Pies can be very healthy for you, when made from fresh fruits and veggies. You really don't need a lot of sugar in a pie, now that there are artificial sweeteners like stevia and Splenda! You can have the fresh flavors of the natural fruit, or pumpkin, or pecan - whatever it is you like to make your pies out of.

Usually the issue then is with the crust. You need something to hold your pie together, but tradition is that the crust is chock full of unnecessary sugars! It's time to find a better way.

Here's how to make a healthy, low sugar pie crust to hold those items together. There are only five ingredients needed, and it is super easy to make this! Make a bunch up in batch, fill your freezer, and be ready for any pie making cravings that you might have.

3 Tbsp flax meal
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter
1/3 cup Splenda

Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix together the flax meal, almond flour and salt. In a separate microwave-safe container, melt the butter in a microwave and stir in the Splenda. Now mix both together thoroughly.

This batter will be a soft goo. Spread the batter out with a spatula into a 9" pie plate. Cook it for about 12 minutes at 375F, or until the crust is relatively firm and a bit on the brownish side. Let it cool thoroughly.

This recipe is great for making ahead of time and freezing, then pulling out when you have a pie you want to make. Put the crust in the fridge for about an hour before using it, so that the dough is nice and firm before you add in the pie ingredients.

If you divide your pie up into 8 slices, each slice will have about 2g in net carbs from the pie crust material. Compare that with many commercial pie crusts which can reach 10g or more per slice! It's definitely worth it to make your own pie crusts, no matter what kind of a diet you are on. It saves you money, too!

If your local store does not carry almond flour, it's easy enough to buy online. Just do a Google search to find a few vendors.

Here's some of my favorite pie recipes, to make with this shell.

Sugar Free Apple Pie Recipe
Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Recipe