Good Thyme Kitchen

You are here: Home / Archives for healthy

healthy

Nana’s Gazpacho with Fresh Crab & Avocado

by Leave a Comment

Keeping in the spirit of Sunday night family dinner, we headed to my mom’s (Kari’s) house last weekend for some gazpacho. Summer is officially over on the calendar, but it’s still ridiculously hot in AZ.  Nothing is better on a hot day than a glass of chilled white wine and this cold soup.  No prep pics for this dish since I was off the hook for cooking.  Lucky for us, my mom was kind enough to share her recipe with us.  This is a must make if you are a gazpacho fan.  Definitely throw this together ahead of time because the longer this soup sits in the fridge, the better it gets.

Gazpacho is basically a blend of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and tomato juice with some other ingredients to finish it off.  It’s super easy to throw together and it is so fresh and light.  My mom likes to top her gazpacho with fresh crabmeat, avocado and parsley.  Definitely don’t skip the crab and avocado, it elevates the soup to the next level and really makes it more of a meal.

Try out some of other soup recipes like our favorite tomato soup:

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/best-tomato-soup-ever/


Nana’s Gazpacho with Fresh Crab & Avocado
 
Save Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded, cored and chopped
  • 2 English cucumbers, skin left on - seeded and chopped
  • 10 tomatoes on the vine, halved and seeded
  • 1½ medium red onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 6 C. tomato juice
  • ½ C white wine vinegar
  • ½ C good quality olive oil
  • kosher salt to taste - up to 1 Tbsp if needed
  • cracked pepper to taste
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • ½ C fresh lump crab, shelled
  • ¼ C italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor, individually add the bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions and pulse individually until coatsley chopped and broken down. Add to a large bowl. Add garlic, tomato juice, vinegar and olive oil to the bowl and stir. Season with S&P to taste.
  2. Allow to sit in the fridge covered in an airtight container at least overnight and up to a few days before serving to allow flavors to develop.
  3. Serve chilled, garnish each bowl with divided crab meat, chopped avocado and parsley.

Chicken & Vegetable Thai Yellow Curry

by Leave a Comment

If you love Thai yellow curry, then you are going to absolutely love this dish.  I swear the curry craving is oddly powerful.  When it strikes, it doesn’t go away until you oblige. So we suggest not waiting.  Sometimes you just get that real need to have curry in your life.  Is that too much?  Am I going overboard?  Whatever, you get my drift… anywho…the curry craving came with a vengeance  and therefore this dinner happened.  And you can thank us later.  The best news for you, besides the fact that this recipe is really delicious,  it’s also really easy to make and tastes like it took a really long time! Winning!

Start by cutting the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces and chopping the veggies.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken.  Once it’s nice and cooked through, remove it from the pan and set it aside.   Add a little more olive oil to the pan and saute the shallots for about 2 minutes, then do the same with the garlic.  Add in the zucchini and the peppers and saute for about 5-8 minutes, until they are nicely browned (but not overcooked).  Make sure you don’t overcook the veggies because nobody likes soggy veggies. (Well, I assume nobody does but if that’s your jam, you can do as you please).  Add in the curry paste, fresh ginger, coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer.  Add the chicken back to the pan and continue to cook until the veggies are cooked through. Add the spinach at the very end.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and stir to incorporate.

Serve this delicious chicken and veggie Thai yellow curry over your favorite rice!  We used jasmine for this recipe because we happen to love it!

