Friday, December 25, 2015

Clean Eating Carrot Cake


Have you experienced walking through the mall and all you can smell is the warm cinnamon sugar coming from the Cinnabon counter and your mouth just starts to water? It's almost like you can taste the Cinnabon cinnamon rolls in your mouth before you ever see the actual Cinnabon sign. Carrot cake has that same affect on me.

I've tried convincing myself they are healthy because they are made with carrots... but that can only go so far before I find myself MISERABLE from all the sugar, trans fats, and empty calories.

With that being said, what better way to try a carrot cake that you can actually feel GOOD About eating than on Christmas?!



Clean Eating Carrot Cake

Yield: 1 cake, 9 squares 

Serving Size: 1 square 


Ingredients:

For the cake:
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda 
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
  • 3/4 tsp. nutmeg 
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted (bring to room temp.)
  • 1 large egg 
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract 
  • 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup 
  • 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt 
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 1/2 cup grated carrots
For the frosting:

  • 10 oz. ricotta cheese 
  • 3 tbsp. Greek Yogurt 
  • 2 tbsp. 100% pure maple syrup 
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
  • Liquid Stevia (optional)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F and coat a 9' square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
  2. To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour and next 5 ingredients (through coconut oil) in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla, Stir in the maple syrup and Greek yogurt, mix until no large clumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the carrots. 
  3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and baked at 350 for 28-30 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting. 
  4. To prepare the frosting, stir together the ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, and stevia if you are using into a medium bowl. Spread on top of cooled cake. Let frosting set for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving. 



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Chocolatey Coconut Banana Bread

When the holiday season arrives it's almost like my internal fat kid comes out to play and immediately I want chocolate EVERYTHING!

I can't be the only one suffering from this crazyness right??

The problem with the holidays is they are linked to SUGAR, baked goods, and more sugar.

So what do you do when you want all these goodies, but don't want the sugar crash, the weight gain, the drowsiness, and every other negative side effect that comes hand in hand with eating CRAP...?

You make guiltless indulgences that you can feel GOOD about eating & still get your sweet tooth fix!

This recipe is one i've been making for the last two years and it never gets old. This time however, I decided to try and make it even healthier without taking away from any of flavor. The result? OH MY LANTA. This may become a staple in your holiday cooking!


Right: made with dark chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut
Left: made with cacao nibs (crushed in the food processor), crushed pecans, and unsweetened coconut


Chocolatey Coconut Banana Bread

Makes 24 servings (2 loaves)

Nutrition (per serving): calories (216), fat (4g), carbohydrates (38.7g), fiber (9.3g), sugar (15.2g), protein (6.6g) 

Ingredients:
¼ cup + 2 tbsp. Truvia Baking Blend (or ¾ cup of sugar if you do not have the baking blend)
½ cup of brown sugar 
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. egg substitute (or 2 regular eggs) **I used egg whites for this go around**
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 very ripe bananas; mashed
1 cup greek yogurt (nonfat)
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup coconut flour **if you do not have coconut flour, you can use 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. However the coconut flour gave the bread amazing flavor!**
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
Dash of cloves
Dash of nutmeg
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (optional) **I used raw cacao nibs and crushed them in a food processor. This will be my new go to! They give the bread a chocolatey taste but don't melt like normal chocolate chips & provide a crazy amount of nutrition**
2 tbsp. chia seeds **adds healthy fibers**
2 tbsp. hemp hearts (optional)
2 tbsp. flax seeds (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (split between the 2 loaves) 
1/2 cup crushed pecans (split between the 2 loaves)
Nonstick cooking oil spray
 
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut the butter into small chunks and place in a large mixing bowl along with the sugar and brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar for a few minutes. Make sure the butter is fully integrated into the sugar and the mixture becomes small, even sized crumbs.

2. Add the eggs and applesauce to the bowl and continue to mix until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till smooth. Add the mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, and vanilla to the bowl. Use a spatula to stir the mixture until smooth.

4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, nutmeg, chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp hearts. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet to make a thick batter. Don’t over mix – a few lumps are okay.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips

6. Grease 2 loaf pans with nonstick cooking oil spray. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. **top with additional ingredients like the cacao nibs, coconut, pecans, etc.**

7. Cover each pan with aluminum foil & cook 45 minutes.

8. Remove foil and cook 10 minutes longer, or until top is golden brown.

9. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes in their pans, and then put them on a wire rack to cool completely.