Blood Sugar Balancing Pumpkin Pie

In our house, pumpkin pie is not just reserved for Thanksgiving time dessert.

It’s a year-round staple in our breakfast routine!

My personal cooking style is the easier, the quicker, the better. I don’t like to mess around with complicated recipes. This is one of the most easiest recipes that can be used for a healthy dessert, a snack or as a breakfast side dish.

I personally made these in advance for my postpartum season with my last baby. The higher level of protein is very nourishing for a new mother & is a hit with my other children as well.

I’ve also tested these pies with my continuous glucose monitor & they proved to be very blood sugar balancing…even my dietician in the CGM chat asked for the recipe because she couldn’t believe a piece of pumpkin pie gave me such great results over time. I added a screenshot of my glucose results to this blog post for you to see how it kept my levels very stable.

(If you’ve never used a continuous glucose monitor, I highly recommend every single person try one out at least once in their life. The data is invaluable to learn about how food affects your biology. It’s especially important if you think you may have hormone imbalances of any kind, since cortisol & steroidal hormones like progesterone, testosterone & estrogen are intricately linked to how your blood sugar is managed.)

I made this recipe into a simple printable that you can download HERE.

Here are a couple of my favorite ingredients if you don’t already have them on hand…

MCT Oil - this ingredient is known to boost energy levels, regulate appetite & weight loss, protect the brain from neurodegeneration, support mitochondrial function & so much more. A great pantry staple for cooking or adding to coffee!

Collagelatin- this is the brand of gelatin we have in our kitchen. This supports joints, skin, metabolism & inflammation control.
I also use this to make my kids healthy gummy bears (just bloom a few scoops with your favorite juice & melt on the stove just like the pie above!)

Let me know how you like it in the comments below

Easy Organic Grocery Ordering

Years ago, our family learned about the dangers of glyphosate & the pesticides companies use in food production. We have since committed to buying the majority of our groceries organic- which not only helps our health but also helps the planet by voting with our dollars & encouraging more farmers to use poison-free farming practices.

What do we need to buy organically?

At a minimum, I recommend following the Environmental Working Groups Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen Guide. They have investigated & determined which produce is most sprayed & which is safest to consume non-organically. You can read more about the EWG list here.

DIRTY DOZEN

  1. Strawberries

  2. Spinach

  3. Kale, Collard & Mustard Greens

  4. Peaches

  5. Pears

  6. Nectarines

  7. Apples

  8. Grapes

  9. Bell & Hot Peppers

  10. Cherries

  11. Blueberries

  12. Green Beans

GMO Crops - Also Dirty!

  1. Corn

  2. Papaya

  3. Summer Squash

  4. Soybeans

  5. Pineapple

  6. Potatos

  7. Beets

The foods above are known to be grown using genetically modified seeds. I would personally recommend staying away from anything labeled GMO or anything listed as “bioengineered” or “derived from bioengineering.”

The Clean Fifteen

  1. Avocadoes

  2. Onions

  3. Sweet Peas

  4. Asparagus

  5. Honeydew melon

  6. Kiwi

  7. Cabbage

  8. Mushrooms

  9. Mangos

  10. Sweet Potato

  11. Watermelon

  12. Carrots

(#’s 13-15 are common GMO crops so I’ve excluded them from my list of foods that are “clean”)

With Azure Standard, we like to order our bulk cooking & baking supplies here. Some things we reorder frequently are their organic butter, flours, frozen fruits & veggies, healthcare/homeopathic items, dried fruits, chocolate chips, coconut cream, pasta noodles, tortillas, vanilla extract & cheddar cheese powder. Check out the video above for our full grocery haul!

Shop Azure Standard Organic Pick-up

Misfit Market Delivery

We’ve used this delivery system for almost 2 years now & just love how easy it is. Not everything is organic on this site, but the majority is & the categories makes it really easy to shop for exactly what you need. We get a lot of our meat, cheese, & fruits/veggies from them weekly!

I get a major savings with them as not every piece of produce is “pretty”. They carry a lot of stuff that the main stream stores reject, which makes it super affordable for us here! Usually our grocery store has organic red peppers 2/$5 but from Misfit, I’ve been known to get the same organic 2 peppers for $2.50. That adds up over time!