Check out another favorite dish that’s similar to this one:

Cashew Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice


Chicken & Vegetable Thai Yellow Curry
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 zuchinni, cut into ¼ inch strips
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
  • 2 Tbsp yellow curry paste
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 14 oz can coconut milk
  • ½ C water
  • 2 C chopped fresh spinach, packed
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 3 C jasmine rice, cooked according to package instructions. Can also use cauliflower rice or quinoa as a substitute.
**optional - garnish with fresh mint
Instructions
  1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, cooking each side approximately 4 minutes per side until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
  2. Using the same skillet heat remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and sautee for 2 minutes, add garlic and sautee for an additional minute. Add zuchinni and red bell pepper. Sautee for 5-8 minutes until browned. Add yellow curry paste, ginger, coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until vegetables are cooked through. Add spinach the last minute of cooking. Squeeze the lime juice over the top and mix to incorporate.
  3. Serve curry over jasmine rice and garnish with fresh mint if desired.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats with Maple Coconut Cream

by 3 Comments

The pumpkin craze continues and we are all in!  Just in case you are looking for one more way to incorporate the beautiful flavors of fall into your daily routine, we have the answer for you!  These pumpkin pie overnight oats with maple coconut cream are seriously one of our favorite breakfast choices right now.  I mean, how can they not be, right?  The good news about pumpkin is that it’s not just delicious, it’s also loaded with beneficial nutrients.  Pumpkin is good for your heart, it’s high in fiber, potassium and both vitamins C and A.  Sweet!  We’ll take it!

These yummy oats are really easy to prepare.  The best part of overnight oats is the make ahead factor.  Spend 5 minutes the night before and you will wake up to a delicious, sweet, healthy breakfast!  This recipe is really a special treat with the coconut cream topping.  This one would be really fun to make ahead and serve to your houseful of guests who are visiting for the holidays.  You’ll be so popular if they all wake up and have this waiting for them to enjoy!  So, go ahead, add this recipe to your list!  You’ll be so happy you did!

Check out some of our other favorite overnight oat recipes:

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/lemon-blueberry-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/white-chocolate-raspberry-overnight-oats/

 

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
  • 1½ C rolled oats
  • 2 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 2½ C almond milk
  • ½ C pure pumpkin
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ C cinnamon
  • kosher salt to taste - approx ½ tsp
  • nutmeg - to garnish on top
**Optional Maple Coconut Cream:
  • 1 can full coconut cream (refrigerated for at least 24 hours)
  • 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl add all ingredienys. Mix until well incorporated. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.
For the Maple Coconut Cream:
  1. Remove the coconut cream from the fridge, making sure to keep the can upright -do not shake. Remove hardened cream from the can, leaving any liquid behind and place in mixing bowl. Beat until creamy, approx 1-2 minutes. Add maple syrup and beat for another 5 seconds.
  2. Spoon desired amount over a serving of the overnight oats and top with a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.
  3. Store remaining coconut cream in an airtight container in the fridge.

Pina Colada Nice Cream

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever heard of “nice cream?”  Basically it’s healthy ice cream that’s usually made with frozen bananas as the base, then you simply add in any of your other favorite healthy options.  This pina colada nice cream is literally the easiest thing to make and it’s so delicious that you will be craving it all summer long!  We are huge fans of the pina colada flavor combo which is coconut and pineapple.  Yum!  It’s so refreshing and delicious.  We always have frozen bananas in the freezer.  If you don’t, now is the time to start because you can use them in smoothies and well, after you try this, nice cream will be your new favorite way to curb that sweet tooth so, take our advice and cut up some extra bananas and pop them into the freezer.  We’ve gotten to the point where we buy extra bananas when grocery shopping just to have extra to freeze.

Okay, let’s see just how easy this recipe is to make.

Start by tossing the frozen bananas into the food processor or blender.  Let them get nice and broken down and smooth.

Then just add in the coconut cream, pineapple and vanilla and mix until combined.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least a couple hours.  Once it’s nice and solid, you can scoop it out and serve it up.  You might even find yourself hanging out by the freezer with a spoon…just sayin.

We served this one up with toasted coconut flakes.  You could top it with whatever you’d like…pineapple chunks, coconut flakes or slivered almonds would be delicious too!


