Raw, Vegan, Grain-Free Carrot Muffins with Cashew Cream “Cheese” Icing

I’ve been craving carrot cake with cream cheese icing something fierce lately! I don’t know why, since I was never a huge fan of the dessert, but after weeks of carrot dreams I knew I had to come up with a healthy alternative. These muffins/cupcakes are simple, delicious and the perfect summer treat because you don’t even need to touch your oven!

Raw, Vegan, Grain-Free Carrot Muffins with Cashew Cream “Cheese” Icing
Adapted from: Chef Amber Shae

Ingredients
For the cake:
1 cup pitted dates, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound carrots, peeled if desired, shredded
3/4 cup coconut flour
Stevia to taste (optional)

For the Cream “Cheese” Icing:
3/4 cup cashews soaked for 2 to 4 hours and drained
1/2 cup nondairy milk of choice
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
15 drops liquid stevia, or to taste
Pinch of sea salt

Directions
Combine the drained dates, carrots, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla in a food processor and blend until almost smooth and well combined.
Add the coconut flour and stir until the batter is combined and uniform. Taste the batter, and if you think it needs a little more sweetness, add stevia to taste. Set the batter aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the liquid mixture.
Fill 8 silicone muffin tins with the mixture and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

To make the cashew cream “cheese” icing, combine all ingredients in a blender [I used my Magic Bullet] and pulse until smooth. Place the icing in the fridge until you are ready to decorate your carrot muffins.

Just a note: these muffins taste best when you allow them to defrost for at least 30 minutes so remove them from the freezer with that in mind!

Now you can have your [carrot] cake and eat it too!
xo Lauren

Grain and Dairy Free Blondie Squares

There is nothing I like more than a simple, healthy and delicious recipe – and that is exactly what I am sharing with you today. Careful though, these blondies are extremely addictive.

Grain and Dairy Free Blondie Squares

Recipe slightly adapted from: The Detoxinista

Ingredients

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 whole egg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (omit this if the peanut butter is already salted)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup carob chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8″ square pan with coconut oil.

In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, honey, egg, salt and baking soda until well combined.

Fold in carob chips.

Pour the batter into the greased pan, and use a spatula to smooth the top.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Remove from the oven, cool, cut into 16 squares and ENJOY!

Happy Baking!

xo Lauren

Walnut & Sweet Potato Biscuits

2013 – boy does time fly! Hopefully you had a great time ringing in the new year and spending time with your loved ones – I know I did.

What better way to start the year than a new recipe. Yesterday I spent a lot of time in the kitchen fooling around with ingredients. I had a few recipes bookmarked that I was dying to try but didn’t have the necessary ingredients. What’s a girl to do when EVERYTHING is closed?! Substitute. But really – do I ever follow a recipe as written? Luckily this time my baking turned out great, so now I can share it with you!

If your New Year’s resolution is to eat better and get into shape, I would recommend whipping up a batch of these Walnut and Sweet Potato Biscuits – they are lactose, gluten and sugar free [crazy right?!] and pass the boyfriend taste test. Oh and they are so simple to make as long as you have a food processor or blender.

Walnut & Sweet Potato Biscuits

Inspired by: A Dash of Megs’ Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients

1 large baked sweet potato

2 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 cup egg whites

1 cup walnut pieces

1/4 cup fat free greek yogurt (naturally lactose free)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp almond coconut milk

1 tsp cinnamon

2 droppers full of liquid stevia

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Grind 1 cup of walnut pieces in the food processor until it becomes a crumble like texture. This takes between 45 seconds to a minute.

3. Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor and mix until a smooth batter forms.

4. Drop batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I was able to make 9 biscuits from this mixture.

5. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the tops have browned just slightly.

6. Allow to cool and enjoy!

These biscuits are really tasty and moist have good crumb. They melt in your mouth!

If you’re interested in the nutritional information for these biscuits [1 serving = 1/9th of the batter] here it is:

Calories: 121 / Carbohydrates: 9g / Fat: 8g / Protein: 7g / Sodium: 42mg / Sugar: 3g

Now that is a good looking nutritional profile – eat up!!!

What have you been baking lately? Any healthy treats?