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Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes
Healthy pumpkin pie recipes show you to turn leftover fall pumpkins and wheat berries into a healthy, delicious treat.
Making a pumpkin into pie is one of the most satisfying things you can do.
I always feel like a true homesteading woman when I do this. Plus, it's so much healthier than anything you can buy in the store.
True, the pumpkin came from Wal Mart instead of my garden. (It was on sale the day after Halloween – a big monster of a vegetable for only two dollars), but still it was tremendously satisfying.
I made the mistake of turning my pumpkin into pie on the same day.
Next time, I'll cook the pumpkin first, save just enough for one pie recipe while freezing the rest and then make the pie the following day.
Want to be truly self reliant?
Then make your own sweetened condensed milk.
While you’re at it, save some of the seeds and plant them in your organic garden next spring.
Be sure to add the pumpkin guts to your compost pile or feed them to your chickens.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes Step One:
Cut Up Your Pumpkin
You'll want a big, sharp knife to do this, something strong enough to cut through the tough rind.
Once you have the pumpkin cut into slices, cut away the seeds and stringy part until you have only pumpkin flesh and rind left.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recies Step Two
Save the Seeds, If Desired
Wash the seeds, coat them with a bit of olive oil and spread them out on an oiled cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with salt and bake these for roasted pumpkin seeds, if you like.
They are supposed to be incredibly good for you.
Unfortunately, I've never cared for pumpkin seeds myself, but a lot of people do like them.
Give the stringy bits to your chickens or throw the scraps into your compost pile.
For steaming not only pumpkin but all sorts of vegetables and even meats, you can't beat an Oster 2-Tier 6-Quart Food Steamer .
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes Step Three
Cut Up the Pumpkin Rind/Flesh
The smaller you cup up the rind with the remaining flesh, the easier it will fit into your steamer
, and the quicker it will cook, so feel free to go to town with this.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes Step Four
Put Your Pieces in a Steamer
Put the cut up pieces in a steamer and let them steam for about 20 minutes. I took the lid off the pot for this picture, but obviously, you want to keep the lid on.
This was a massive pumpkin, so it took several sessions to get the whole thing steamed.
Test the pumpkin periodically by piercing it with a fork. When the pumpkin is tender, remove it from the steamer and allow it to cool.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes Step Five
Puree the Cooked Pumpkin
Allow the pumpkin to cool and then slice off the rind. It will come off quite easily.
Then put the flesh in a food processer and puree it. Or you can mash it with a potato masher.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes Step Six
Make the Pie Crust
I use freshly ground flour (I grind it in my grain mill)
and coconut oil
mixed with butter to make my pie crust. I'm sort of hoping the freshly ground grains and healthier oil will compensate for the fact that I'm eating pie.
Here are the ingredients:
- Two cups whole wheat flour
- One teaspoon salt
- Nine tablespoons coconut oil
- Three tablespoons butter
- Three to four tablespoons cold water more or less*
Like to make fruit pies? Using a ceramic pie bird
ensures that the bottom crust, as well as the top remain crispy.
Place the flour in a medium-sized bowl and stir in the salt. Add the coconut oil and the butter, cutting it in with a fork and a knife until it resembles coarse crumbs, like it does in the picture above.
Then gradually add the water until it resembles a flexible pie dough, neither too sticky nor too hard to work with.
* I say more or less, because freshly ground flour has a much higher moisture content and will require less water, while whole wheat flour you buy in the store might use considerably more.
Add the water gradually, and use your own judgment. When it feels soft and pliable, but not too squishy, then you have enough water.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on your cutting board and set the dough on the parchment paper. Then cover the dough with another piece of parchment paper.
Roll the dough between the two sheets of parchment. When the piece is large enough to cover your pie pan, carefully peel off the top layer of parchment. Then lifting up the bottom piece of parchment, turn it upside down and drape it across your pie pan.
Pat your dough into place and then peel away the remaining piece of parchment paper. Pierce the crust with a fork several times to keep it from poufing up during baking.
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipes - Step Seven
Make the Filling
Here's the filling recipe:
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups condensed milk
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
Mix these well and pour into your prepared crust. Place in a preheated, 425 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Then turn the oven heat down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the pie for another 30 to 35 minutes. The pie will be done when a butter knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Make fabulous desserts that will impress friends and family. Learn more.
Learn More About Frugal Cooking
Invest in good health and some of the best bread available with a good quality grain mill.
You can beat frugal cooking both for the excellent nutrition and savings.
Learn why cooking from scratch is so important by clicking here.
Want to see all of our frugal recipes? Click here.
Want organic food at a great price?
Form a food club, and you'll also foster the growth of locally produced, excellent organic food.
Learn more.
Do you love Chinese food? Save a bundle and invest in your health by learning to cook healthy vegan Chinese food at home!
Avoid that expensive trip to the bakery and make fabulous desserts at home.
Learn more.
Listen to the general media, and they'll tell you that coconut oil is something akin to the devil's spawn, unleashing an epidemic of heart disease into our country and killing thousands of people.
But do a little research, and you learn otherwise.
For reasons why you should be cooking with coconut oil, click here.
A good quality cast iron cookware set like this one is an excellent investment for healthy, even cooking. It can also be used outside as a Dutch oven.
Cook mouth-watering meals that increase your energy and make your feel terrific. Learn more.
The next time you are suffering from a cold, sore throat or other infection, instead of calling the doctor, reach for this healthful oil instead.
Learn more.
Make authentic sausages right in your own home. Learn more.
Thinking about investing in a grain mill, but not sure which one is right for you?
Read a review about grain mills by clicking here.
Dehydrating foods are a great way to preserve foods in a healthy, low-cost way.
Learn more.
Use the healing power of vegetables in your cooking.
Learn more.
A good quality vacuum sealer makes your food last for months and even years and can save you a bundle of money.
Click here to learn more.
Using a vacuum food sealer is the best way to make sure your foods lasts and to save money, but there are some tricks to using a vacuum food sealer.
Read more.
Do you have a weakness for fine-quality, Mexican food? Learn to cook fabulous Mexican dishes and save a bundle.
Click here to learn more.
Having and using a cast iron camp Dutch oven is a good idea should the power go out and you're unable to use your electric range.
It's also a great way to keep the heat out of your kitchen in the summertime and outside where it belongs.
Learn more.
When you stock up on bulk grains, don't forget to stock up on yeast as well.
Learn more about this crucial ingredient by clicking here.
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