Pina Colada Nice Cream
 
Save Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 3 C frozen bananas
  • ½ C coconut cream
  • 2 C fresh sweet pineapple
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp toasted coconut flakes
Instructions
  1. Add frozen bananas to a food processor or high powered blender. Mix on high until broken down and smooth. Add coconut cream, pineapple and vanilla and continue to mix on high until incorporated.
  2. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours. Serve with toasted coconut flakes on top.

Roasted Delicata Squash Quinoa Salad

by Leave a Comment

Roasted delicata squash is not only pretty to look at, it’s absolutely delicious to eat as well.  If you have never had delicata squash, we encourage you to give it a try.  You’ve probably walked right past it in the grocery store a million times and though nothing of it.  During the fall, there are all kinds of interesting multi colored and crazy shaped squash displays lining the isles at the market.  Who knew that there could be so many different ways to cook with these guys?  The most exciting or interesting (if you find squash facts interesting like we do…don’t judge) about delicata is that you can eat the skin. What?  Really?  Eat the skin?  Are you serious?  Yep, you hear me.  You can just eat the whole darn thing.  I know, you are pretty excited about your new squash knowledge.  Now you can make this recipe for your friends and really impress them.

Anyway, it’s a very simple recipe so check it out.

Start by cutting the squash in half, removing the seeds and cutting it into 1/2 inch round half slices.  Toss the squash pieces in a bowl with olive oil and maple syrup then spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Season with some kosher salt and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.  You want them be a pretty golden brown color.  While the squash is cooking, you can prepare the quinoa according to the package directions, then allow it to cool.

Once the squash is fully cooked,  remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  Make the vinaigrette using a blender or an immersion blender.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl, add in the delicata squash, the almonds, the orange infused dried cranberries, feta cheese and toss with the vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper and voila!  You are ready to enjoy.  You can also store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.  Chances are, you’ll eat it all before then but just so you know your options.

 

text

Roasted Delicata Squash Quinoa Salad
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 C dry quinoa cooked according to package instructions
  • 1 medium delicata squash - halved, seeded and sliced into ½ inch half-rounds
  • 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • ¼ C slivered almonds
  • ¼ C orange infused dried cranberries - or regualr dried cranberries
  • ⅓ C feta cheese, crumbled
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp 0% greek yogurt
  • ¼ C red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425. Toss sliced delicata squash in a bowl with olive oil and maple syrup. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread squash evenly over baking sheet. Season with kosher salt. Roast for 30 minutes until golden brown, allow to cool.
  2. For the vinaigrette, add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until mixed, set aside.
  3. Allow quinoa to cool and add to a large bowl. Add in roasted delicata squash, almonds, dried cranberries and crumbled feta. Drizzle with vinaigrette dressing and tpss to coat. Season with S&P to taste. Serve immediately or cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Strawberries & Cream Overnight Oats

by Leave a Comment

We’d like you to meet our new favorite breakfast, strawberries and cream overnight oats!  If you’ve been an avid follower of GTK, you are already well aware of our obsession with overnight oats.  If you are new here, and you do an overnight oat search on the blog…you’ll see just what we are talking about.  We love this simple breakfast because of how versatile it can be.  There are so many different ways to make overnight oats that the creativity is literally nonstop!!  The other great news for us is that our kids all happen to love overnight oats for breakfast (and also an afternoon snack) so that might be why we are continually experimenting with new flavor combos.  This strawberries and cream recipe happens to be another win!  If you love strawberries, you are going to want to make this one too!

Overnight oats literally take minutes to make.  They are one of the easiest ways to feel like  “I’ve prepped my meals for the week and am totally on my A Game” without spending all afternoon doing it.  Just grab a bowl, toss in the oats, the chia seeds, the almond milk (or milk of your choice), the strawberries, vanilla, maple syrup and a pinch of salt.  Stir it all up and transfer to an airtight container with a lid and pop it in the fridge.  How easy was that?  Now, when you wake up in the morning, breakfast will be ready.  It’s literally making itself while you sleep!  This is also when I turn on the Robot vacuum so that it can clean while I sleep too!!  Just sayin…I’m no fool.  Just know how to get it done!

