sugar free

On the Spur Carrot Cake

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I love it when a spur-of-the-moment idea works out.  Like really works out.

After lunch yesterday I wanted some little sweet treat.  At first I thought chocolate but my second thought was lemon and vanilla.  I’ve been trying to come up with an awesome carrot cake alternative for a little while, something full of real food and serious nutrition but with all of the moistness and natural sweetness of a good carrot cake.

Carrot Cake Balls are born.

Tate ate lots of these yesterday and remarked every time that they tasted like cream cheese frosting.  You can thank the vanilla and lemon zest for that one.  He often finds my “sweets” not sweet enough for his palate but these got two thumbs up.

Carrot Cake Balls

Raw, can be gluten free when made with gf oats, refined sugar and flour free

Equipment needed: Food processor

Makes 12 balls

  • 10 dates
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 small-medium carrot finely grated
  • zest from one lemon
  • splash of vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • ~15 almonds crushed
  1. Put the dates in the food processor and process until date pieces are about the size of raisins.  NOTE: your food processor may sound like it hates this, mine jumps around a little at first.  To help this process along or if your blades aren’t very sharp you can chop the dates before putting them in the processor.
  2. Add the oats and process until the oats are floury.
  3. Add grated carrot, zest, vanilla, and salt and process until the ‘dough’ comes together in a ball.
  4. Use clean hands to form a dozen balls.
  5. Roll in crushed almonds and store in a jar or tupperware in the fridge until devoured (or freeze for longer keeping!).

(yeah, there’s not a dozen balls there because several landed in my mouth before the camera came out…mmmmm….)

What spur-of-the-moment kitchen creation has turned out better than expected for you lately?

Almond Delight

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When I broke up with sugar I had no intention of

A. never “going there” again

B. forgoing sweet treats, especially of the dark, rich, chocolatey variety

As for A, sugar and I hung out over the weekend at a friend’s birthday party.  It was kind of like getting it on with an ex, it felt good at the time but also made me realize I’m not missing anything without it.

As for B, I love a little sweet something nearly everyday (at least once a day) and when it comes to chocolate-the less sweet the better.

I am a huge fan of using cocoa to get my chocolate on, as evidenced in recipes for Sweet But Not Refined Chocolate Torte, Chocolate Ganache Pie, Coconut Oil Truffles, and Berry Bliss Tarts, just to name a few, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized I could also use unsweetened baking chocolate for a sugar free fix.

Sugar’s not the devil or anything, I just don’t want to eat it everyday and we’ve already established that I do want to eat chocolate everyday. So yesterday I made up these chocolates, which supply a lovely dose of Omega-3’s, lauric acid, and antioxidents.  As a bonus, the anti-microbial and anti-viral properties of both honey and coconut can help ward off colds and flus, which makes these some hard working chocolates.

These may remind you of another kind of candy, a trademarked kind…we’ll just call these little guys…coconut joy?

Or how about

Almond Delight

Makes ~8 little two bite sized chocolates

Gather your natural, whole food ingredients;

  • about a dozen raw almonds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon good quality, local honey*
  • tiny pinch of salt
  • 2 squares unsweetened bakers chocolate

Chop nuts coarsely in the food processor or by hand and set aside.  Pulse coconut, chia seeds, salt and honey in a food processor until it becomes sticky and starts to clump together, about 2 minutes but you may need to scrape the sides a few times during the process.  Add the nuts and pulse a few times to incorporate.

With wet fingers, form 8 little squares with the coconut mixture.  Really squeeze it and mash it together here to form the inside of the candy.

Set squares on a plate or tray (or Silpat like mine) and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to make firm.

After the 10 minutes is up, remove from freezer and melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or microwave.  If melting chocolate in the microwave keep a close eye on it and remove when there’s still a little hard chocolate left then stir until fully melted and creamy.

One at a time, dip each coconut square into the melted chocolate and completely cover.  The best utensil here is your fingers so make sure they’re clean and don’t be afraid of a little hot chocolate.  Place each freshly covered candy on a Silpat tray or a plate with foil on it.

Once all the candies are coated, place the plate/tray into the fridge until the chocolate is cool and solid, at least 5 minutes.

My mind is swirling with ideas about what to coat in chocolate next…

P.S If you are interested in doing more (free!) yoga, Yoga Journal is kicking off a 21 day yoga challenge TODAY.  Everyday for the next 21 days they are sending participants a link to a yoga class and mediation practice, which you can do at home.  There are two tracks, newbie and not newbie so you can pick your level.  I received my first e-mail today for the not newbie track but I haven’t done the practice yet.  I believe they are all relatively short so that it’s realistic to fit it into your day, 21 days in a row!