so unoriginal

I was so into the unconventional carrot-cake-flavored yet protein-and-fiber-packed meal/snack, and then both Tina (carrot cake protein pancakes) and Sarah (carrot cake yogurt) one-up me. Go figure.

It was a rainy day and I wanted comfort and carbs and cake but I’d also just gone to the gym and wanted something restorative and how, how would I bring all of these things together?! I invented a carrot cake smoothie. In a bowl :D

Before either of those things were published, honest. Based only on the wonders of my imagination, honest. (Really, I should just be less lazy about updating my blog. Or less competitive about other bloggers one-upping me!)

Anyway. It is totally delicious. At least put it on your to-make list in addition to all the carrot-cake-flavored-brilliance in blogland right now.

I bought some protein powder. I’d been flirting with the idea for awhile, and then officially decided to do it when I started craving meat like CRAZY after a particularly meat-filled week following my sister’s birthday. I tried to pick something with fairly wholesome ingredients and a fairly short list… I don’t really know what I’m doing.

I bought this one. Because it didn’t have soy (I try to only buy organic soy cause I hate Monsanto so much), and it was cheaper and had more protein than the hemp stuff, and those were my choices at Trader Joe’s. Whey it was.

.

(is this good?)

 

(The ingredient list was way longer and more unpronouncable than things I usually buy, but I can at least know where the things in it came from. Is there a better product?)

And yes, dare I say, filling.

Get yourself some delicious carrots. I had one grocery store one and one extra-adorable, extra-fresh one from the farm visit.

 

To make them more awesome, I roasted them. For additional delicious roasted things, go ahead and add some pecans. Pecans make everything more awesome. I chose 7 solely because 7 is my lucky number. You can use your lucky number too, unless your lucky number is like 4,000 or something, in which case you will be making pecan butter.

Anyway, roast the carrots til they’re tender (I used my zippy little countertop toaster oven, to conserve energy), which takes about 15-20 minutes. Add the pecans for the last five or so, keeping an eye on them to prevent burning.

The dry ingredients- I added oats because Kath is so into adding oats to smoothies right now and I wanted a nice cakey texture.

Whirr away with ice. If you want it to be pretty, reserve a pecan or too to crumble on top of it. Vair pretty!

Carrot Cake Smoothie

1.5 large carrots
cooking spray
7 pecans
1/2 scoop (2 tablespoons) vanilla protein powder
2 T oats
1/2 cup milk
2 shakes cinnamon, 1 shake nutmeg, 1 shake ginger
1 handful ice (or if you are like me and are too impatient to wait for your carrots to cool down, 2 handfuls)

Com. fort. Food! Sweet and creamy and rich and slightly doughy. And the pecan-carrot-vanilla cakeyness really does come through. Roasting I think is key.

Also, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of peanut butter bread ever since Jenna posted about peanut butter sandwich bread. Though I think eating it with peanut butter on top is silly. Jam is obviously where it’s at.

However, I knew it could be healthier. I scanned all around the web and ultimately created my own (the ush). And since it’s been about 16 hours and the loaf is almost gone, I’m considering it a success.

Peanut Butter Bread

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 T ground flaxseed
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
⅓ cups stevia baking mix (or whatever)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Peanuts to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, milk, buttermilk, flax, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined.

Pour into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with peanuts, if desired. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean (note: my countertop oven kind of burns thing on the top. If you notice this happening to you, just top it with foil for the last few minutes of baking!). Let cool and then slice.

 

Here’s how this happened: I was in a lousy mood all morning (the thought of grad school is really and truly making me want to move to Montana and live in a shack and eat lichen and have nothing more to do with the rest of the world) and totally craving baked goods, particularly this peanut butter bread notion in my head. So I went to Zumba to cheer myself up, which it did, but I decided that it would be fantastically revitalizing to have a nice rich, protein and fiber filled, carby bread to sink my teeth into. So I baked and didn’t eat lunch til 3. And had like two and a half slices of this bread. And a yogurt. And no vegetables. It felt right.

Cause this bread is just SO GOOD.

This has a texture comparable to banana bread, and a really lovely buttery crumb. Honestly though I’m sure it’d be good with jam or chocolate or whatever smeared atop it (or even perhaps peanut butter?!) I haven’t felt the need to eat it with anything else. It is SO GOOD just STRAIGHT UP. Slice after slice after slice after slice.