Since the end of the withdrawals from starting the Lyme diet, a month and a half ago, I have not really craved sweets. I will crave tangy pineapple, juicy peaches, and organic fresh apples, but the cravings are usually limited to fruit or savory foods. However, I still love to bake but baking something I can’t eat is not the same, because I do not fully trust my family to tell me if the food is actually good. Last night I decided to try the challenge of making something that is diet safe for me, meaning gluten-free, dairy-free, and sweetened only with a small amount of fruit and stevia. What I came up with is Banana Coconut Cream pie.
Cocoa powder adds a beautiful garnish and a hint of delicious chocolate.
Oh, so yummy!
Creamy banana coconut deliciousness free of any guilt! It’s hard to believe it’s dairy free, because the coconut whipped cream actually tastes a lot like typical whipped cream. The sugars in the pie are also perfectly balanced for my taste. I would highly suggest making this pie right away, even if you are not on a restrictive food diet, I love it that much. This is a pie I will make many times over, especially at holidays.
Tip: For the stevia I use Sweet Leaf’s plain stevia drops. I prefer the plain over vanilla because I would rather add my own vanilla so that I have more control over the recipe.
A delicious and easy grain, dairy, cane sugar, and soy free cream pie. Sweetened with a banana and stevia drops. Perfect for when you want a sweet treat or at the holidays!
Author: Rachel Keeth // Lavender and Honey
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8
Ingredients
1½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
2⅓ cups coconut milk
1 large ripe banana, mashed
2 egg yolks
¼ cup corn or tapioca starch
1 cup shredded unsweeteend coconut
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp stevia drops–about 20-25 drops
1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled
Stevia to taste, about 10 drops
Cocoa powder-optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Place the 1½ cups of coconut in a food process and pulse until coarsely ground. Stir in coconut oil. Press coconut and oil into the bottom of a standard pie plate until evenly distributed, it will not stick together. Bake for eight minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For the filling add the coconut milk, mashed banana, and egg yolks to a medium sized sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring often. Once it begins to simmer add some of the liquid into a small bowl with the corn starch; whisk until there are no clumps. Pour the corn starch mixture back into the sauce pan stirring constantly until filling thickens, about a minute. Take sauce pan off of heat and stir in vanilla, salt, and the ¼ tsp of stevia. Carefully pour filling over the crust. Place in the fridge or freezer until completely cooled.
Once your filling is completely cool you can start on your whipped cream topping. Make sure your coconut milk is completely cold, you can place it in the freezer for a couple hours or I always keep several cans in the fridge so it is ready when I want it. Open up the can and you will notice all of the coconut fat has risen to the top of the can and is firmly packed together. Spoon out the fat of the coconut, not the milk, out of the can and place in a small bowl. Whip the fat until the consistency of whipped cream, a couple of minutes. Add your stevia to taste, I used about ten drops. Carefully spread cream evenly on top of pie and allow to chill for about 20-30 more minutes before you cut into it. When cutting make sure you cut all the way through the crust, the coconut oil hardens when cold and forms a solid crust that if you do not cut all the way through can end up making very messy pieces. If desired you can lightly dust the top with coco powder as a garnish, it also adds a slight hint of chocolate which I enjoy.
At the end of April I had posted that my family was going through some very difficult trials. We have now been going through these trials for two months. We are not through this but the Lord has answered our prayers and there has been a change and a great improvement! This trial may be long but the Lord is using it in great ways and it is a comfort to remember that He is always in control.
The Lord has taught me so much these past couple months; which continues to show me how much I still need to grow. During these times James 1:2-8 and Psalms 23 have brought me great comfort, though there were many other verses that I read often as well.
Thank you to all the many people who have been praying for us. I have learned that in times of trial there are people who will abandon you, but it also shows you who will stand by you and pray. We had many people praying for us without ceasing, and some even fasting. I am deeply grateful for everyone who was here for us, and even those who just knew we needed prayer, though did not know the reason, and lifted us up to the Lord. We would appreciate continued prayer as this trial is not over. Thank you again!
