Our Family's Favorite Carrot Cake Veganized!!

Our favorite carrot cake for years has been our modified version of "Sam's Famous Carrot Cake" from allrecipes dot com. I've managed to veganize it by eliminating the eggs and buttermilk, and it is fantastic!! Double the recipe for a layered cake. Next time I'll use oat flour to make the cake gluten-free. This uses a sifter; it may be fine without one. Click HERE for frosting recipe.

9" cake pan lined with parchment paper
Pre-heat oven 350 degrees F

Ingredients in sections this time according to steps of preparation:

In medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white wheat this time)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp salt

For egg substitute, mix together:
1. 5 T ground flax seed
3 T water

For buttermilk substitute:
5 T soy milk
2 tsp lemon juice
(can sub white or apple cider vinegar)
Stir together and let sit for 5-10 min to curdle






In large bowl, beat together:

the egg and buttermilk substitutes above
6 T light olive oil
3/4 cup of sugar (ideally natural, unbleached sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract


THEN add the dry ingredients from the medium bowl to the large bowl and mix well.









In medium bowl, stir together:

1 cup shredded carrots (about 2), lightly coated with lemon juice
1/2 cup organic shredded coconut*
1/2 cup raisins*soaked in 2 T of warmed orange juice
1/2 cup pecan pieces
4 oz crushed pineapple, drained

✓ Fold the fruit/veggie/nut mixture into batter

*Warm about 2 T of orange juice and soak raisins in it for a few minutes. You can do this at the beginning of the recipe, too, for plumper raisins.

If your coconut is dried out too much, add 1-2 more T of oj and soak the coconut in that, too. Start with the raisins, first, though.

Fruit, veggie, nut mixture.
The colors are beautiful!
The photo doesn't do it justice :(

✓Pour the batter into lined cake pan
✓Bake in pre-heated oven for 35 minutes
✓Check doneness by testing with toothpick poked in center of cake comes out clean
✓Remove from oven (turn oven off *cough*)
✓✓Let it cool completely before removing cake from pan

Line pan with parchment paper
(this helps to remove cake easily)

✓Get a cutie to sing Happy Birthday to you

Coconut Whipped Cream and Frosting

One batch yields about 3/4-1 cup, enough to top one 9" cake round.

If making a 2-layered cake, I would triple this recipe.

Instead of powdered sugar, which is mostly cornstarch, I grind granulated sugar into a powder.

This is a hybrid of two recipes from:

unconventionalbaker dot com 

and 

godairyfree dot org

Ingredients:

1 can (approx 14 oz) full-fat coconut milk (not the kind you drink from a carton)

2 T natural sugar ground into powder (I used a Bullet)

(If using powdered sugar, use no more than 3 T. Otherwise too much could make the frosting into a glaze)

1/4-1/2 tsp powdered vanilla (or 1/2 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)

Optional:

Lemon zest to sprinkle on top

1/4 - 1. 5 tsp Dr. Oetker Whip It Thickener/Stabilizer (Not needed if just making a whipped cream, but if you want the cream thicker to use as a frosting, then use it. Link to it HERE.

Directions:

-Chill can in refrigerator right-side-up. This usually puts the liquid on the bottom and cream on top.

-Turn can upside down and open the bottom. Pour out and discard liquid.

-Scoop cream into mixing bowl. Beat about 1 minute.

-Add in sugar and vanilla. Beat on low to incorporate.

-If needed, add thickener. Beat until combined.

-Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. It will thicken more as it chills

I promise that's not rust on the zester.
It's that color because I use it to zest turmeric, too.

Chill right-side up.
Open upside-down.

Pour liquid out (discard liquid)

That's about 3 T granulated sugar before and after.

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

I know. It sounds gross. I waited a long time to try it when I saw different versions pop up on IG accounts I follow. I never would "save" it because it just didn't appeal to me. But yesterday I was trying to think of ways to get more nutritious calories into my dad who needed to gain weight after returning home from the hospital. Avocados! Except he doesn't like avocados. Then I recalled the avocado pudding recipes posted. Well, let's try it... We did, and it was a success! Message from my dad, "It's delicious! Amazing how chocolaty it tastes." We don't taste avocado flavor at all.*
{*Update: I just made a batch and can taste the avocado this time. I left out the protein powder, too. Looks like it depends on the avocado. My dad still likes it a lot.}

My recipe is inspired by two other recipes: one from AllRecipes "Chocolate Avocado Pudding" and the other from Dr. Michael Greger's How Not to Die Cookbook "Berry Chocolate Chia Pudding." This is a rough estimate for 1 batch, approx 1 cup:
Calories 590
Protein 18 grams
Fiber 18 grams

Some of those numbers are from a plant-based protein powder I added which has 65 cal, 10 g protein, and 2 g of fiber per tablespoon (NOT the scoop in the container, which is 2 T). The protein powder does add a slight bitterness to the pudding.

