Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! One of the my favourite holidays, Thanksgiving is about practicing gratitude while getting together with family for delicious seasonal food, warming spices and, of course, eating pumpkin pie!

I thank my classmate, L, for this delicious recipe, which is an adaptation of the one found on the blog, Mark’s Daily Apple. This Thanksgiving has proved to be challenging because several of my family members are gluten and dairy free, while others need to restrict sugar intake due to a recent diagnosis of diabetes.  So, behold a delicious and healthy version of pumpkin pie that can satisfy everyone! The true test, however, will be if my cousins enjoy it, too!

Here’s how to make it:

Crust:

– 2.5 cups of walnuts

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 1/4 tsp kosher salt

– 2 tbs of olive oil

Put ingredients in a food processor.

Turn on food processor until the ingredients are well chopped and mixed together.

Pack the crust down evenly, with your fingers, onto a medium-sized glass pie dish and put in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Filling:

– 1 can of pumpkin puree

– 1 cup coconut milk

– 1 tsp vanilla extract

– 1/4 tsp ground cloves

– 1 tsp cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp nutmeg

– 1/4 tsp ginger

– 1 pinch of sea salt

– 3 tbs natural maple syrup (you can use less or more depending on how sweet you want your pie. You can also substitute maple syrup for honey, but it will taste distinctly less Canadian!)

– 3 eggs, whisked

Add all filling ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Feel free to be a little more generous with the spices of your choice, if you like.

Whisk ingredients until the filling is smooth and uniform.

Then, pour the filling on top of the pie crust until the pie is full. Bake the entire pie at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.

Sprinkle some cinnamon on top, slice and serve.  You can serve with whipped cream, or some kind of dairy-free facsimile, and accompany it with a warm, spiced drink while you contemplate what you’re thankful for this year.

Enjoy!