As another time saver, I’m going to give you a link to some of our other favorite overnight oat recipes so you don’t even have to search.  In both of our houses, the apple cinnamon and the chocolate peanut butter are huge hits with the kids along with this strawberries and cream recipe!  Give them all a try.  You can have overnight oats for days….

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-overnight-oats/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/lemon-blueberry-overnight-oats/


Strawberries & Cream Overnight Oats
 
Save Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 2 C
Ingredients
  • 1½ C rolled oats
  • 1½ C almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1½ Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp vanilla
  • 1 C chopped strawberries
  • pinch kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Transfer to an airtight container with a lid and store in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.
  2. Stir before eating, add additional almond milk if it needs thinning. Store in the fridge for up to one week.

Green Chile Cilantro Chicken & Pineapple Skewers

by Leave a Comment

We know how much you love a delicious, easy weeknight dinner so in your honor, we’ve created these green chile cilantro chicken and pineapple skewers just for you!  You are going to love how simple this recipe is to make.  And really, who doesn’t love food on a stick?  It’s grilling season now so basically it’s time to start thinking about some fun new ideas to get outside and cook dinner in the comfort of your own backyard.  In Arizona, we only have a short amount of time to do this comfortably however, because in about another month, it’s going to be an absolute inferno in our backyards and that’s without the grill even being turned on.  But the diehards don’t let a little heat stop them and we could very well fall into that category.  But I digress…back to the skewers.  You only need a small amount of ingredients for this recipe.

The sauce is literally a can of diced green chilis, fresh cilantro, garlic and lime juice.  Blend it up and voila!  Sauce is ready.  See, I told you this is an easy one.  Now you just cube up the chicken and place it into a bowl.

Pour the yummy sauce over the chicken and toss to make sure it’s all coated evenly.  Let it hang out in the fridge for at least an hour.  Longer if you can make that happen only because we are working with boneless, skinless chicken and it loves to marinate to soak up flavor!

Once you are ready to start cooking dinner, preheat the grill and start the food on a stick process.  We are all about pretty bright colors so we chose a vibrant red bell pepper and some bright sweet pineapple.  If you’ve never had pineapple on the grill before, you are gonna freak out!  Oh my yum!  It’s fantastic.  Who knew pineapple could actually get sweeter?  Anyway, thread the skewers with the chicken, peppers and pineapple and drizzle with some more sauce before you put them on the grill.  Cook for about 5 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 5 on the other side and your skewers should be good to go!  We like to serve over cauliflower rice but you can certainly serve them whatever your heart desires.  See, I told you this was an easy weeknight meal.  Hope you love it as much as my family did!

If you really want to impress the people, serve up these totally off the hook cast iron maple sautéed apples for dessert!!

Green Chile Cilantro Chicken & Pineapple Skewers
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: Makes 10-12 skewers
Ingredients
  • 8 oz diced green chili peppers
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ½ C cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1.5 lbs chicken tenders, trimmed and cut into large cubes
  • ½ pineapple, cut into bite sized cubes
  • ½ red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large squares
  • ½ yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into large squares
Instructions
  1. Using a small blender or immersion blender add green chilis, lime juice, cilantro and garlic. Blend until completely broken down and mixed.
  2. Add cubed chicken to a low bowl or gallon ziploc freezer bag, season with S&P. Pour half of green chili marinade over the chicken and mix until coated. Marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferrably longer.
  3. Heat bbq. Thread chicken, pineapple and bell peppers equally onto metal or wood skewers.
  4. Grill for 5 minutes, flip skewer over and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through for another 5 minutes.
  5. Serve over cauliflower rice, grain rice or on its own with the additional marinade on the side.