Equipment needed: high-speed blender (regular one may work, too*)

Ingredients: (conversions not verified by my kitchen scale, yet)

1 large avocado, ripe

3 T cocoa powder (I used a Dutch chocolate blend)

1 T plant-based protein powder (mine was vanilla flavored) [T, not the scoop in the container]

1/4 cup date syrup** (100% pure maple syrup works, too, but will lower fiber content)

1/4 cup soy milk (I used vanilla flavored, sweetened)

1 t vanilla 

Directions:

-Cut open the avocado, remove seed, scrape out the green part (discard skin and seed)

-Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. May need to stop and scrape edges. Can also add more soy milk to thin the pudding. (If you end up adding too much milk and it's too thin, try stirring in a T of chia seeds to thicken it up. I haven't tried that, yet, but some recipes I saw use chia seeds.]

-Eat within 2-3 days

The vanilla powder is upside-down because I didn't use
it in this recipe because my soy milk and protein powder
were already vanilla-flavored. If they weren't, I would
use the vanilla powder (or extract).
{Update: use the vanilla anyway; it adds a nice flavor
and seems to help cover avocado flavor}

*Blenders

I used a NutriBullet high-speed blender. If you make a larger batch, use a Vitamix. If I were to use my regular kitchen blender, I would chop up the avocado into smaller pieces, stir the mixture first, and add more plant milk. Then I'd stir in some chia seeds or ground flax seeds to help it thicken up.

**Date syrup

I used store-bought date syrup but plan on making my own next time. This is from Dr. Michael Greger's How Not to Die Cookbook, page 3. You could halve the recipe, too.

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp lemon juice

Combine the dates and hot water in a heatproof bowl and set aside for 1 hour to soften the dates. Transfer the dates and water to a high-speed blender. Add the lemon and blend until smooth. Transfer to a glass jar or other airtight container with a tight-fitting lid. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 weeks.

Banana Bread

Egg-free, gluten-free. This is a family-favorite that is gobbled up very quickly. I usually make two batches. This is the veganized version of my favorite banana bread recipe I've been adjusting and using for 25-30 years. Although this has flax seed, oat flour, and bananas, this is not a "health" food (or whole-food) because of the processed oil and sugar. I would classify this as a dessert or breakfast treat.

(conversions ARE verified by my kitchen scale, Feb ‘20)

Ingredients (I separated the list into groups according to the steps)

2 ripe bananas about 6 inches (15 cm) long

1 cup (207 g) sugar (I actually use about 7/8 of a cup nowadays, ~175g)

1/3 c (77 mL) water

1/3 c (77 mL) light olive oil

1 2/3 cup (250 g) oat flour (sometimes I use whole wheat, but it won't be GF)

1    tsp (4.8 g) baking soda

1/2 tsp (2.4 g) baking powder

1/2 tsp (3 g) salt

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract (or powder...which I use and love!)

2    tsp (9.5 g) ground cinnamon

1    tsp (4.8 g) ground ginger

dash of ground cloves

2 T (14 g) ground flax seed (you can purchase it already ground up)

3 T (45 mL) water

1 tsp (5 mL) apple cider vinegar

Directions

-pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C)

-oil the bottom of bread pan

In large bowl:

-mash peeled bananas

-add sugar, water, and oil

-mix (hand mixer works best for me, but I used to use a large spoon when I didn't have a mixer)

In medium bowl:

-add the floor, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves

-stir

In small bowl:

-mix together the ground flax seed and water

-let it sit for about 5 min while you do the next step

-Slowly add the flour mixture into the large bowl. Beat on low setting until all flour has been added

-Mix in the gelatinous flax and beat on medium to high until smooth

-Add in the apple cider vinegar and beat on high

-pour batter into bread pan

-bake on center rack for 1 hour

-remove and set on cooling rack for maybe 15 min

-loosen sides of bread from pan and remove bread from pan, set bread on cooling rack

-allow bread to cool about 45 min to an hour or longer, cutting into it too soon before it has had a chance to set may cause the center to collapse (still yummy, just a little gooey like a banana brownie)

Mash bananas, add sugar, water, oil.
Mix well.

Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,
cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla powder

Slowly mix the flour mixture into
banana mixture

Egg replacers:
-Use 1 T ground flaxseed + 1.5 T water per egg,
(2 "eggs" for this recipe),
it will form a gelatinous consistency
-Adding 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar to batter with
1 tsp baking soda is also beneficial to the texture

Cool on rack

Continue cooling after removing from bread pan

This is a recipe for banana muffins my
daughter made. Also very good.

"Kitchen Snippets"
My grandfather's lunchbox and my grandmother's gravy bowl.
I grew up seeing that gravy bowl during all holiday dinners at
my grandparents' home. I selected it to keep after she died.
It broke. I glued it back together and now use it as decor.

