Chocolate Banana Avocado Mousse

Many of you have heard of Blue Zones, areas where lifestyle habits promote longevity. Loma Linda, CA is the primary Blue Zone in the U.S. We would like to introduce you to the work of Dr. Ralph Steiner, a co-founder of Loma Linda Dental School.

For nearly 40 years Dr. Steiner studied the natural defence mechanism of teeth to resist cavities and bacterial invasion. It turns out that our teeth have a built-in defense system that actively fights cavities.

Most people learn about cavities in the simplest terms: you eat sugar → bacteria feed on it → acids attack the teeth.

And yes, that’s part of the story —but wait, there’s more!

The fuller, fascinating truth is this: your overall health actually protects the integrity of your teeth. This includes diet, hormones and management of stress levels. Those who seek holistic care of any sort are already aware of this to some extent.

But there’s a good deal more to it. We will do a deep dive on the subject of Dr. Steiner’s findings in our new blog series, beginning in January 2026.

Dr. Steiner also published numerous recipes for “toothsome desserts.” In this spirit, we offer more Blue Zone-style recipes for you and your family’s sweet tooth this holiday season!

Dr. O’Rielly, who is fondly known in some circles as ‘the Sugar Police’, loved these recipes and raved about them! Not only do they taste good, they have nutritional value, not just the empty calories of more traditional sweets. We hope that you enjoy them too!

Please see below for more Blue Zone-tooth-friendly dessert recipes. We want to hear from our community! Please send your comments to [email protected].

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More Healthy Holiday Desserts from Our Kitchen

Peach Tart with Macadamia Nut Custard

Ingredients

• ¾ cup almond flour
• ¾ cup coconut flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ½ cup macadamia nuts
• ½ cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 T coconut flour
• 4 T honey (substitute maple syrup for vegan recipe)
• 1 pkg frozen peaches (if out of season)
• 1 T coconut flour (optional, to thicken custard if needed)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• date sugar powder or honey for possible glaze as needed

Directions for Pie Crust (can be made gluten-free and vegan)

Set oven to 350° F

Additional crust ingredients:

• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick + 1 pat)
• 1 large egg * see notes for egg and butter-free
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ cup water +1 to 3 additional tablespoons

• Blend macadamia nuts, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt into a granulated powder. Once processed, place in a bowl and cover with almond milk and vanilla. Let it sit for 30 minutes (or until it has softened into a creamy texture) and prep pie crust.
• If using frozen peaches, submerge package in a container with hot water to thaw. Once thawed, check to see how sweet. If using fresh peaches, slice and check sweetness. For desired sweetness, remove thawed fruit or slice fresh fruit and allow to sit in date sugar or honey till ready to top custard.
• After the 30 minute wait, add the coconut flour and honey to the macadamia cream and blend together, creating a custard-like cream. (If the cream is too watery, add a little more coconut flour to thicken.)

For Gluten-free Pie Crust: In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour blend and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk to blend.

• Add the 9 tablespoons unsalted butter to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into tiny pieces. If you don’t have a pastry blender, freeze the butter and use a large grater to grate it into the flour.
• If you don’t have a pastry blender, use frozen butter and a cheese grater to shred the butter into the dry ingredients. (Gloves come in handy with this process).

***To make this recipe vegan: use 3 TBSP of whipped aquafaba, a ground chickpea powder, in place of the egg, and 9 TBSP Earth Balance spread in place of the butter. Or, if you don’t have time or the inclination, see a simpler, vegan (delicious!) pie crust recipe used in the Squash Pie.

• In a small bowl, add 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Mix gently with your hands or a large spoon until a dough forms. It should be firm but not sticky. Add more flour or water as needed. Wrap the pie dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool the butter.
• Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Prepare your work surface by dusting a clean surface with flour. Shape the pie dough into a circle. If your dough is sticky, dust the top of the dough with extra flour.
• Use a rolling pin to roll flat in a circle shape about 1/4 of an inch thick.
• Coat a 9 or 10-inch pie pan with gluten-free baking spray or a thin layer of coconut oil to prevent sticking. (PAM Baking Spray is NOT gluten-free.) Use a large spatula to gently flip the dough into the greased pan and evenly spread the crust.

