AIP Pumpkin Pie and Crust: Baked Version (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Egg Free)

I am very excited to share this pie with you. Last year I posted my mini, no-bake pumpkin pies. I love those as a fun (and cute!) alternative to a regular pie and they are tasty, but this year I wanted to make a real pumpkin pie. Gluten is definitely out of the question since I discovered I can't eat it. And since I've been moving towards the autoimmune protocol (healing protocol for autoimmune disease and gut healing), I wanted to make an AIP pumpkin pie. Not an easy task! Especially for someone that prefers cooking to baking. :)

No Bake Mini AIP Pumpkin Pies with Coconut Whipped Cream (Paleo, Autoimmune Protocol, GAPS)

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen me post about a pumpkin recipe a few weeks months ago. I started working on this back in August or September (and neglected to take pictures until recently) and it took some time to get these as I imagined them. When I have an idea for creating desserts that are allergy-friendly and I have to try to make them. I'm a little obsessed. I'm also obsessed with mini desserts. See here and here. This recipe actually started as somewhat of a pumpkin fudge. I was making this almond butter fudge and decided to try it with pumpkin. It tasted similar to a pumpkin pie, but then I decided that I wanted to create something that really was like pumpkin pie. But without eggs and nuts, and of course without gluten and dairy. A perfect and fun substitute for traditional pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving!

Homemade French Onion Dip, Copycat Heluva Good (with Dairy Free Option)

without gelatin (It does get a little thicker than this after refrigeration)

My sister has been slowly transitioning her family to real food. While she has been eating real food and following a mostly paleo diet for awhile now, her husband has been reluctant to give up certain foods that he loves. One of these things -- Heluva Good® French Onion Dip. I mean, I get it. It's good stuff. It is helluva good. Once I discovered the stuff (through my brother-in-law actually), I ate tubs of it.

But once you learn about real food, you realize just how much non-food ingredients are in our food. Like what's in Heluva Good French Onion Dip (MSG, soybean oil):

Gelatin: Its Many Benefits (with personal experience) and Ways to Consume

I went a little off track this past week. Most weeks I eat probably 100% real food. If you don't, no judgment. This just works for me. I also typically eat about 90-95% paleo. I don't really pay attention to an exact percentage, I just know I eat some non-paleo foods when I want them and it ends up being rare. So, as for going off track...unexpected stress combined with unpreparedness will do that. It happens. I drank one too many Starbucks lattes. I ate a Chick-fil-A chicken nugget and a fry. Yes, one. One of each. I stole them from a child. Don't worry, it wasn't a random child. And I don't even really like Chick-fil-A that much. I probably shouldn't say that out loud.

Plus, I ate chips with interesting ingredients, especially considering they were only "salt and pepper" chips. And last, I consumed MSG (monosodium glutamate) in several items (including the nugget which I didn't realize).

In case you didn't know, Chick-fil-A's nuggets are full of gluten, MSG, and all sorts of stuff that should not be in chicken nuggets. Check out The Domestic Man's recipe instead.

I made the choices to consume these foods I do not typically consume. I don't feel guilty. I don't believe in feeling guilty over food consumption, no matter what you eat. When it happens, I learn from it and move on. For me to feel my best, going that far off track is not a good idea. My skin broke out, my digestion suffered, and I felt very blah. Just blah. And then, there was my knee. I had a bad knee (maybe arthritis since it runs in the family) for as long as I can remember -- until I went paleo. With paleo there was no pain. This week it came back with a vengeance.

Pudding Pops: Chocolate or Banana (Paleo, Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free)

Sometimes desserts just happen. I'm not big on baking (cookies, cakes, and all that) because I don't particularly enjoy measuring exactly (which is why it takes forever for me to write up recipes because I forget to measure). If you've seen the desserts on this site, you know that they are pretty flexible recipes. Like this fudge or this chocolate bark or this one. And though some do require measuring, a little mess up in measurements here or there won't affect the final product much.

Find my Chocolate Avocado Fudge Pops here. 

Homemade Roasted Banana Pudding with Gelatin: Two Ways (Paleo, Autoimmune protocol)

This dessert was completely unplanned. But I came across the pumpkin pudding recipe from Grass Fed Girl. I made it (and it was good) and had the desire to create a banana version. I couldn't be stopped. I will eat anything with bananas or banana flavors. Years ago, people knew about my love for all things banana and would send care packages with only the banana Laffy Taffys. I don't know who ate all of the other flavors. I've also been known to dig through a box of Runts just to pick out the banana ones. Now-a-days, I try to stick with less artificially-flavored banana products, like real bananas. (And like this banana soft serve. You've tried it, right?)