Cauliflower Alfredo Over Zoodles

by Leave a Comment

Bring on the cauliflower Alfredo over zoodles! We happen to love Alfredo but it is not exactly something that you can eat on a regular basis without feeling very guilty. There happens to be just a few calories in the “real” stuff.  That is why we decided to try Alfredo that’s made with cauliflower instead!  This stuff is fantastic and we are quite excited about it.  Cauliflower is all the rage these days and it’s just so great how you can substitute it in a variety of ways.  We know we love cauliflower rice so we were sure this recipe was going to work out. All of our kids love Alfredo so we did a secret test to see if they’d be into this recipe and guess what??  They were!! They actually really liked it.  We did however, feed it to them over pasta instead of zoodles.  I mean, we didn’t want to push our luck right?  We however, loved it over the zoodles!

Check out how easy peasy this stuff is to make! Just start by cutting the cauliflower into florets.

Boil the florets until they are soft and cooked through, then drain them and transfer to the food processor.  Add the chicken broth and pulse until smooth.  Add in the cream, garlic and cheese (you’re welcome) and pulse until combined. The smell is so amazing!  Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Now you can get going on the zoodles.

Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the zoodles for about 3-5 minutes until they begin to break down.  Add the cauliflower Alfredo to the skillet and stir to combine.  Serve with additional Alfredo sauce over the top of the zoodles and season with a sprinkle of cheese.  We know you are going to love this.

 

Cauliflower Alfredo Over Zoodles
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 6 C water
  • 1½ C chicken broth
  • ¼ C heavy cream
  • 1-2 cloves garlic - begin with one clove, add an additional clove if needed
  • **1/2 C + more for serving grated quattro formaggio cheese blend
  • Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp good quality olive oil
  • **3 medium zucchinis, spiralized
  • ¼ C flat leaf parsley, chopped
**Quattro formaggio is an italian cheese blend, we love Trader Joe’s quattro formagio. If you can't find quattro formagio you can substitute grated parmesan.
** If you don’t have a spiralizer you can purchase spiralized zucchini noodles in the produce section of most grocery stores
Instructions
  1. Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower florets, boil for approx 6 minutes until cauliflower is cooked through. Drain in a collander, add cauliflower to a food processor or high powered blender.
  2. Add chicken broth and pulse until smooth. Add cream, garlic and cheese and pulse until incorporated. Season with S&P to taste.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zoodles and sautee for 3-5 minutes until the zoodles begin to break down. Add 1 C of cauliflower alfredo to the skillet, stir and remove from heat after 1 minute.
  4. Serve with additional cauliflower sauce over the top, garnish with a sprinkle of cheese and chopped parsley.

Cobb Salad

by Leave a Comment

The Cobb Salad is an absolute classic and we couldn’t be more thankful for this beautiful creation.  It’s funny because, as I was writing this, it made me curious as to where the Cobb salad actually came from.  So, naturally, I had to google to find out more.  This kind of stuff fascinates me.  Is that sad?  Have I nothing better to do?  Possibly.  But Kari and I have already told you that we are obsessed with all things food and I guess learning about the origin of recipes is part of that obsession.  Don’t judge.  Anyway, a quick “high level” overview for you…just in case you are not quite as interested as me.  The Cobb is an American garden salad that mainly consists of lettuce, tomato, bacon, hard boiled egg, avocado, chicken, blue cheese and a red-wine vinaigrette.  (We already knew that part, right?) It’s believed to date back to the 1930’s where it was served at the Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant.  The restaurant’s owner was named Robert Howard Cobb.  Wow!  Cool huh?  Now we know something new. I figured it was a salad that has been around for a very long time and I was right.  I feel so much better now.  Bottom line, it’s one of our favs at GTK and we love how easy it is to make!

We like a traditional Cobb salad and therefore have all of the typical ingredients in this recipe.  We did however, use turkey bacon instead but that’s just a personal preference to cut down on the calories but not on flavor! We served this one with some delicious asparagus on the side because, why not?

