Carrot applesauce muffins

I'm pleased to say that Mini Bite and Mr Bite are back to full health. Mini Bite, in particular, is eating to make up for lost time and it is sometimes difficult to fill her up. I made these muffins to help get us through days of meals, snacks and more snacks!

We have also managed our long awaited first bike ride of 2018, and I hope to get out again this weekend. The weather is perfect for cycling and it is joyful to be on a bike again after so many months. 

 

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Spiced carrot and red lentil soup

I have made this soup four times now, which isn't bad going in the space of two months. It is a hit with all three of us and Mini Bite also enjoys helping me to make it. This is because I pull out the food processor for grating the carrots, and the NutriBullet for blitzing the soup later on, and what self-respecting toddler doesn't enjoy feeding carrots into a food processor and pushing buttons on things that whiz? These steps do make the soup more labour intensive than the chunky vegetable, non-pureed variety, but it is so tasty that I don't mind. Getting Mini Bite involved in the kitchen is a fun development too.

The soup itself is really simple and packs a hearty punch thanks to the lentils. You can play around with the spices and seasonings, and even throw extra vegetables in if you like. This mix is a winner in our household though.

Spiced carrot and red lentil soup

A delicious, satisfying soup that makes 4 generous servings

Lightly adapted from the spiced carrot and lentil soup on BBC Good Food

Blender or food processor needed

Ingredients

1 tbsp dried ground ginger

1 tsp mild dried ground chilli

1 tsp dried ground paprika

1 tsp olive oil

1 bunch leeks, trimmed and sliced

1 L (4 cups) vegetable stock

3 sticks celery, trimmed and sliced

600g carrots, grated (no need to peel)

1 cup dry red lentils

125ml (1/4 cup) unsweetened almond milk

Method

In a very large saucepan or soup pot, dry fry the ginger, chilli and paprika over medium heat for approximately 1 minute. Add the oil and leeks and saute for 2 or so minutes.

Add the stock, celery, carrots and lentils and bring the mix to simmering point. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to cook, covered, for approximately 30 minutes (until the lentils are soft). Add the milk at the end and stir through.

Allow the soup to cool before blending in a blender or food processor. Reheat before serving.

Keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Do you have a favourite soup recipe?

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Carrot coconut and strawberry breakfast biscuits

These biscuits were not what I intended to make on Sunday afternoon. I had planned to make carrot and strawberry pikelets (pancakes), but in the end, I didn't feel motivated to stand at the stovetop flipping pikelet batter. When thinking about something easy and quick to make instead, I pulled out my food processor to make no bake carrot and strawberry oat balls. However, the mixture didn't seem right unbaked and so I turned the oven on and created these instead.

Given their origins, it is perhaps unsurprising that these biscuits are average rather than excellent. They are not very sweet and I can't clearly detect the strawberry. However, as a breakfast or low sugar snack (especially with a cup of tea) they are enjoyable, and the ingredient list is pleasingly free of refined ingredients. They seem worth documenting and sharing for these reasons

To make these more like a traditional biscuit / cookie, do feel free to add some sugar or even to use these as the exterior to a (vegan) buttercream cookie sandwich.

Carrot coconut and strawberry breakfast biscuits

Minimally sweet biscuits suited to breakfast or a low-sugar snack

Makes 30 or so small biscuits

Vegan and refined sugar free

Food processor required

Author: Bite-sized thoughts

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Ingredients

1 cup grated carrot

1-1/2 cups hulled strawberries

1-1/3 cup whole rolled oats

1/3 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup plain flour

2 tbsp cashew butter

Method

Preheat your oven to 160'C (320'F) and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.

Combine the grated carrot, strawberries and oats in your food processor and process until fully combined. Add the remaining ingredients and process until incorporated and the mixture clumps together.

Roll dessertspoons of mixture into balls and place on your prepared baking trays. Press the tops down slightly with the back of a fork.

Bake for 8 or so minutes, until golden and firm to the touch but still soft within.

Have you made anything unexpected recently?!

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Banana, carrot and sultana mini muffins {vegan, no added sugar + non fat}

I was hesitant to put 'fat free' and 'sugar free' in the title of this post, because those labels may conjure up images of bland, flavourless muffins. The texture of fat free baked goods is often different too. However, these muffins are fully flavoured and beautifully textured. The use of lots of bananas and natural sugars simply removes the need for added fat or sugar. (For the sticklers among you, there is some fat in the oat milk and oats.)

