vegan, gluten free, spring time lovely: key lime avocado pie

been toying with this idea for some time now.  finally had some time and the ingredients to try it out the other day...and i dare say it was a hit.  definitely a looker:

this is super easy, healthy, vegan, gluten free, flour free, light, creamy, refreshing, and really yummy.  sound like a good deal?  i kind of thought so :)
in the past, i'd made lots of varieties of tasty avocado puddings for breakfast, post workout meals, and light healthy snacks.  one of them happened to be of the key lime variety...so it was really just a matter of time before the real deal made it's debut featuring the old favorite with a few tweaks.  give it a shot and see what you think!  the good news is with a pie this healthy, you're not just restricted to one teeny tiny micro slice, either.  you can actually have a big ol' wedge of it and not feel like a glutton.  we ate it for breakfast for 2 days in a row...and yeah...i'm totally cool with that.  it's so good for you!

key lime avocado pie

makes one 8-9 inch pie or a few tiny pies.  i used a 9 inch pan and it came out around the thickness of a tart, which was neat, but a smaller pie tin would probably get you a thicker, more traditionally stacked pie.

crust ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dates
• 2 T pumpkin seeds
• 2 T flaxmeal
• 3 T unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 T unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup nuts (i used peanuts since nick is allergic to tree nuts, but pistachios would be pretty righteous with this...or walnuts or cashews)
• 1/8 ts baking soda
• 1/4 to 1/2 ts cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water as needed to help with blending

preheat your oven to 250.  soften the dates in the microwave by covering them with water and microwaving for a minute at a time until tender.  drain the water and throw them in your blender or food processor with the other ingredients and blend on low or pulse until all combined into a thick, mushy paste, adding water as needed.  i like to leave a little bit of texture in my crust to give it a little bit of crunch and a little more backbone, so i don't blend it until totally smooth, just until there aren't any whole piece of dates, nuts, or seeds left and it looks pretty consistent throughout.  helpful hint: if you'd like to make it a little easier on yourself, you can grind the nuts and seeds into a coarse meal beforehand to help with getting the consistency more even.  a coffee grinder would work for this, or you could probably just blend them first and then add the rest of the ingredients.  just don't over grind them....you don't want to turn them into nut butter, just a coarse meal or little bitty chunks.  once everything is blended, scrape the paste into a 8-9 inch pie tin that has been lightly greased or sprayed with cooking spray.  using a spatula/spoon/your fingers start to press it to fit the bottom of the tin and up the sides a bit, being careful not to tear it or leave any holes.  you don't want it to be thinner than 1/4 inch anywhere, so baby it while you shape it.  no wimpy crusts!  mighty crusts make mighty pies.  once it's all beefed up and ready to go, put the tin in the preheated oven and bake it for about 15-20 minutes or until firm and a little dry.  while it bakes, you can get the filling ready

filling ingredients:

• 2 large avocados
• 1 medium banana
• about 3 oz soft tofu (generally 1 serving or 1/5 block of nasoya or most other kinds of tofu)
• 1/4 cup soy (or any) milk
• 1/2 ts stevia
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 heaping tablespoon agar flakes (you can generally find this stuff at health food stores.  it's a really nutritious, flavorless algae used as a vegan thickening agent that works similarly to gelatin, though not quite as....jello-y?)

rinse out your blender/food processor from the last round and blend the avocados, banana, tofu, soy milk, vanilla, and stevia until smooth.  in a small sauce pan, bring the lime juice to a light boil.  remove from heat and whisk in the agar flakes until completely dissolved.  let the juice sit for a bit to thicken.  once it's cooled and thickened up a bit, pour it in with the avocado mixture and blend until well combined with all the other ingredients.  once your pie crust has finished baking, allow it to cool a bit, and then fill with the lime, avocado pudding mixture, smoothing the top with a spoon or spatula.  at this point, i also added some zest from a few of the limes that i juiced on the top of my pie for a little extra color and limey-ness, but you don't have to.  put the pie in the fridge and let it set for at least a few hours until firm.  i let mine sit over night and it turned out just right...creamy, cool, a little thicker than pudding...almost like a softer flan in consistency.

the finished product, before adding any fanciness on top

 the taste of this is awesome.  not too sweet, creamy, a hint of banana, and lightly limey.  we loved it with fresh strawberry slices and a little dusting of coconut. 

the crust is a bit soft, so be careful when serving, but overall i'd say this was a winner.  in the future, i may up the amount of lime juice to make it a bit more limey in flavor.  if you decide to go this route, just make sure that you up the amount of agar as well.  agar can be a bit fussy when used with highly citric juices, so be patient with it.  next time i may try using 3/4 cup lime juice with 2 scant tablespoons of agar.  this is a new ingredient for me as well, so i'm still learning myself.  so far though, definitely a fan!  it's really low in calories (nearly calorie free), extremely high in fiber, acts as a mild detox supplement by helping to carry toxins from the body, and is also high in Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc and Copper.  plus, it works similarly to gelatin, but without the animally weirdness.  pretty cool, right?  i will definitely be playing around with this more in the future.  stay tuned!