Raw Food Inspiration: Pineapple "Icecream" Bars

As I waste away the few dwindling days of summer that I have left, I am finding that all of a sudden, I want to make so many different recipes...but I have so little time. School starts on Thursday, and quite frankly, I am not sure what to think. I don't want to underestimate my classes and be shocked when they turn out to be challenging, but I also want to avoid expecting too much and stressing for no reason (I tend to do that fairly often). Naturally, I turned to other activities to distract myself from dwelling too much on my impending year of stress and horrible anxiety. And fun college stuff, too. Totally.

This week, I've hit up the Ross and Target for some new clothes before beginning to the new school year. I found some nice Asian floral shoes, and some sweet shirts at Ross, and I almost got a denim floppy hat that I would've hot glued a sunflower onto (I rocked it when I was 5). But this isn't a fashion blog. This is a cooking blog, so onto the good stuff. I also stopped by Barnes and Noble, as I tend to do if I'm in the area and find myself with an extra stretch of time to waste. Recently, I've been obsessed with reading through their vegan and raw food selections. Several months ago, I made a chocolate cake out of nuts, dates, and some other surprising ingredients. Anyways, my coworker was recently complaining to me that he is going to become obese if I keep bringing sweet things to work. Since I couldn't just stop coming to work (get it? I'm a sweet thing), and it's been so hot lately, I decided to make a healthy, frozen raw food dessert: Ani Phyo's Pineapple Icebox Dessert Bars. I have tweaked the recipe a little, since cashews are so expensive. But it tastes great all the same.

Nutbutter Pineapple Bars 
Adapted from Ani Phyo's Pineapple Icebox Dessert

Crust
1 1/2 c almonds
2 T. honey

In a food processor, pulse almonds and honey until chopped roughly (it should resemble mealy pie dough).
Spread 2/3 of the crust in the bottom of a cake pan. Reserve the remaining 1/3 crust mixture to sprinkle on the top of the bars as a crumble later.

Filling
2 c crushed pineapple                                                         
1 1/2 c raw, unsalted almonds
1/4 liquid coconut oil
1/3 c agave nectar (honey can be substituted)

In the same food processor (the wonderful thing about raw food recipes is that you don't really need to clean things out after using them :)), blend the almonds, coconut oil, and agave nectar until smooth and creamy. You are essentially making almond butter. Your cream mixture will be kind of a muddy brown color if you do use almonds instead of cashews, but if you want the pretty white creamy color that Phyo gets, use blanched almonds (cheaper than cashews), or just fork out the money for cashews. Scoop the nut mixture into a small mixing bowl and fold in pineapple. Pour into the prepared crust and spread over so it covers the pan. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture on top, and freeze until set. Enjoy! :)
What I love most about this is that it only takes about 10-15 minutes to prepare. Quick, healthy, and delicious!