I recently had lots of bananas to use up, thanks to my clumsiness when unpacking shopping and a bag of bananas being dropped on the floor. They all went a bit mushy and prematurely brown - good for freezing, smoothies and baking but not so good for eating in their natural state. These muffins used 3 of the bunch so they are good and banana-y!

Whilst I made these as mini muffins, you could, of course, make regular sized ones instead. Just increase the cooking time accordingly (adding 5-10 minutes at an estimation).

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Carrot cake ice cream (the simple version)

In January 2014, I shared a recipe for carrot cake pudding or ice cream. I still love that recipe and highly recommend it to you. It features carrots (of course!), frozen banana and canned coconut milk, as well as optional but recommended maple syrup, vanilla, spices and desiccated coconut.

Today's recipe is similar but slightly streamlined. It's entirely appropriate for breakfast and, if you're like me, you'll always have the ingredients on hand (I don't always have coconut milk). Adding raisins to the carrots and bananas gave plenty of sweetness without extra syrup, and really boosted the carrot cake profile. Basically, I love this version too. I wanted to share it with you and record it for my future reference!

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Carrot and apple cake with a lemon drizzle icing

I am rather in love with this cake. Apple pieces are showcased to perfection against a backdrop of carrot cake, and the zestiness of the lemon drizzle allows a sweet but fresh finish. As you would expect with carrot and apple in the mix, the cake is moist (but not too moist) and it is sturdy enough to be sliced and taken on a walk (I know this because I did so).

I adapted this from a supermarket (Tesco) recipe and my changes included dropping the eggs (I didn't substitute anything else in, figuring the grated carrot would be sufficient, which it was), halving the butter / non-dairy spread component, and reducing the sugar by 25%. You won't miss what I took out because the carrot and apple give moisture and sweetness themselves.

 

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Sesame crusted carrot noodles

Today's dish is a simple one, and perhaps more of a side than an actual main meal. It would go very well with the teriyaki tofu of my last post. Perhaps that is why these carrot noodles came out more Japanese than Thai: I set out with the idea of Thai carrot noodles and finished with something a bit different. Sometimes cooking is like that.

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Hazelnut carrot cake oats

I haven't spoken about exercise on here for quite some time. I have a post on the topic in the making (or at least, I have a post in my mind...) but a key point is that I am registered for a half marathon at the end of September. It will be my third half marathon race, and my first organised running event for 2014. This means that my long runs are getting longer again, and nutrition is even more important to me than usual. Sometimes 'nutrition' means "I need carbohydrate now", but I do try to strive for the more balanced sense of the word most of the time!

Hazelnut carrot cake oats

My long runs happen on Saturday mornings, which mean Saturday breakfast is an important meal. Sometimes a jam-packed smoothie is the star of the show, but other days I want solid food. Yesterday was one such day and these hazelnut carrot cake oats were the result. I think they may now be my favourite porridge recipe of all time. Yes, they even surpass my recent chocolate zucchini oats! You don't have to be a runner to appreciate them either - I think this dish will be featuring across my weeks from now on.

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Carrot cake porridge, for autumn

Autumn (fall) has always been my favourite season. It isn't as dramatic in Western Australia as it can be elsewhere, because our native trees aren't deciduous and the weather isn't cold enough to give really bright foliage colour. However, I still find it beautiful. I also love the shift from long hot summer days to cool crisp nights that are set against a generous scattering of mild sunny days. When it isn't sunny, grey drizzle provides an excuse for cozy hours indoors with tea and books. 

Autumn leaves

With the cooler weather, I also renew my love affair with warming foods. I find it is too hot for porridge in Australian summer, but at this time of year, I welcome its ability to warm you from the inside out.

Carrot cake porridge

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Apple-gingerbread cake and a flavour-packed carrot slaw (and Taste of Perth give away winner)

On Easter Sunday, we had my family over for a combined Easter / birthday celebration. Yes, Mr Bite's birthday has been quite prolonged! Two weeks of celebrations seems like a good run.

Apple ginger cake

I made a variety of dishes, including baked tofu parcels and chicken parcels, roast potatoes, carrot slaw, and a tomato rice and beans dish. My Mum brought a huge, packed green salad and there was also hummus made in the traditional manner.

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Raw carrot cake - finally

Raw carrot cake has intrigued me for a while now. In addition to the link I shared in my Easter recipe round-up, I have six other raw (or nearly raw) carrot cake recipes in my bookmarks folder. That's quite a lot of carrot inspiration.

This weekend, I finally progressed from admiring others' creations to making my own.