This Cobb salad is easy peasy to assemble.  The motivation for having it this week is due to food prep!  You know how big we are on our food prep right?  Well, we already had the hard boiled eggs and the chicken prepared…after that, it’s a cinch!

We know you are going to love the red-wine vinaigrette too.  It’s tangy and delicious and pairs perfectly with this dish!  Make extra vinaigrette to use again later!  You’ll be so happy you did!

Check out some of our other delicious salads:

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/brussels-sprout-kale-harvest-salad/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/panzanella-salad/

 

Cobb Salad
 
Save Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 6 heaping cups romaine lettuce
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half - lengthwise
  • 1 avocado, chopped into large chunks
  • ¾ C rainbow baby hierloom tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ C blue cheese, crumbled
  • 2 pieces cooked turkey bacon, chopped
  • 1 C chopped cooked chicken breast
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 4 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
Instructions
For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
  1. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside
For the Salad:
  1. Spread lettuce out on a large flat platte or low salad bowl. Arrange remaining ingredients over the lettuce (either mixed - as pictured, or in strips)
  2. Drizzle salad with red wine vinaigrette or serve on the side.

Pumpkin Bars (Vegan, Gluten, Grain & Refined Sugar Free)

by Leave a Comment

These pumpkin bars are a total game changer!  Does a delicious dessert that happens to be vegan, as well as gluten, grain and refined sugar free sound too good to be true?  Well, we are here to tell you that it’s not!  And not only are these beautiful little bars all of those things, they are freaking delicious too!!  You have to trust us here.  They are full of pumpkiny flavor, creamy and sweet. Sounds like a win to us.  Okay, let’s get down to business.  Here’s how you make these guys…

Start by soaking a cup of raw cashews in a bowl of boiling water for 30 minutes.  While the nuts are hangin out (that sounds weird), you can get going on the rest of the steps.  The crust is really quite simple.  In a food processor, add oats and almonds and pulse until broken down. Then add in the brown sugar, maple syrup, salt and coconut oil and process until nicely combined.

Line a 9×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the bottom of the pan.  You can use the back of a spoon or your trusty hands!  Be sure that it’s nice and even.  Pop this into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Once it’s all pretty and golden, remove from oven and set aside to cool. While the crust is cooling, you can start on the filling.

The filling is really easy to make.  Just put all of the ingredients into a food processor or a high powered blender and process until smooth.  Spread the filling over the crust evenly and bake for 40 minutes.  Cool at room temperature then transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours before cutting into squares.

Warning: These pumpkin bars are highly addictive.  No worries though, eat up because they are actually good for you.  This doesn’t happen very often so take advantage people!!

Check out some of our other favorite pumpkin desserts below.

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/pumpkin-trifle-with-graham-cracker-crust/

http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-maple-glaze/

Pumpkin Bars (Vegan, Gluten, Grain & Refined Sugar Free)
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 16
Ingredients
For the Crust:
  • 1 C rolled oats
  • 1 C raw almonds
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • ¼ C coconut oil
For the Filling:
  • 1 C raw cashews (soaked in a bowl of boiling hot water for 30 minutes)
  • 1 15oz can raw pumpkin
  • 1 15oz can refrigerated coconut cream - white solids only
  • ¼ C pure maple syrup
  • 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • kosher salt to taste - approx ¼ tsp
Instructions
For the Crust:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Using a food processor add oats and almonds and pulse until broken down. Add remaining ingredients and process until combined.
  3. Line a 9x9 inch rimmed baking pan with parchment. Spread mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan. Use the back of a spoon or hand to press the crust to the bottom of the pan evenly.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool. Keep oven set at 350.
For the Filling:
  1. Using a food processor or high powered blender add all filling ingredients. Process until smooth. Spread filling over the crust evenly.
  2. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temp. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting into slices to serve.