What's Cooking? Power-Packed Pie

I signed up for a marathon. After much talk, after several halves, I finally made the move. With a little less than four months to go, there is a great deal of running ahead (though a slight hiccup with a sore foot). Now, along with an increase in distance and number of long runs, I'm going to need some way to fuel this energy expenditure. As I was contemplating how to get the most bang for the nutrition buck, I recalled Quintessence's marvelous raw pecan pie I had in New York. It was full of protein and good fats, that would be a quick source of energy and compact in size. Plus, that pie was absolutely phenomenal. I finally got around to trying my hand at replicating the dessert-turned-protein boost, so here goes:

Power-Packed Pecan Pie

1 cup raw pecans, soaked for an hour, drained

1 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight, drained

1/4 cups raw walnuts

14 dates, pitted

1 tbs raw agave

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

(1 tbs cocoa powder - optional)

1. Combine almonds, walnuts, and 7 dates in a food processor until everything starts to stick together. Press into two small tart pans.

2. In the food processor, mix dates, agave, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until almost smooth. Then add in the pecans until it starts to come together. Press into the pies.

3. Optional - add the cocoa powder to half of the pecan mixture and pulse. Press that into the other pie crust. 

Makes 16 mini slices (or you can roll into little balls). Serve with a side of coconut whipped cream. More tasty goodies can be found at Wellness Weekends.