The result? If I was intrigued before, I am besotted now.

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Vegan carrot cake pikelets, for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

I have 6 other pikelet recipes on Bite-Sized Thoughts, but after making this carrot cake variety I may never go back to them again. I feel like I have reached the pinnacle of pikelets. It is a delectable place to be.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Australian pikelets, they are small, fluffy pancakes that generally include a raising agent and some form of sweetener within the batter. They are delicious hot and cold, and also store well over several days. I have chosen this carrot cake batch to showcase Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, which is coming up in May but had an opening launch in Perth last week.

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea launch, with Anna Gare, Herb Faust and Sam Longley
(photo courtesy of the Cancer Council)

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Carrot and apple soaked oats

I think I've mentioned before that I don't often make overnight oats. This doesn't reflect a lack of interest in oats. Rather, it stems from a reluctance to commit to breakfast the night before, mixed with a need for easily portable breakfast foods due to my tendency to eat breakfast at work.

Overday oats, though, I am a fan of. Most often, I turn to them when I need a substantial mid-afternoon snack. Sometimes, I'll even enjoy them for lunch. These carrot and apple oats would work perfectly in either category. If you are a fan of overnight oats for breakfast, they could obviously fit in there too.

I know carrot-based oat dishes aren't new, and this recipe is simply my spin on a concept that has been blogged before. The truth is, I am on a bit of a carrot kick at the moment. Carrot cake flavours have taken over my imagination, and I suspect I'll be sharing more carrot containing snacks before long.

I topped these oats with diced apple rather than mixing apple pieces (or grated apple) through the oats themselves. I imagine a mixed up version would be equally enjoyable, and I might try that next time myself. If you like your oats with sweetener, then you could also add a little maple syrup or other sweetener to taste. The carrot, currants and apple do a good job of sweetening this naturally though.

Carrot and apple soaked oats

This dish can be prepared in the evening to give a delicious breakfast, or made in the morning to give a substantial afternoon snack (or an easy lunch!)

Vegan and low fat

Serves one

Author: Bite-sized thoughts, with acknowledgement to the many similar recipes out there

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Ingredients

1/3 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup non-dairy milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond)

1 small-medium carrot, grated

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice

1 tbsp currants or sultanas

1 small apple, diced

Method

Combine the oats, milk, carrot, vanilla, cinnamon/spice, and currants/sultanas. Mix to combine. Set in a jar or bowl and top with the diced apple. Allow to sit for at least 4 hours, until the oats are creamy.

Serve!

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Are you an oats for breakfast person? And do you enjoy carrot-containing oat mixes?

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Carrot cake pudding, or carrot cake ice cream (raw and vegan)

I am really very (very!) excited about this recipe. I know we're only 22 days into 2014, but right now, this is looking like a good contender for recipe of the year.

Carrot cake pudding

Why the excitement? This pudding or ice cream (it can be served either way) tastes amazingly decadent, has just three core ingredients, and packs a serve of fruit and vegetable in every bowl. It's an impressive set of credentials for a snack or dessert that takes 5 minutes to prepare.

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Carrot-hazelnut-molasses truffle balls

I have recently ventured into cooking and experimenting with blackstrap molasses. It's an ingredient I'm familiar with, but not one I've bought or used for many years.

As far as sweeteners go, blackstrap molasses punches above its weight. It is made from sugar cane after a process of three boilings: the first (boiling juice from the cane sugar) gives cane syrup, the second (boiling the cane syrup) gives a preliminary form of molasses, and the third (boiling molasses) gives what is generally known as blackstrap molasses. By this stage, most of the sugar from the original cane sugar plant has been crystallised and removed through the repeated boiling. Of course, blackstrap molasses is still predominantly sugar - but because the crystallised sugar has been lost, it is higher in vitamins and minerals than many other sweeteners. One tablespoon provides about 3.5mg of iron, which equates to 20% of the daily requirements for adult women. One tablespoon also provides 10-20% of daily requirements for calcium, magnesium and potassium. 

If you cook or bake with molasses, it would be difficult to achieve your iron requirements just by substituting molasses in for other sweeteners. It does have a distinctive taste, and if you are baking a plain vanilla cake, using molasses instead of white sugar will probably not achieve your desired outcome. Given it is a sugar variant, relying on it as your main source of iron would also be problematic! However, I am enjoying it as an addition to my pantry and have been adding the occasional tablespoon to oats or smoothies.

