My Favorite Food: cherry pie, cherry pie and more cherry pie

When I knew I had to change my diet to restore myself to good health, I was faced with a dilemma. I love, love, love cherry pie. I'll admit it, I'm a cherry pie freak. It was my one guilty pleasure that was my go to when I wanted to indulge, and I indulged more frequently than I should have. I was distraught that I had to give it up. Our cookbook gives information about why you should avoid refined processed sugar, or what I call the "White Satan" and other unhealthy diet sweeteners. Then it hit me! Cherry's are high in antioxidants and beneficial to add to the diet for many reasons. That is when I went to work developing a cherry pie recipe that had to be as delicious as all of the pies I've enjoyed in the past. It had to be dairy, gluten, sugar free and made with healthy animal free fat. I succeeded! The crust is super flaky and light. It's texture is an improvement on conventional pastry.I can't tell it is refined sugar and sugar substitute free. I still reserve cherry pie for special occasions so I don't get tired of it in order to keep it a special favorite, even though I could choose to have it every night and justify it as a sleep aide.

Health benefits of cherries:

part of an anti-cancer diet: fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, and powerful antioxidants like anthocyanins, cyaniding, and quercitin. All play a role in cancer prevention.
Gout Flare prevention ½-cup serving of cherries a day, the equivalent of about 10 or 12 cherries reduces gout flare-ups risk by 35% by lowering the bodies uric acid levels . Consuming more cherries per day can reduce chance of gout flare up to 50%
Sleep promoting and arthritis pain relief: cherries contain melatonin, which is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger that helps "cool down" excess inflammation and associated oxidative stress. It also plays a vital role in sleep and bodily regeneration.
Reduce Post-Exercise Muscle Pain: Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of tart cherries may have a protective effect to reduce muscle damage and pain during strenuous exercise.
promotes heart health and may lower belly fat and stroke risk: may activate PPAR (peroxisome proliferator activating receptors) in body's tissues, regulating genes involved in fat and glucose metabolism.

Good for You

Cherry Pie Filling

Ingredients:

Double crust Gluten and dairy-free crust (see recipe below)
3 T tapioca flour
1/4 t sea salt
2 lbs (1 lb) bags frozen dark unsweetened cherries and thawed
1⁄2 cup frozen 100% apple cherry juice concentrate
½ t almond extract
1 t fresh lemon juice
2 T chilled coconut oil

Directions:

Place thawed, undrained cherries with juice concentrate, water and almond extract in a bowl and sprinkle with tapioca flour. Stir together and let stand for 15 minutes.
Prepare pie crust and line a pie plate.
Place the cherry mixture in the pie crust.
Place coconut slices on top of the cherries if desired.
Cover with top pie crust OR pastry lattice and flute edges.
Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is slightly brown and filling is bubbly.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve with a scoop of almond coconut ice cream on the side. (Sorry you will have to purchase the cookbook for this recipe!)

Gluten and Dairy Free Pastry Crust

*the flour blend is critical to the taste and texture of this pie crust recipe.

Gluten-free flour blend recipe is included in the cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 ½C gluten-free flour*
3/4 C chilled coconut oil
3/4 t sea salt
5 -6 T ice water

Directions:

Prepare 2 sheets of parchment paper (a little bigger than square) by sprinkling both sheets with flour and spread flour by hand to cover entire surface of paper. Set aside.
Add coconut oil in spoonfuls and use two frozen forks to cut the two together, until it resembles small peas.
Make a well with the flour/oil mixture and add 5 T ice cold water into the well. Gently push flour together to form pie dough. If it is too flaky, crumble dough and sprinkle with another T of ice cold water and push together to form pie dough.
Form and lightly flour 2 discs of dough with your hands and place between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper.
Gently roll dough into a circle, being careful to rejoin any cracks by pinching together with fingers until thin. Be careful not to get it too thin or it will be difficult to work with.
Remove top sheet of parchment. Place pie pan up-side-down in the center of the round rolled out pie dough. Slide one hand under the bottom sheet of parchment (under pie pan), and other hand on the bottom of the pie pan, quickly turn dough and pie crust over so that the dough slides into the pan. Gently push the dough flush to all surfaces of the pan. This is the hardest part.
Roll out remaining crust and/OR cut into ¾” strips.
Fill pastry lined pie pan with pie filling.
Top pie with second crust OR Lay strips across pie and weave over under to form a lattice pattern. Push top dough into bottom with fork to seal crusts together or form dough layers together and pinch into zig zag pattern.
Place whole pie in freezer for 30 min (to ensure maximum flakiness). Preheat oven to 350F.
Remove pie from freezer and transfer immediately into preheated oven. Bake 30 minutes to 45min just until crust is golden brown. If browning too quickly, cover pie with a sheet of parchment paper to prevent burning