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Raw Carrot Cake

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raw carrot cake

Last year I put on a bunch of weight. My clothes didn’t fit: even my boots didn’t fit. Worst of all, my face was all puffy and tight-feeling. Then my nutritionist, Cheryl called me. I’ve literally known Cheryl since high school. It’s a really great story, if you’d like to hear it. So in 9th grade I was at this super hard private high school, and there were some really mean girls there. Closer to where we lived was another private high school, so my parents sent me there mid-year, to take a tour.

My tour guide was another 9th grade student named Serela (I know, cool name, right?). The last bell rang, I headed for my mom’s car, and Serela handed me a folded note. She said to read it in the car. I jumped in with my mom and read Serela’s note: “If you go here, I’ll be your friend.” Can you even stand the cuteness?! Adorbs.

So I went and we were indeed friends. And guess who Serela’s mom was? Yup, Cheryl. They lived upstairs in a super cool loft above their health food store, and Serela and I were just in awe of Cheryl. She’s not your typical nutritionist from what I hear (I wouldn’t know, since she’s the only one I’ve ever had). Cheryl has you run blood work, take a celiac genetic test (she’s the reason I found out I was celiac in 2004), get your hair tested, and more. She’s gonna figure out what’s going on with you, that’s for sure. I’ve know her for (38 minus 15 is…) 23 years. In fact, as we said our goodbyes before moving to Colorado (back in 2006), Cheryl told me that I would some day write books and move to California. I mentioned that to her recently, and she laughed infectiously saying, “Well it was plainly written across your face!” 🙂

Anyway, back to last year, and my clothes not fitting, and my swollen face. Cheryl said it wasn’t weight, it was inflammation. In my face?! I didn’t even know that was a thing. She put me on an elimination diet, and sure enough when I reintroduced eggs and almond flour I wasn’t tolerating them. (Slaps palm to forehead.) Well, as you may know, I was eating a LOT of eggs and almond flour. (Sad face.)

But you know what makes avoiding foods WAY easier? Progress. After about 6 weeks of removing said offenders, the inflammation was gone. My face went back to normal, my jeans not only fit but were loose, and I could zip my boots again.

Whoa.

Which brings us to this Raw Carrot Cake. You may know that carrot cake is my favorite of all cakes. And I was missing it. So I decided to make a carrot cake that I could eat. And there you go 🙂 (She says in her best My Big Fat Greek Weeding voice.) No almond flour, no eggs, and it’s super easy too. I was concerned that it would really fall apart if I didn’t eat it cold, but I had it out at room temperature for about 30 minutes while taking it’s photo, and it held together. It was actually delish at room temperature. I wouldn’t go leaving it outside on a super hot day, but ya know, otherwise you should be good.

Hope you like it!

Raw Carrot Cake

egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free, paleo, gluten-free, grain-free

Cake:

2 cups chopped raw carrots
1/4 cup packed soft pitted dates
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup softened coconut butter/cream concentrate/manna (NOT oil)
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Topping:

1/2 cup softened coconut butter/cream concentrate/manna (NOT oil)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon maple syrup
pinch sea salt

NOTE: Like most of my recipes, this is NOT a super sweet cake. But when you keep your sugar intake low on a regular basis, this tastes plenty sweet enough. I keep my sugar intake low to prevent blood sugar highs and lows, and to maintain my weight.

  1. Add the chopped carrots, dates, cinnamon, ginger, sea salt, and softened coconut butter to the food processor, fitted with the S blade.
  2. Puree until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times in the process.
  3. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the raisins and shredded coconut, and combine.
  4. Press the cake mixture into an 8 x 8 inch dish, lined with parchment paper.
  5. Combine the topping ingredients then pour the topping over the cake and spread evenly.
  6. Refrigerate overnight to set. Slice and enjoy!

Serves 6 to 8

♥, Kelly

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Comments

  1. This is so timely for me as I recently discovered I’m allergic to eggs and dairy as well as almonds and a handful of other foods. I was eating eggs for breakfast every day! Not going to lie, I get frustrated that I can’t just eat like a normal person and have to prep everything from scratch. BUT, I have a good food processor, and am not afraid of a challenge, and most of all for the first time in a long time I am looking and feeling like myself again. The PROGRESS is what keeps me going. Thank you for sharing your story and I hope we both continue toward better health.

  2. What does an elimination diet look like for someone who already has a rather limited diet? I feel as if I’m dealing with similar issues

  3. So happy for you, Kelly and your recipe looks amazing! Would you mind sharing Cheryl’s contact info? I have seen many people and no one has cracked the code completely on issues going on with me. Thanks!

  4. Ooooh! That’s scary! I eat a lot of almonds and eggs, too! I’m also currently doing an elimination diet. I think I’m okay with almonds, but we haven’t come to reintroducing eggs yet – fingers crossed!

    Thank you for this cake recipe. I’m Pinning it to try. Your recipes always turn out well for me!

  5. I’m wondering how long will you stay away from eggs and almonds? I had the same issue, did the same thing, and now, wondering if I’ll ever be able to tolerate them, again. In fact, coconut is also causing me issues, dadgumit!

  6. This looks delicious! I will have to try it. This is great b/c I have become increasingly allergic to eggs to the point where I can’t even have a drop of of it touch me, cooked or raw! And I’ve been doing AIP too trying to heal some things so no nuts. I’ve even had trouble with coconut butter eaten by itself so I may try reducing to see how it works… and skip the frosting… and then “TRY” not to eat to much cake at one time. easier said than done!

  8. This could not have come at a better time! I too, am recently finding out that my bodies ability to handle eggs and almond meal/flour is not great. Trying to find desserts that aren’t loaded with those two, but still paleo friendly is a challenge. I’m putting this in my to-make list this week and can’t wait! Thanks for sharing! I look forward to more recipes like these soon.

  9. Hmm, very timely article about food sensitivities for me. Just these past few weeks have been ‘off’ for me, and guess what? I’ve been eating Paleo Cheeze-Its, made with–you guessed it–almond flour and an egg! Ordinarily I don’t even consider things like that but decided to go all healthy version for my daughter, but apparently it’s not for me! My jeans are tight, too :(. But thing is, almonds, almond butter, and almond milk don’t affect me negatively, go figure. Would you happen to know what, exactly, makes almond flour so inflammatory for some people?
    Oh, and thanks for the recipe–also timely as I’ve been craving raw carrot cake. Crazy! 🙂

  11. This looks very yummy, I’m going to try it today. Have you tried freezing the leftovers? If yes, how do they taste when thawed?

  12. Made these last night. So delicious and satisfying! Somehow, I was completely out of shredded coconut(?!) and the store was sold out too! Instead, I just used some coconut chips near the end of the puree-ing step. My frosting completely crumbled and detached from the cake though. No matter, they’re yummy without it! Thanks, Kelly!