These truffle balls are my first foray into using molasses as an ingredient in an actual recipe, and they have piqued my interest in experimenting more. As with all truffle balls, they are easy to make. The flavour is distinctive, with the hazelnuts and molasses each coming through. It is a different sweetness to using dates or agave / maple syrup, but an enjoyable one. I used purple carrots (thus the colour!) and suspect that regular orange carrots would give a slightly sweeter result. However, I liked the depth of flavour and darker tones that came with the purple variety. 

I won't go so far as to recommend these as a health treat (aside from anything else, that might put you off). I will, however, promote them as a treat that tastes good and has a high-quality ingredient list.

Carrot-hazelnut-molasses truffle balls

Easy to make and easy to eat; also versatile if you want to change any of the ingredients.

Makes about 16 truffle balls.

Vegan.

Print recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup grated purple (or orange) carrot (equates to 1 small carrot before grating)

1/2 cup (100g) raw hazelnuts

1/2 cup (50g) rolled oats

2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dessicated coconut, for coating (optional)

Method

Process the hazelnuts and grated carrot in a food processor until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Add the rolled oats, molasses and cinnamon and process until the mixture starts to clump together, about 2 minutes.

Roll into small balls, coat in dessicated coconut if desired, and chill in the fridge for approximately 2 hours before eating. Store in the fridge.

For more information on blackstrap molasses, see its entry on the World's Healthiest Foods list; its mention as a source of iron in the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's article on iron; and Gina's post and raisin-almond-molasses balls at Choosing Raw.

I am sending these to Ricki's Wellness Weekend March 7th to 11th 2013.

Do you use molasses regularly? Or have any favourite ways to use it?

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Super snack balls

There were a few possible titles for this post, and the snack balls that form its focus.

Oat, carrot, zucchini, almond and sultana balls won out in ingredient list accuracy, but didn't sound very appealing.

Vanilla oat balls won out in taste accuracy, but seemed a bit misleading given the longer ingredient list.

Oat cookie balls didn't sound quite right.

Balls with a twist sounded quite wrong.

Super snack balls it was.

In truth, these are super snack balls. They are incredibly easy to make. They include both carrot and zucchini. The sweetener is limited to sultanas. They are not particularly portable, going soft if left out of the fridge for too long, but as an easy snack (or even an easy breakfast) - they work very well indeed.

I'm not sure what prompted me to put zucchini in the ingredient list, other than the success of the carrot, nut and date balls I made back in August. I have found that zucchini works well in just about every baked product that carrot works in, and it seems that part of me wanted to see if the same was true of no-bake products.

It is.

These reminded me slightly of carrot cake, but only very slightly. The taste was really of vanilla but with a texture and depth that went far beyond that. There was no zucchini taste, and other than the small occasional flecks of green, you wouldn't know it was in there.

In all, I am really quite enamored with these. I can also see zucchini having another resurgence in my kitchen. It really is a very versatile vegetable!

Super snack balls

These have a super ingredient list and deliver super flavour

Makes about 16 large balls

Vegan

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Ingredients

1/2 large zucchini, grated (~1/2 cup grated)

1/2 large carrot, grated (~1/3 cup grated)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup sultanas (small raisins)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Grate the zucchini and carrot and then set aside (I did this using the grater attachment on my food processor).

Combine the oats, almonds, sultanas and vanilla in a food processor and process until well mixed and the ingredients are starting to clump together. Add the zucchini and carrot and process briefly, until combined.

(If you don't add the zucchini and carrot at the end, they are likely to end up over-processed and the mixture will be too moist.)

Roll into balls and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

I'm submitting this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend 22nd - 26th November 2012.

What do you think of zucchini in 'sweet' / baked products?

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Happy birthday!

To Mr Bite!

For the second time in his lifetime, Mr Bite's birthday fell on Easter Sunday. With our return from holiday the  day before, we have scheduled his main family birthday celebrations for next weekend, allowing yesterday to be a birthday-focused but quite relaxing day.

We briefly visited both of our families, went for a leisurely walk on a shady stretch of Perth's Swan River, ate birthday carrot cake (a prelude to the 'real' birthday cake of next weekend, which will involve plenty of chocolate...), and had Grill'd burgers for dinner.

Swan River, North Fremantle

Uniced carrot cake, slightly sunk because I checked it 10 minutes before it was cooked...

...fortunately quite easy to cover up.

Grill'd 'Field of Dreams' vegetarian mushroom burger - still my favourite

I made the carrot cake yesterday, with the recipe adapted from Kris Holecheck's The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. This has become my 'go to' baking book when I need something quickly and, as a bonus, all I needed to buy yesterday were fresh carrots and soy cream cheese. The other ingredients are things I always have on hand, something I find extremely helpful for cake recipes.