Filling:

• Once you’ve reached your desired consistency, spread the cream evenly over the crust and place the peaches on top.
• If using fresh peaches, cut into thin slices and arrange on top of filling. If frozen, remove from package and arrange. Check for desired sweetness.
• **A light glaze of honey and/or date sugar powder can be mixed with water or almond milk to further sweeten the fruit. Whisk the powder with a tiny bit of water or milk (dairy or non-dairy) to an easily pourable consistency.
• Bake at 350° F for 20-30 minutes or until edge of crust is golden brown.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Filling recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte; Pie crust adapted from a recipe by Sandy Gaertner of Fearless Dining.

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Squash Pie

• One whole squash, about three pounds: Roast in advance, a day or so before. Almost any 3 lb squash as well as a small pumpkin will work (except maybe spaghetti squash). Poke with a fork several times, cover loosely with oil and set on a tray to bake at 400° F for about one hour 45 minutes. Allow to cool in fridge until ready.

Ingredients

For the crust: Gluten-free, can be Vegan

• 2 cups unsalted raw pecans
• 1 cup unsalted raw walnuts
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted or 5 Tbsp Earth Balance unsalted spread
• ½ cup powdered date sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 4 cups of squash or pumpkin puree from a pre-roasted squash or pumpkin
• ½ cup of raw unsalted cashews
• 2 cups hot water
• 4 Tbsp Maple syrup or honey
• 3 Tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch salt

Directions

To prepare the crust: add the pecans, walnuts, spices and salt to a food processor until it’s somewhere between a powder and paste.

• Add the processed mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the melted butter or butter substitute and sweetener. Mix until everything is evenly blended and then press it into a 10-inch pie plate.
• The crust will be about ½ inch thick, thicker than a typical pie crust. The crust will likely shrink a bit during baking time and be somewhat crumbly when done.
• Place the prepared crust in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, and during that time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Once the oven is preheated and the pie has refrigerated for at least 45 minutes, place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until it’s becoming golden and is sizzling, about 20 minutes. Set it aside to cool and keep the oven on.

For the filling: Rinse and drain cashews and place in food processor. Add 2 cups hot water. If the top of your blender has a removable center cap, remove it to help release steam, then cover the top with a kitchen towel. Blend ingredients into a smooth milk.

1. Pour 1 cup of cashew milk into a medium bowl and set it aside.
2. Pour remaining cashew milk into a medium pot. Whisk in sweetener, vanilla extract, spices and salt.
3. Add arrowroot powder to reserved cashew milk in the bowl and whisk mixture into a slurry. Add the slurry to cashew milk in the pot and warm over medium-low heat. Whisking continuously, cook mixture for 4–5 minutes or until it begins to thicken into a loose, pudding-like consistency. Once the consistency has thickened, take the pot off the heat immediately—the custard will continue to solidify slightly as it cools.

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use a whisk to blend the 4 cups of squash or pumpkin purée with the filling custard and mix. Taste for sweetness, you may need more honey or maple syrup depending on the squash you use.
• Once the crust is about room temperature, pour in the filling. Keeping the filled pie on the baking sheet, place it in the (still) preheated 350°F oven and very loosely, cover it with a piece of foil.
• Bake it this way for 1 hour, then remove the foil and bake until it’s set, about 10 more minutes. When you move the baking sheet, it should no longer jiggle in the center. (Cooking times may vary.)

Recipe adapted from Valentina Wein at https://cookingontheweekends.com and from bluezones.com

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Lemon Berry ‘Cheesecake’ Cups

Ingredients

Makes 4 Servings (approx)

• ¼ cup Kite Hill cream cheese or other preferred plant based cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp Cocojeune Plain Coconut Yogurt or other preferred plant based yogurt
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 2 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp Ground almonds
• ½ Whole Lemon
• 1 package frozen strawberries. Defrost the day before or submerge package in hot water to defrost.
• Optional: Add additional fresh berries or coconut to topping
• Optional: Add 3 Tbsp raisins or currants to the filling mixture

No Bake Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, yogurt, maple syrup, honey and lemon juice. Mix in additional raisins or currants if desired.
2. In a food processor or grinder, mill almonds to a more refined, but still coarse size. Combine in a small bowl with a Tbsp or so of the filling so that the mixture holds together.
3. Add nut/filling mixture to muffin tins or muffin-sized ramekins so that it stays on the bottom like a crust.
4. Pour in the filling mixture. Place in the freezer for at least 5 hours.

When ready to eat, remove from the freezer and let thaw for 10-15 minutes, or until it reaches your desired “cheesecake” consistency. Add topping/s and serve.

Recipe adapted from bluezones.com.