Key Lime Pie (In a jar!)

I've really been craving some key lime pie for the last couple of days. Rather than whip up (& eat!) a whole pie I thought I’d create a recipe for one. The great thing about making it in an old jar is that you can take it anywhere with you (just remember to keep the lid). The green colour in this comes from avocados - in fact this is a great recipe to use up any overripe avocados you may have.

This one can be made gluten free (just make sure you use gluten free oats) & also vegan, just switch the honey for agave or date nectar & the quark for 10g coconut oil.

Although packed full of healthy ingredients, this one is relatively high on the calorie front. The portion size is pretty decent so if you're conscious of your waistline then just split this into 2 smaller bowls/jars.

The other great thing about this recipe is that it can be played around with a bit to fit your nutritional requirements, for example, if you want to take the protein content up then just add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the topping mix. Similarly, if you want to take the omega 3/fibre content up a bit, add a tablespoon of flaxseed to the biscuit. It's all about making your food work for you! :-)

Makes 1 large serving :

Macros per serving:

343kcal / 16g protein / 52g carbs / 11g fat / 10g fibre

Ingredients:

For the Biscuit:

25g oats

20g almond flour (I used Sukrin almond flour for this but you could substitute with ground almonds)

15g pitted dates

10g honey or agave

1/4tsp ground ginger (optional)

For the topping:

50g ripe avocado (the riper the better!)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

10g honey

10g stevia

30g Fat Free Quark (or thick greek yoghurt such as Fage- total 0%)

Kiwi & lime zest to decorate

Instructions:

1. Start by making biscuit base - place dates in a small bowl & cover with boiling water for 5 minutes to soften & make sticky.

2. Blend almond flour, oats, honey, ginger, dates & 2 tbsp of the date water into a thick biscuit consistency.

3. Place half of the biscuit at bottom of jar & place in fridge to set whilst you make topping.

4. Make topping - blend avocado, honey, lime juice & stevia until thick & creamy. Once blended stir in quark by hand.

5. Add half of topping & place in freezer for further 5 minutes to"set" (whilst this is happening put the other half of the topping in the freezer too to speed up the process).

6. Add second biscuit & topping layer & kiwi/lime zest as desired.

7. Place whole thing in fridge for 30mins to "set".

8. Eat! :-)

Tip: If you're hungry & don't want to wait for the whole layering process (i.e. you're not too bothered about the dish looking pretty) then just place both the biscuit & the topping in a bowl & you're good to go!