This cake also highlights how 'vegan' doesn't have to be obvious or detectable. It tasted like soft, moist carrot cake. I don't even know if Mr Bite knew it was vegan. The fact that it is easy and can be made and baked in well under an hour - even with the carrot grating - is a bonus.

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Adapted from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes (Kris Holechek)

Vegan

Makes 1 square cake

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Ingredients

For the carrot cake

2 1/2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp)

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

1 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup non-dairy milk, or milk of choice (I used soy)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3 large carrots, grated

1/3 cup sultanas (small raisins)

For the icing

125g soy cream cheese

1 tbsp non-dairy spread, margarine or butter

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Method

Preheat the oven to 180'C and prepare a square baking tin.

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, mixed spice, cinnamon, ginger, salt) in a small bowl.

Combine the brown sugar, white sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add the apple sauce, milk, vanilla and carrots and mix well. Add in the dry ingredients gradually, stirring to combine. Add the sultanas and stir through.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 - 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, non-dairy spread, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Optionally top with Lindt Easter carrot chocolates.

I can see myself making this again when wanting an easy carrot cake. You could also, of course, include nuts (the original recipe called for walnuts) but Mr Bite isn't a fan and so I left them out.

Having Mr Bite's birthday fall yesterday allowed me to almost skip over Easter this year, something that didn't bother me in the slightest. My excitement at his birthday was definitely greater than any excitement I experience for Easter, and I am looking forward to continuing to celebrate over the week. It's one of the oddities of age that whilst one's own birthday gets less exciting with time, the anticipation and happiness I feel when celebrating others' birthdays (particularly the others who are more important to me than words can really express) continues to increase.

Despite this, we did end up with quite a lot of Easter chocolate, including some Guylian and Lindt small Easter eggs, and some non-Easter chilli chocolate that I am looking forward to reviewing another time.

In the mean time - Happy Easter / Passover to those who do celebrate it, and happy long weekend to everyone else here in Australia!

Do you have a 'go to' carrot cake recipe? It's one of my favourite cakes and yet all the versions I usually make are hybrids that involve pineapple, thus making them not quite carrot cake at all!

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Ugly Duckling Muffins, for work

With the first full work week of 2012 ahead (not to mention the first 12 hour work day), I thought I might want something more than containers of cut up fruit on hand.

These Ugly Duckling Muffins were the result.

A hybrid of my Apple and Zucchini Muffins and Carrot, Apple and Sultana muffins, these Ugly Ducklings are very low in sugar (and fat), can almost count as a vegetable serve, and are perfect for just about any time of the day.

I think I still like the Apple and Zucchini / Carrot, Apple and Sultana varieties best in their original forms, but these make a nice change and certainly deliver nutritionally. The low sugar content is not something I've tried before, but the apple sauce and natural sugars were enough to give a slight sweetness, and in the aftermath of Christmas, lower sugar still seems appealing.

As the name suggests, though, you do have to look past their appearance.

Ugly Duckling Muffins

A mix of apple, carrot and zucchini, with just a hint of sweetness and lots of goodness

Vegan, low in sugar and low in fat

Makes 16

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Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1 cup plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp mixed spice

1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar (I used 1 tbsp; use more to taste)

2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 1 cup of water for at least 10 minutes

1/2 cup sweetened apple sauce

2 tbsp soy milk (or milk of choice)

1 tsp vanilla

1 medium zucchini, grated

2 small carrots, grated

1 small apple, grated

1 small apple, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180'C and prepare muffin tins.

Soak the chia seeds in water and grate the zucchini, carrot and 1 apple (I used the grater attachment on a food processor). Chop the second apple.

Combine the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, spice, sugar) in a very large bowl.

Add the soaked chia seeds and water, apple sauce, soy milk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. The mixture will seem quite dense at this stage.

Add the grated zucchini, carrots and apple, and the chopped apple. Mix thoroughly.

Divide between 16 regular muffin pans.

Bake for 20 minutes at 180'C, then reduce the heat to 160'C and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The muffins should be just set in the middle and slightly brown on top.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before removing and cooling completely.

Moist, apple scented, and with a hint of carrot (no detectable zucchini), these are perfect with a cup of tea. The fact that they are good for you whilst still being enjoyable to eat is a bonus.

Just don't judge on appearance!

What's the ugliest product to come out of your kitchen? (I have a few!)

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