I’m not vegan, but of course, I enjoy making vegan recipes. I’ve said it before, but it’s really tough following a vegan (or vegetarian diet) when you have IBS and need to stick to a low FODMAPs diet. The truth is that most vegan recipes contain ingredients that I just can’t stomach (pun intended). But I’ve found that the longer I am on this low FODMAPs diet, the better I can tolerate some very high FODMAPs foods, such as certain nuts and dried fruits. I like to make recipes like these Carrot Cake Raw Bites, because not only do I know I will love them (if I stick to one at a time) but I know friends will love them too (even my husband who freaks when I call anything vegan, or raw….or gluten-free…or…you get it).
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Tarts with Coconut Whipped “Cream”
Ingredients
- ½ cup of raw almonds
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ¾ cup dates (about 18), pitted
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups pureed pumpkin (plain, with nothing added)
- 10 dates, pitted
- 1 medium banana
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Get out a mini muffin pan and set aside (you could also use a regular muffin pan but this will make less than 18 tarts, probably closer to 10)
- Place crust ingredients (almonds through salt) into a food processor and process until you see a crumbly mixture form, about one minute.
- Take about 2 Tbsp of “dough” into your fingers and press into each section of the mini muffin pan, using your fingers to gently press it into the pan firmly, all the way up the sides of each mini muffin section. Place it in the fridge (note, you may have to do two rounds since most mini muffin pans only hold 12 muffins).
- To make the filling, pour the rest of the ingredients into a blender. Turn it on until a smooth mixture forms, a couple of minutes.
- Take the mini tarts out of the fridge, add about 2-3 Tbsp of filling per tart, and chill for a few hours in the fridge.
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet be aware that most of the ingredients in this recipe contain FODMAPs. I am personally able to handle ~1/2 of one tart in one sitting, but overall this is a very high-FODMAPs recipe, and most people following this diet will not handle these ingredients well. If you are past the elimination phase and want to try this recipe to bring somewhere or share with friends, don’t be afraid to take a couple of bites to “test the waters” (you’ve gotta test these foods eventually, right?!)
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 tart Calories: 145 Fat: 6.4 g Saturated fat: 3.2 g Carbohydrates: 21.7 g Sugar: 13.6 g Sodium: 36 mg Fiber: 3.5 g Protein: 2.7 g
Nutrition Highlights: Excellent source of vitamin A (over 100% DV), ZERO added sugar (amazing), a good source of fiber, low sodium
To make the coconut “cream” you will need 1 can of full-fat coconut milk, chilled in the coldest part of your fridge, overnight (I put my cans in the chiller drawer). Remove the can after it has chilled and turned it upside down. Open the can and pour out the liquid, which should leave you with anywhere from 5 tbsp. to 12 tbsp of solid coconut milk (depending on how well your milk chilled!). Whip the solid milk in a chilled glass bowl for about 2-3 minutes, or until it becomes nice and fluffy. Add liquid stevia if you desire.
If you have any vegan guests coming to your Thanksgiving gathering, these tarts will be a hit, I promise. Yes, you can make these tarts into a pie if you’d like (that’s what the original recipe suggested), but I thought tarts were more fun. I did look through the internet for a while to find some good vegan pie pumpkin recipes, and to be honest this one was my favorite. My (personal) basic guidelines when searching for a good vegan pumpkin pie (or tart!) recipe are as follows; no tofu (it doesn’t agree with me and often my guests do not like it), no crazy ingredients (some recipes were calling for ingredients that I would never use again), and last, it has to be gluten-free. Why gluten-free? Because if you’ve got a guest who is vegan, you’ve probably also got a guest that is gluten-free, so why not kill two birds with one stone? If you’re looking for a more traditional (although not gluten-free) vegan pumpkin pie, check out this recipe from The Vegetarian Times.
Bring these to your Thanksgiving gathering. Don’t call them “Vegan Pumpkin Pie Tarts”, call them “Sweet Pumpkin Pie Tarts”, I promise you will get a better reaction. When they ask, “What’s in them?”, repeat these words; “Nuts, sugar, salt, pumpkin, and lots of love” (notice I am highlighting the “normal” ingredients, ones that won’t get questioned…. Enjoy!
By the way, this week’s posts are going to be mainly desserts, so I hope your sweet tooth is going crazy like mine has been the past week or so! Tomorrow I’ll be posting vegan cinnamon and sugar biscuits, then Wednesday I’ll post a delicious butternut mousse. Are you salivating yet?!