Currently Hannah, Caroline, and I are all working on ideas for novels. It is a lot of fun working on the beginning stages at the same time, and having the moments of pure delight when we finally work something out. Hannah and Caroline have been such a help to me in this, when I am stuck we can all sit back and watch a movie while discussing anything from characters to world-building.
You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful. -Gustave Flaubert
The effects of trying to develop a novel can be quite entertaining. Due to a virus going around the house I was resting and watching some Star Trek: DS9 the other day, and without realizing started blocking that out and mentally narrating a scene of my main character in the forest with a head concussion.
So far the hardest part for me is creating the antagonist. I have an idea of what I want for him, but it is not quite fleshed out. I tend to get stuck on inspiration when working out his character.
I don’t currently want to share what it is about, due to still trying to flesh it out, but I do look forward to sharing about it hopefully in the near future. I do however have a inspiration board on Pinterest if you would like to check that out.
May is Lyme Disease awareness month! Sadly many people in America have no clue what Lyme Disease even is, much less that it can be chronic. What is even a bigger problem though is that many doctors deny that Lyme can be chronic and refuse to treat those with it, even when their Lyme test is positive. Which leads to another problem, the Lyme testing usually will give those even with chronic Lyme a false negative. Some people have taken the test seven times and six of those times received a false negative. Thankfully there are LLMDs (Lyme Literate Medical Doctors) who will treat Lyme based off of symptoms due to the high chances of the test being wrong.
Today I am starting the Lyme Disease Diet. It is known that gluten, dairy, and sugars (including maple, honey, agave, etc.) can all feed Lyme, which means it will be harder to kill. I have been planning to start this diet for months now but every time I was ready to start something would happen that would prevent me from being able to start. I had just decided to try starting again this week, but first I wanted to make a pineapple upside down cake. I made the cake last night, but it ended up making me feel really sick, of which I can still feel the affects. The cake was actually a blessing though because it got me to start the diet right away instead of wasting any time and I was able to see how important the diet is for me. Eating that cake also made me realize that I prefer fresh pineapple over the cake and that I do not want to feel that way from food again.
Please spread the word about Chronic Lyme Disease. It is important for everyone to know about. The knowledge could help those with it get diagnosed and treated and those without it can take precautions against ticks so that they will not be infected. A wonderful way to learn more about chronic Lyme disease is by watching Under Our Skin for free on Hulu! The Spoon Theory is also a really good article explaining how people with a chronic illness live. Please share this documentary with your friends, if for the only reason to protect them from this disease.
My Aunt Ginger had a couple days off this weekend, which she decided to use to come down to Texas and spend some time praying with us and doing whatever we needed to help us through these trials we are going through. I am so thankful that she came, I love her so much and she blessed us abundantly.
These trials have been going on just over three weeks now, though it feels like much longer. We are finally finding some sense of “normal” in life which is making it easier to get things done around the house. I am hoping I will be able to very slowly start on my Lyme diet soon, but I am taking things one day at a time so I will have to wait and see. I might also be able to blog a little bit more now that we are getting more of a routine.
The past week this song by Chris Tomlin has been a blessing among many. I hope it can bless others as well.
I am thankful for all the many prayers. I have been told of so many people praying for us across several states, even groups of people who do not know our family. The Lord is so good and I am finding things to be thankful for daily. He allows us to go through trials but His love and His plan are perfect.
May is Lyme Disease awareness month! Sadly many people in America have no clue what Lyme Disease even is, much less that it can be chronic. What is even a bigger problem though is that many doctors deny that Lyme can be chronic and refuse to treat those with it, even when their Lyme test is positive. Which leads to another problem, the Lyme testing usually will give those even with chronic Lyme a false negative. Some people have taken the test seven times and six of those times received a false negative. Thankfully there are LLMDs (Lyme Literate Medical Doctors) who will treat Lyme based off of symptoms due to the high chances of the test being wrong.