The Healthiest Apple Pie Recipe Ever (And It's Tasty, Too!)

By Marissa Gold, REDBOOK

Our November cover star Salma Hayek is really into healthy eating. She co-founded Cooler Cleanse, a nation-wide fresh juice and raw food delivery service, with her friend Eric Helms, and we're totally smitten-especially with the desserts. For those who just want a taste of the raw food lifestyle, this apple pie recipe is the ideal gateway. It has all of the flavor, creaminess, and deliciously crumble-y crust you're used to, but with all natural, unprocessed ingredients (and no sugar, flour, or dairy!). Helms' kitchen uses a dehydrator to process the apples, but you can saute or bake them, too. Try this recipe at home to see why we're such big fans:

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Raw Apple Pie Recipe

Crust:
2 cups raw almonds
8 dates, pitted
1 ½ tbsp agave nectar
Pinch sea salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until dough comes together. Do not over process. A little bit of texture is needed to balance the creaminess of the tart overall. Build crust into small bowl.

Apples:
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp agave nectar
1/8 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Pinch sea salt
2 apples cut into 12-16 pieces

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In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, agave, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt. Add sliced apples and gently mix to coat apples with the marinade. Place apples on tray and dehydrate 3 hours at 105 degrees. Turn apples over and dehydrate an additional 5-7 hours. They should remain juicy on the inside.

Apple Puree:
1 large fuji apple, cored (not peeled)
3 pitted dates
2 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt
¼ tsp lemon zest

In a blender, puree fuji apple, date, lemon juice, and sea salt until smooth. Stir in lemon zest.

Spoon 2 tbsp. apple puree on top of the crust. Neatly arrange dehydrated apples over the puree. Spoon additional 2-3 tbsp apple puree over the dehydrated apples, gently pressing the puree into any empty spaces. Place assembled apple pies in dehydrator for 1 hour at 105 degrees. Remove the pies from dehydrator, cover, and refrigerate immediately.

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