Filing

2 cups farm blueberries
2 cups almond / coconut milk
3 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 cup soaked tapioca pearls
1/2 cup chopped roasted pecans
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Vanilla pod

Directions

Dough

In a mixing bowl, combine the GF (gluten-free) flour, xanthan gum, and sea salt. Add small pieces of cold butter and lemon zest to the bowl, and knead them into the dough. Gradually add the egg and cold water as needed to ensure the dough is uniformly mixed and no longer sticking to your fingers. Divide the dough into 2 balls, with one slightly bigger than the other (for the pie base), and refrigerate them for 20-30 minutes.

After chilling, remove the dough balls from the fridge and place each one on a flour-dusted surface. Roll them out into thin circular layers. Take the first rolled-out dough and place it in the bottom of an oiled and flour-dusted pie pan. Keep the second rolled-out dough to top your pie at the end.

Filling

Warm up the milk and coconut sugar in a saucepan. Add the soaked tapioca pearls and stir continuously. As the mixture thickens, add lemon juice, lemon zest, and crushed blueberries. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined, which should take a few minutes. Finally, add a vanilla pod or vanilla extract and allow the mixture to cool down. Taste the pudding to adjust the acidity and sweetness to your liking.

Assembly

To assemble the pie, place the larger dough ball on the bottom of the oiled and flour-dusted pan. Sprinkle chopped pecans and 1 Tbsp of coconut sugar over the dough. Then, pour the blueberry filling over the pecans. Top the filling with the second dough sheet. You may moisten the top of the pie by brushing it with an egg or egg yolk.

Bake the pie at 400F for 30-40 minutes, or until you see the edges of the pie turn golden brown. Allow it to cool down, then place it in the fridge for a few hours until chilled. Now, it’s ready for you to enjoy!

Benefits

Blueberries are excellent for the nervous system and brain health! Exciting new evidence suggests that they can improve memory and even help postpone the onset of cognitive problems frequently associated with aging.

Berries in general are considered low in terms of their glycemic index (GI). GI is a common way of identifying the potential impact of a food on our blood sugar level once we’ve consumed and digested that food. In general, foods with a GI of 50 or below are considered “low” in terms of their glycemic index value. A recent study that included blueberries as a low-GI fruit has found that blueberries, along with other berries, clearly have a favorable impact on blood sugar regulation in people already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Participants in the study who consumed at least 3 servings of low-GI fruits per day (including blueberries) saw significant improvement in their regulation of blood sugar over a three-month period. (Their blood levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, or HgA1C were used as the standard of measurement in this study.) It’s great to see blueberries providing these clear health benefits for blood sugar regulation!

If you want to maximize your antioxidant benefits from blueberries, go organic! A recent study directly compared the total antioxidant capacity of organically grown versus non-organically grown highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L., var. Bluecrop), and found some very impressive results for the organically grown berries. Organically grown blueberries turned out to have significantly higher concentrations of total phenol antioxidants and total anthocyanin antioxidants than conventionally grown blueberries, as well as significantly higher total antioxidant capacity. Numerous specific antioxidant anthocyanins were measured in the study, including delphinidins, malvidins, and petunidins. The antioxidant flavonoid quercetin was also measured.