This is not your typical ~ everything free ~ dessert.

It’s laden with sugar and all the things our preachy #wellness culture declares satanic. But there was a time before this one—a simpler time—where we ate our veggies because Mom and Dad told us to, and then relished in a sweet, sweet dessert. And when that dessert had come to an end, we ran to the driveway with our friends and got lost in endless games of hopscotch and Around The World (I never won).

Now, we live in some sort of unrelenting fear of that which does not fit into what today’s culture tells us is healthy. I lived in that fear. I bathed in it, breathed it in, doused myself in it for 5 years. In that half a decade, I was more unhappy than ever before. In school, we hated rules—deplored them. Then, we grew up and we morphed into the very thing we despised most—authoritarians. Our minds and our guts are sisters. They influence each other and if one is unhappy, you best believe the other will follow suit.

Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by your own food rules.

I know I have in the past. What used to be my absolute favorite dessert to make for BBQs, became a cautionary tale. I wouldn’t even dare to consider the thought of whipping it up again, for fear I might be tempted. And Temptation is Rule’s arch nemesis. So, for half a decade, I avoided this pie like the Bubonic Plague. I ran from anything with ingredients that did not fit into the wellness culture—a culture that had tantalized me and swept me off my feet.

In those 5 years, I can tell you one thing. I never felt mentally satiated. My jeans may have been busting at the seams from the hefty bloat left behind by my broccoli, but after meals, my mind would wander to forbidden places. If you peered inside my thoughts, you’d see Willy Wonka-esque fantasies, engorging my face with chocolate and cake and all of the things that were so absolutely wrapped in yellow caution tape. But that’s all they were—fantasies. I would never actually allow myself such perilous indulgences.

And then something clicked.

The more I strived for this unattainable health perfection, the unhappier I became. Slowly, and then altogether, I let go of those strict food rules. I unfollowed the influencers who preached * totally clean * * minimal ingredient only * recipes because that narration wasn’t making me healthy. It was shredding my sanity.

So kids, eat your vegetables. Drink your water. But go eat a damn slice of pie to end your day. I promise, you won’t mutate into some ravenous boar. You’ll just be a girl or a guy who ate a slice of pie.

Use This:

• 1.5 8oz containers of Cool Whip

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 instant vanilla pudding mix

• 1 cup milk

• 2 GF graham cracker pie crusts

• 1 sleeve of GF graham crackers

• 2-3 bananas

(All ingredients can be found at your local grocery store)

Do This:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cool whip and sour cream (if you bought your cool whip frozen, leave in fridge for a few hours to defrost).

2. In a separate bowl, mix your vanilla instant pudding with 1 cup of milk.

3. Pour the pudding mixture into the cool whip bowl and combine well.

4. Place your graham crackers in a ziplock bag. Use a glass cup to crush them into crumbs (I usually leave a few larger chunks for texture).

5. Layer in some of your pie filling into each pie crust (you will have 2 layers of pie filling, so leave enough behind to add more on top).

6. Slice your bananas into thin coins. Layer in your bananas. Sprinkle on the graham cracker crumbs.

7. Repeat.

8. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to firm. DIG IN. NO REGRETS. GO PLAY OUTSIDE.