplicity turned out to be a good thing. This is an elimination diet phase 2 recipe that I would happily make all the time. It's an apple pie with very few ingredients that come together beautifully. Because it's not a traditional sugary apple pie, I would put this in the category of breakfast/brunch rather than dessert, but it all depends on your taste preferences. Personally, I've been having it for breakfast or dessert, depending on my mood. I made two versions of the apple pie, and liked them both, so I'll include the variations in the ingredients.

Apple Pie with acorn squash crust and agave nectar

Apple Pie with sweet potato crust and plum sweetener

Apple Pie
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Ingredients:
2 cups just cooked brown basmati rice (should still be hot)
1 cup mashed sweet potato (substitution: any type of winter squash)
4 medium apples
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 ripe plum (substitution: 1 Tbsp. agave nectar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Coat a pie pan in olive oil and set aside.
   
3. In a food processor, blend the rice for about 1 minute, until it starts to have a gelatinous texture. In order for the rice to get the right texture, it still has to be hot from cooking. Add the sweet potatoes and process just until mixed. Scoop into pie pan and shape like a pie crust.
   
4. Peel the apples, then quarter them. Cut them into thin slices. Put them in a large mixing bowl and stir in the cinnamon and fresh lemon juice. Do your best to coat the apples evenly. Drizzle in the agave nectar if you're using it. If you're using the plum (which I felt gave it a richer flavor), clean out the food processor and blend the plum until it's liquefied. Pour the plum juice over the apples and stir to make sure it's mixed in evenly.
   
5. Place the apples on top of the crust and bake for 25 minutes.
   
6. Cover the pie with foil and put back in the oven for another 25 minutes.
   

Serves 8-10

Elimination diet update: I promise that tablespoon of agave nectar was the only sugar I had all week (aside from fruit)! After thoroughly enjoying my pie, I've taken lemon juice back out of my diet, along with cinnamon. I have a suspicion that one of them was causing the headaches and fatigue to come back, but I'm not sure which. So I'll be adding them back in individually in the next couple of days. And later in the week, I'll be back with a new lentil and quinoa burger recipe!


This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and What's On Your Table.