Something else I didn't know:
In nature, hens lay 10-15 eggs per year and mate naturally. To meet consumer demand, the egg industry has artificially bred hens to lay 200-300 eggs per year, which is very taxing on a hen's body and can result in painful complications. The industry has tricks to manipulate more egg production which includes intermittent starvation. Commercial egg production packs their hens into rows of tiny crates with other hens, cutting off the tips of their beaks to prevent pecking and eating their own eggs. "Organic" and "free-range" are marketing terms and don't mean the conditions for the hens are much better than the caged. Male chicks are of no-use to the egg industry and will either be ground-up alive or dumped into a plastic bag to suffocate.
The good news: We don't need eggs to survive. On the contrary, regular egg consumption is not good for us. The government-subsidized egg and dairy industries were sued and it is illegal for them to advertise that they are healthy or nutritious (nutrient-dense, yes, but not nutritious). Just like the tobacco industry lying to generations before about the benefits of smoking, the egg and dairy industry have also lied while using biased, industry-funded "studies" trying to show health-benefits so they can make money.

I used to cook eggs for my kids every single morning. Omelets, homemade eggnog, quiche, crepes: these were a regular part of our diet. Knowing what I know now, I am whole-heartedly happy to give those things up.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Dairy free!! And so, so yummy! I credit PinchOfYum.com for this recipe. I modified it according to the size of tofu-block available (I provided 3 different recipes based on size of tofu block. The most-common one is first, then there are photos of the other two below).

Protein estimate for entire pie: 55 g
Fiber estimate: 66 g

Note: Needs time to chill (don't we all! lol)

A few words about the ingredients:
-Don't let the word "tofu" discourage you. It works so well in this recipe.
-Dairy-free chocolate chips can be found in the baking section of a typical grocery store as well as in bulk at our Good Earth store. "Cocoa butter" will be the ingredient instead of milk.
-Almond butter has a better flavor than peanut butter in this recipe, in our opinion (we tried pb).

(An 8-cup blender and double-boiler are most-helpful but not absolutely required.)

Recipe: (conversions verified by my kitchen scale)
16 oz  (454 g)  silken tofu
16 oz  (454 g)  dairy-free chocolate chips (almost 2 2/3 C)
1/2 c + 2 2/3 T  (160 g)  almond butter
1/2 c + 2 2/3 T (175 mL) almond chocolate milk

9" pie crust

Directions:
-Melt chocolate gently in a double boiler (water boiling in bottom pot, chocolate in top pot)
-Blend tofu, chocolate almond milk, and almond butter until smooth.
-Add the melted chocolate to the blender. Blend until smooth.
-Pour into pie crust
-Chill for 12-24 hours

Double boiler

I had a little extra that I didn't think the pie crust would hold.
The kids were happy to gobble it up.

 

Something else I didn't know: Dairy calves are forbidden from drinking their mother's milk. I naively used to believe that somehow dairy cows made enough milk to share with us humans. Newborn calves are taken from their mothers within 24-48 hours. If female, the calf will be put in a tiny pen and fed supplemental food. If male, he will be either immediately slaughtered and disposed of or kept alive for a couple months then sold and slaughtered as veal. When dairy cows collapse from the exhaustion of multiple consecutive artificially-produced pregnancies, they are dragged off and slaughtered for ground beef. "The dairy industry is the meat industry."

Good News: We don't need cow-milk to survive. In fact, we are supposed to be weened. We can obtain all of our nutrients from plant sources, which provide better calcium absorption and superior protein over casein. More good news: There are many yummy plant-based cheeses, yogurts, ice-creams, and milks... and tastebuds do change! 

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and a St. Patrick Day's Twist

Kid Rating: 3 out of 3 like them

Do Again: Yes

(plus surprise Irish dancing video at the end)

I found this fun recipe over at Amy's Super Healthy Kids.

Makes 12

Pre-heat to 350 degrees F

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg (my addition)

3 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1tsp vanilla

1 cup carrot puree (click HERE for recipe)

Mix it all together. Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from pan to cool on rack.

Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar (I used 1 cup to make it thicker)

1/2 tsp vanilla (I used 1 tsp)

I only had 1/2 cup of brown sugar and
supplemented with white. I suppose I
could have added molasses.

It was very thick. I wonder if a softer puree would
have produced a thinner batter.

St. Patrick's Day Decorating:

Here's a link to Gourmet Mom to print out the leprechauns: click HERE

I have a black-ink printer, so I just used pens to color in.

Cut.

Fold for mirror image.

Finer cut.

I used clear packing tape to "laminate" the image so I can
reuse the images. Lay out strip of tape. Practice first to
learn how to avoid the static that makes the tape leap up
to the image and adhere in the most frustrating way.

Fold over tape, seal, and do a final cut (make sure
to leave sealed edges - don't cut them off).

Family Review:
YUM!
I love the after-taste: fresh, carrot-sweet, and not all "chemically" like store-bought artificial stuff.

Here's the hilarious video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0rrLdWLu_0
(watch it until the fun ending)