Welcome to Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD + Chocolate Pudding Pie

Let's take a tour, and eat some pie.

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Dear friends, 

Welcome to Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD! Let’s take a quick tour (there will be an insanely delicious chocolate pudding pie at the end, so stick with me!). 

Who we are

Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD is a community that explores the rituals, traditions, and cultural influences around food, and how they connect us (and sometimes disconnect us) to our minds, our bodies, our spirits, the earth, and our communities. This is a space that’s dedicated to bringing more ease and joy into the process of cooking and eating. Whether you’re looking for foolproof recipes (that just happen to be gluten-free), for inspiration and tools to help you connect to your body and spirit, and/or for tips on becoming a more intuitive and creative cook, you’re in the right place. No matter what brings you, I’m so glad you’re here. 

We all need to eat to live, but food is far more than just an element of our survival. Food is a representation of cultural norms and power structures, it’s a source of pleasure and comfort, it’s a source of fear and stress, it’s how we connect with our bodies (and also how we often shame or deprive our bodies), it’s fuel, it’s a driver for connection. 

In other words, food is insanely nuanced. My mission with this newsletter is to step out of all of those webs so that we can examine them with an open, curious mind. In doing so, my hope is that we can:

• transform cooking into an act of self care

• use food as a way to connect to our bodies

• bask in the pleasure of eating, no matter what’s on our plates

• gain presence and joy in the kitchen, and become better cooks along the way

Podcast

In the Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD podcast I speak with chefs, food writers, spiritual thinkers, scientists, and more about all of these topics and more. We also explore recipe ideas and cooking tips. These conversations go deep, helping us find more freedom and joy as eaters. You can listen to the episodes right here on Substack, or wherever you stream podcasts.

No judgements, no dogma

This is a non-dogmatic, judge-free space. We all have different needs when it comes to the foods that best serve our bodies. While we’ll explore different foodways out of curiosity, if we choose to apply certain principles or practices into our own kitchens, it’s completely optional. We will celebrate and defend our sovereignty as eaters.  

Why reader-supported content (from a burnt out blogger)

I’m Nicki Sizemore, a trained chef and cookbook author who had a successful food blog for 8 years. While the blog recipes were “free,” they were flooded with ads to fund the content. In relying upon ad dollars, however, I had to make sure that viewership was high (you only make money off of ads that people see), which in turn meant that search engines such as Google had to like my content. But search engines have become increasingly specific about what kind of content they rank. Each blog post took an immense amount of research into SEO (search engine optimization) strategy and keyword placement, and eventually it got to the point where my posts were written using a specific structure with specific words so that they would appear when you typed a search term into Google. 

I started to feel like a robot. My posts lost all of their heart and soul, becoming devoid of creativity and expression. It was a game of strategy, and it worked. I left the blog the same month that I had the highest ad revenue ever. While FromScratchFast.com continues to live on the web, my mission here is to create something for you that’s deeper, more authentic, honest, meaningful and fun. Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD is an ad-free space where I can connect directly with you, and talk about topics far and wide.

Paid subscribers completely fund this ad-free work. Here’s what’s included in a paid subscription:

• A new recipe every Friday

• Access to the full recipe archive

• Exclusive bonus posts

• Giveaways

• The ability to comment on posts and request recipes

• Q&A’s

Free subscribers will receive all of the essays and podcasts, along with one recipe per month.

Let’s talk PIE

So here we are. I hope that together we’ll weave something beautiful and transformational. To celebrate, let’s make a chocolate pudding pie, shall we?

This rich and creamy pie features a cinnamon-spiced graham cracker crust, a luscious chocolate filling, and a whipped topping. It’s easy to make and just happens to be gluten-free and vegan friendly, although I swear nobody will know.

I use gluten free graham crackers in the crust, but any brand will do. Almonds add a subtle flavor and lend structure, but you can swap them out for more graham crackers if you have a nut allergy. As for the filling, it’s made with full-fat coconut milk, which is critical, as it allows the pudding to set up into a sliceable texture. The pie is topped with whipped coconut cream to keep it dairy free, but you can use regular whipped cream if you prefer. The result is a swoon-worthy dessert that’s at once nostalgic and new.

I’ve pasted the full recipe below as well as included a link to a printable PDF. Please let me know in the comments if you give it a try or if you have any questions! On that note, all my recipes will be available in the archive for paid subscribers, so if you miss something you can always come back at a later time. 

Chocolate Pudding Pie

715KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

I’m learning as I go on this new platform, and I would love your feedback. Please let me know what works or if you have any issues.

