I am a big supporter of days that give excuses to eat dessert. 7/11 is a beautiful day, so is Tax Day (Baskin Robins is where it’s at), and Pancake Day. The best of them all is pi(e) day.
You may not be the biggest fan of math, but I’m sure we can all agree that pi is a godsent.
It combines all of my favorite things: nerdy math jokes, puns, and FOOD.
But you may be thinking, “Eliza. You write a healthy food blog. Pie is not healthy.”
And you are half right, my made-up readers.
I introduce to you my “healthy” pumpkin pie.
First of all, pumpkin is a squash so it already started healthy. Furthermore, in my recipe we hide sweet potato and carrots into the pie to make it triply healthy and the carrots add a sweetness that lets us reduce the sugar. Win, win, win.
When you go to the store to pick up the ingredients don’t forget that you’ll also need a pie tin, a can opener, and aluminum foil so if you don’t have those, pick them up too.
Pro-tip: If you don’t have a pie tin, don’t buy the cheap aluminum kind. At most grocery stores they come in sets of three and THEY COST THE SAME as the fancy glass ones. For five dollars you can get three cheaply made tins to throw away later or you could get a nice glass one. The glass one will result in tastier pie.
Note: I’m a big fan of making things from scratch but we’re in college. Come to terms with that and get the premade crust and the microwavable sweet potatoes. Life = easier.
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Microwave your sweet potato (just one). Mine took 7 minutes like the package said it would. Let it cool for a few minutes in the micro.
While it’s “cooking” mix together your dry ingredients and then beat in two eggs.
Dry ingredients = 1 teaspoon salt, 1.75 teaspoons cinnamon spice blend (go for quality here, the better the spice means the better the pie. I swear by Pampered Chef’s Cinnamon Plus), and 1/4 to 1/2 cups of sugar. I went for a 1/4 cup because I trust the sweetness of the carrot and the condensed milk. I’d even say you could cut the sugar out completely but trust your tastes. Indulge that sugar.
Step 2:
“Cook” your carrots in the microwave. Cut three carrots into small pieces and place them in a bowl with two tablespoons of water and cover them with saran wrap. Microwave for 4-6 minutes or until carrots are soft. Let sit in the microwave for five minutes before handling. The steam will be VERY HOT. Very.
Step 3:
Peel your cooled down potato (the skin should come off easily with a fork) and blend it together with the softened carrots (add the water from the bowl, too). Blend until smooth.
Step 4:
Mix all your ingredients together: spice/egg mixture + carrot/sweet potato mixture + 1/2 a can of pureed pumpkin + 1 whole can of sweetened condensed milk. It should smell delicious and look smooth and orange.
Step 5:
Push you pie crust into the pie tin and then pour in your filling. Protect the edges of the pie with aluminum foil (so it won’t burn).
Step 6:
Cook for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and cook for another 20. Remove foil. Cook for another 15-30 minutes or until a knife in the middle comes out clean.
Step 7:
Enjoy guilt-free pie for pi day!