Shop Misfit Market- $10 off

Gut Healing Guacamole

 This untraditional take on guacamole is one of my favorites to recommend & serve. It’s great for detoxification support (hello cilantro!) as well as very healing to those with candida or fungal overgrowth. It makes a super simple snack or side dish that helps balance blood sugar & is super healing- especially for fast oxidizers!

Ingredients to Mix:

  • 2 avocados, pitted

  • lemon juice (or lemon essential oil)

  • 1/4 c. chopped red onion

  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

  • cilantro, small handful - chopped

  • salt, pepper + cumin, to taste

I love serving this with a side of sliced carrots & celery but it’s always tasty with some traditional chips
(our family loves Late July Brand in our home!)

Homeade Gluten Free Bread

Let’s be honest, have you actually purchased a gluten free loaf of bread that you loved & wasn't 8 dollars?!⁣

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All the bread I’ve had from stores is dry, stiff & essentially just not good enough….

The coronavirus pandemic has also put international supplies of wheat at risk & reports say to expect shortages and/or prices of bread to rise (which we have already seen here locally in our stores)⁣

SO! It’s the perfect time to start making your own & stocking up on your favorite flour. It’s honestly a LOT easier & more economical than I thought it would be!⁣

⁣Below is my simplified, easy version for bread maker bread. It produces the most amazingly soft & supple all-purpose gluten-free bread I’ve ever had.⁣

INGREDIENTS⁣

• 1 1/4 cup water⁣
• 1/4 cup oil or 4 tbsp dairy free butter⁣
• 3 eggs (room temp)⁣
• 1 1/4 tsp salt⁣
• 3 tbsp sugar⁣
• 3 1/4 cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour⁣
• 2 tsp active dry yeast⁣

⁣

Step 1:
In a medium bowl, mix water, oil & eggs. Pour into the bottom of the loaf pan.⁣

Step 2:
Mix salt, sugar & flour. Pour on top of liquid in the loaf pan.⁣

Step 3:
Make a small bowl-shaped indentation on top of the flour. Add yeast to indentation.⁣

Step 4:
Put loaf pan intoto machine, close lid & turn on to Gluten Free setting (mode 3 on my machine)⁣

Step 5:
A few minutes into the kneading setting, open the lid & use a spatula to scrape down any remaining ingredients from the sides of the bowl. Close & continue to let the machine knead, rise & bake.⁣

Step 6:
When done baking, remove bread pan & allow to cool 20-30 min upright. Then, lay pan on left & right sides for a few minutes each to let the bread rest away from the bowl. Use a wire cooling rack to flip bread over & continue to fully cool. Remove kneading paddle & enjoy!⁣

⁣Store in an airtight container on counter

✅Bread Machine I use: The Pioneer Woman Artisan Dough & Bread Maker by Hamilton Beach⁣

✅Flour I use: Namaste Foods Organic Perfect Flour Blend⁣

⁣In the end, it actually does save us a bit of money, gives us higher quality ingredients & allows us to have fresher, on-demand food.⁣

⁣Let me know how yours turns out!

(Heads up! my post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission, which helps to keep creating content. Thanks!)

4 Ingredient Simple Daily Smoothie

One of the easiest, healthiest + most economical ways to boost your nutrition is by a simple daily smoothie.   This inexpensive yet superfood rich staple is essential to you + your families' overall health.  The nutrients in this quick fix will provide a sustained energy boost, increased immunity, weight management + gentle daily cleansing.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk  -  .50 per serving

  • 1/2 banana  -  .08 per serving

  • 1 scoop Protein Powder  -  $1.13 /serving

  • 1 scoop Macro Greens Superfood  -  .90  /serving

Total Daily Price : $2.61

I'm constantly told that eating healthy is just too expensive + hard to maintain.  That statement is so far from the truth!  By making these simple smoothies at home + ordering my products at discounted prices online, I'm able to enjoy a great dessert tasting, nutrient dense, meal replacing smoothie daily for CHEAP.     

The specific ingredients listed above create a massive amount of goodness for your body. Below are just a few benefits you'll receive. 

  • 38 nutrient rich superfoods

  • 18 billion probiotics

  • Alkaline greens formula

  • 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables

My Favorite Products

Chocolate Protein
Vanilla Protein
Macro Greens

Looking for a new blender to spark your new daily routine?  Check out my favorites here:  1  /  2 

What is your favorite smoothie to make from home?  Let me know your favorites below!