Thank you again for being here. Wishing you a wonderful week, and remember to nourish yourself with intention and love. 

xo, 

Nicki

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Chocolate Pudding Pie

715KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

This chocolate pudding pie features a silky chocolate filling, a light and creamy topping, and a graham cracker almond crust. It’s one of those desserts that make me giggle with pure pleasure. The filling is adapted from this chocolate pudding recipe, but it uses full-fat coconut milk, which is critical as it allows the pudding to set up into a sliceable texture. I prefer using raw cacao powder in the pudding, which is richer and more chocolatey than regular cocoa powder, but you can use a good quality cocoa powder instead. The flavor is further enhanced with chopped dark chocolate—use a bar with 70% cocoa content. The pie gets topped with coconut whipped cream to keep it dairy free, but you can use regular whipped cream if you prefer. Take note that the pie will need to chill for 4 hours total before serving (but you can make it the day before!). Be sure to check out the tips below.

Makes: 1 9-inch pie | Prep time: 40 minutes plus 4 hours for chilling

• Cooking spray or oil for pie plate

• 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut cream

Graham Cracker Almond Crust

• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz/165g) graham cracker crumbs (gluten-free or regular), see the Tips below

• 1/2 cup (50g) sliced almonds 

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt 

• 4 tablespoons melted butter, coconut oil or vegan/dairy free butter 

Chocolate Pudding Filling

• 1/2 cup (80g) coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)

• 1/3 cup (35g) raw cacao powder or good quality cocoa powder 

• 3 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (25g) cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 (13.5-ounce) cans full-fat canned coconut milk

• 1/4 cup milk (you can use regular milk, oat milk or nut milk)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 ounces chopped dark chocolate, preferably 70% cacao content (about 2/3 cup chopped)

Topping

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• Pinch salt

• Dark chocolate, for shaving

• Flaky sea salt (optional)

Make the crust

Preheat the oven 350˚F (175˚C). Spritz a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray (or rub it with oil). Put the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator to chill (chilling the cream will help it whip up later). 

Put the graham cracker crumbs, sliced almonds, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and process until combined (the mixture should look like damp sand). 

Scrape the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pie plate and use the bottom of a flat cup to press the dough firmly and evenly over the bottom and up the sides. Bake the crust until it’s light golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool.

Make the filling

In a medium pot (off-heat) whisk together the coconut sugar, cacao powder, cornstarch and salt.  Add the coconut milk and regular milk, and whisk until everything is dissolved (make sure to get into the corners where the dry mixture likes to stick). Measure out the vanilla and chocolate to add later on. 

Put the pot over medium heat and cook, whisking often, until it reaches a boil, about 5-7 minutes—you should see big bubbles on the edges that spread to the middle. Remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla extract and chocolate.  Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the pudding looks satiny smooth. 

Immediately pour the pudding into the crust (it’s okay if the crust is still a bit warm)—you will most likely have leftover pudding, depending on the depth of your pie plate. Scrape it into bowl and refrigerate it for a chef’s treat later on!

Chill the pie

Refrigerate the pie, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cover the pie with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 2 hours longer (or overnight).

Make the coconut whipped cream

Carefully open the can of refrigerated coconut cream and scoop out the solids on top, transferring them to a medium bowl (save the liquid on the bottom for smoothies or soups). Add the maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Using electric hand beaters, beat the coconut cream until smooth and thick.  

Dollop the coconut whipped cream over the pie then swoosh it into swirls. Using a vegetable peeler, shave a generous amount of chocolate over top. Refrigerate the pie for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

Serve

Cut the pie into slices, using a damp paper towel to clean your knife between slices. Sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt, if you’d like (yes please). Savor. 

Do Ahead: The chocolate pudding pie can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated. 

Tips:

• I’ve tested this recipe with Pamela’s Gluten Free Graham Crackers and Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Graham Style Crackers. You will need 10 crackers of either brand. 

• Process the graham crackers in a food processor to fine crumbs, then add the almonds. For a nut-free crust, swap out the nuts for another 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs.

• If you don’t feel like making the crust you can totally use a store-bought crust instead. Just bake it before filling, as indicated. 

• Chilling the coconut cream for 2 hours will help it to thicken up when beaten. While some recipes suggest refrigerating the cream overnight, I find it hard to beat. Just a few hours will do the trick.

• You can swap out the coconut whipped cream for regular whipped cream. Combine 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat to medium peaks.