This is a great quick and easy dessert for those “Oh-my-goodness-I-need-to-make-a-dessert-and-I-have-less-then-an-hour-to-make-it!” moments. Its prep will be done in five minutes, chill time can be as quick as half an hour or less (stick it in the freezer), and it’s no-bake, no-cook, rich, creamy, and naturally dairy-free and gluten-free. Sounds pretty good, huh?

The texture is great—a lot like fudge. Firm and silky, yet it melts in your mouth as soon as you take a bite. It’s very creamy too; you’d never know it didn’t have a speck of dairy in it.

The crust is a nice touch. I like using pecans. It adds a tiny bit of crunch, and the strong nutty flavor of the pecans stand out, yet infuses nicely with the strawberry vanilla cream. When making this part, be sure to blend just until it turns into a meal (the video will show you how). If you blend too long you could end up with a nut butter!

With all that said, I’ll admit that I do NOT like nuts. So this is saying a lot. It doesn’t taste like cashews at all.

The taste of the pie is all in the quality of ingredients you use. Use raw, unsalted organic cashews, high quality alcohol-based vanilla extract, and fresh, perfectly ripe, organic strawberries, Healthy Traditions creamy, raw honey, and coconut oil (Gold Label for a coconut taste, Expeller-Pressed for no coconut taste). Don’t skimp on anything here; use the highest quality stuff you can get.

And last but not least, let the video take you through the recipe step-by-step and enjoy a slice of the pie yourself. You’ll have to make it, of course. I’m not sharing.

Sarah 🙂

Strawberry Cream Pie – Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free

Servings: 8 servings
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 3/4 cup crushed pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut

Filling:

• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

Grind crust ingredients in food processor and press into bottom of a 9-inch pie plate, building up the sides slightly.

Place all filling ingredients into blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Carefully pour on top of crust and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Recipe submitted by Christel, Plantation, FL.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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Wonderful with tomato soup, this is the perfect, cozy, comforting, and healthy meal! Coconut oil is a fantastic alternative to the traditional butter and produces perfectly crisp, mouth-watering results. We love all that good-for-you, delicious garlic in these, but feel free to adjust according to taste!

Three-Cheese, Tomato, Garlic, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 slices hearty, sprouted grain bread
• 2 large slices (or enough small ones to cover 2 pieces of bread) raw milk, sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced (more or less according to taste)
• fresh cracked pepper
• seasoning salt and/or steak seasoning of choice
• 10 organic grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 large slices colby jack cheese
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat cast iron skillet to medium heat. For each sandwich, assemble in this order: bread, cheddar, half the garlic, pepper, seasoning to taste, half the tomatoes face down, colby jack, and bread.

Melt the coconut oil in the skillet and cook the sandwiches on one side until the cheese on the bottom half is melted and the bread is nicely crisped and golden, then repeat for the other side until the same. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe and photo submitted by Lydia, Salem, VA.

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Homemade Matzah

Servings: 6 cookie sheets full
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 eggs, (large)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour*

Directions:

Heat oven 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, honey, salt, eggs, and water. Stir until well mixed, then stir in 4 cups of flour. Mix, add more flour as needed, and knead into a fairly stiff dough. Divide into 3 pieces.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a large rectangle. You can make your matzah as thin or as thick as you want; everyone likes it thick (about as thick as pie crust). Cut rolled dough into squares. (I used a knife, though a pizza cutter would be better if you have one.) Place squares onto baking sheets. Prick with a fork. Sprinkle with salt if desired.

Bake it:

For thin matzah, bake 10–11 minutes. For medium matzah, bake 13–14 minutes. For thick matzah, bake 15–20 minutes or until done. Matzah should be very lightly browned on top. Overbaked matzah will be hard and not very good, so be careful to not bake too long! Removed baked matzah from baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool, covered with a clean towel. Store in an airtight container or bag.

*I used about 1 cup of whole wheat flour in place of one cup of the all-purpose to make it a little healthier. I like it with the whole wheat better. I also used the flour I got from Tropical Traditions to make it! The best I’ve used!

Recipe and photo submitted by Ra’chel, South Whitley, IN.

Sarah’s Notes: Since this is a bread recipe, you can play around with the whole wheat flour amount, using as much or as little as you want. Just keep in mind that the more whole wheat flour you use, the more the water may have to be increased.

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