This dessert featured on my 'How to Eat for Beautiful Skin' workshop last month and since so many of you wrote me about this class, I decided to share one of the recipes as well as some key info, here for everyone :)

In class we learned about where to begin in order to improve your skin's elasticity, heal acne, smooth out bumps and blemishes, avoid flareups, bring out your natural glow and even how to visibly minimise some of those wrinkles...

The first step always begins in your gut.

Healing your gut is a massive subject and may involve quite a different journey for most individuals, but the root of the cause is nearly always the same. And it's to do with your digestion.

If you're not able to break down certain foods, if your system is quite blocked up, if you don't cleanse often, don't fast for long enough (think late dinner and big breakfast), don't get enough fibre or water, if you mix starches and proteins (think mac'n cheese, chicken and rice, baked potatoes with cream), if you have food sensitivities (80% of people don't realise they do!), if you get sleepy or sluggish after meals, etc etc etc... it's very likely that your body is trying hard to communicate that your digestion is not in order either through pain, like bloating and belly aches or visually by displaying signs all over your skin. 

In my classes, we always focus on good digestion and this pie recipe very much falls into the easily digestive category. 

KEY TAKEAWAY: If it's easily digestible, it's good for your skin!

How is this recipe different to other raw recipes?

1. The base is not made out of dry nuts, it's all seeds. Nuts require soaking to remove the enzyme inhibitors and make them gentler on our tummies, but the cake would fall apart if we were to use soaked nuts. Seeds are easily digestible without the soaking step.

2. The cream has nuts (cashews) which have been soaked and rinsed.

3. Dried fruit and nuts combo falls under the Food Combination To Avoid when you're improving your digestion. With one exception- prunes. Usually a base contains some sort of nut or seed or coconut concoction and then on top of that there are also cashews in the cream. Nuts galore. Then for the base to stick together- dates and raisins are used a lot. They are of course an incredible snack to eat on their own as they provide fibre and slow releasing sugars for long lasting energy, but sadly when mixed with nuts- they confuse the system and can make you feel bloated. Prunes contain sorbitol which is a natural laxative, so they actually support the natural stages of digestion, help break down what ever food they are taken with (also helping you to assimilate its nutrients) and promote swift movement through your gut, which is all about the satisfying elimination.

4. The cake contains lots of blueberries, cacao powder and additional maqui berry powder, which are all super high in antioxidants. Eating foods rich in these free-radical-fighting-substances will strengthen your immune system and protect your cells. Key to healthy skin.

5. The coconut oil, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds contain healing essential fats, that work for your digestion like water works for a long and winding water slide. Without the water, it would take a long time to get down the slide, you'd stick to the sides, work way harder than you should and you won't enjoy the ride. Most fat is not even stored as fat, so it's time we start counting nutrients instead of calories.

At last, the recipe...

BERRY & CHOCOLATE PIE FOR GLOWING SKIN

For the crust

200g prunes

75g sunflower seeds

75g hemp seeds

55g cacao powder

½ teaspoon Himalayan salt

For the filling

300g blueberries

150g cashews, soaked overnight

105g extra virgin coconut oil, melted

50g maple syrup

1 tablespoon maqui berry powder (I buy this one)

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/3 teaspoon Himalayan salt

-Place all the crust ingredients into a food processor with an S blade. Process till sticky.

-Transfer the mixture into a pie dish (make sure the base is removable) and press with your fingers and fists till it lines the entire dish and its sides.

-Place all the filling ingredients into a blender, making sure the blueberries are at room temperature, otherwise the coconut oil will harden.

-Blend using a tamper rod, till creamy.

-Pour inside the crust and distribute evenly along the surface.

-Transfer to the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

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