Hoppy Easter Everybunny!
Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, you can celebrate bunnies, spring, pastel colors, and carrot cake with me!
I’m so excited to hangout with my family this weekend. I will be celebrating Armenian Easter Saturday with my cousins tomorrow, and then Easter Sunday with my dad, mom, sister, grandparents, and aunt. Can’t wait for all of the bunny cuteness that will occur this weekend!
Since Easter is often associated with bunnies and carrots and those are pretty much the two best things on this planet, I thought it would be fun to make Carrot Cake Bites. Little bites of natural energy that won’t hurt your waistline! True rabbit food!
Carrot Cake Bites
Makes about 20 bites
Adapted from Baking Serendipity
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup almond butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 chopped almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
In a mixing bowl, combine shredded carrots, almonds, raisins, flaxseed, and cinnamon and stir. Add almond butter and maple syrup and stir until evenly combined. Place mixture in refrigerator for at least one hour. Shape mixture into one-inch bites.
Don’t forget my other healthy carrot cake recipes:
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Serves 1
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup nonfat cream cheese
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla
Cook the oats with water in a pan over medium-high heat. Once most of the water has been soaked up into the oats, stir in the chia seeds, cream cheese, and grated carrot. Add in the rest of the spices, vanilla, and maple syrup and stir until all ingredients are combined. Transfer the cooked oatmeal to a bowl, garnish with extra shredded carrot, and top with raisins. Enjoy warm.
The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: carrot and raisins
Whole Grain: rolled oats
Protein: nonfat cream cheese
Plant Based Fat: chia seeds
Carrot Cake Smoothie
Serves 1
1 cup chopped carrots
1 frozen banana
6oz Chobani Pineapple Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add almond milk as needed to acquire your desired thickness.
Note: For a vegan option, omit the Greek yogurt (and almond milk) and sub with 1 cup of coconut milk instead.
The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: carrot and banana
Whole Grain: rolled oats
Protein: Greek yogurt
Plant Based Fat: chia seeds
Laura
March 30, 2013 at 6:57 pm (12 years ago)Love these! Have you ever tried peanut butter instead of almond butter in the carrot cake balls?
Catherine
April 1, 2013 at 5:54 pm (12 years ago)Hi laura! I haven’t made this recipe with peanut butter, but I’m sure it would taste amazing! xo
Kira
March 31, 2013 at 10:10 am (12 years ago)Made the carrot cake bites this morning with a few substitutions based on what I had on hand (craisins for raisins, candy coated sunflower seeds for chopped almonds, and chia seeds for flax). I make variations of these all the time (I love adding vegan protein powder and am going to try adding some chai latte powder to a small batch), but never would have thought to add fresh produce to them — these are amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
Laura, the beauty of these types of recipes is that they are very forgiving. Try it with peanut butter if that’s your preferred nut/seed butter, but if you aren’t allergic to almonds they are a better source of micronutrients and don’t have the aflatoxins that peanut butter generally does. I tried to quickly locate a source with the percentage of peanuts with aflatoxin, but most of the results only talked about a new product being tested to reduce aflatoxin (I’m sure it’s yet another chemical though).
Micronutrient Comparison: http://www.prevention.com/whats-healthier-peanut-butter-or-almond-butter
Catherine
April 1, 2013 at 5:53 pm (12 years ago)Oh my gosh, excellent! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe :)! xo
Julianne
April 10, 2013 at 8:03 am (12 years ago)Hi Catherine! I love this Carrot Cake bite recipe. I am actually showing my Public Relations class your blog site for an upcoming project to demostrate a successful, personal blog. I was thinking that I would love to bring the class one of your recipes that represents your great tastes and healthy finds. What would you suggest?? Thanks! 🙂
Catherine
April 11, 2013 at 9:01 am (12 years ago)Hi Julianne! Oh my gosh that totally made my day, you are so sweet! I am honored to be featured for your PR class 🙂
One of my favorite easy to make recipes is Raw Bites http://rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth.com/raw-bites/ They are really easy to make and are usually a big hit 🙂 You can double or triple the recipe as needed 🙂
Let me know how your presentation goes!
Health & Happiness xo
Julianne Wilhelm
April 16, 2013 at 6:19 am (12 years ago)Hey Catherine! I just finished my presentation on your blog and it was a huge success! I made the raw bites last night and everyone loved them this morning. My PR professor especially appreciated them and was impressed with how delicious they were. I think I Aced it!! 🙂 Thank you again!
Britt Canese
April 21, 2013 at 7:18 am (12 years ago)I would love one of your tshirts… Eat more bunny food, but you are out of med and larges, will you be sticking more? Love them and love your blog,,,just found!!!!
Britt Canese
April 21, 2013 at 7:19 am (12 years ago)Oops…getting more not sticking more, darn auto correct….lol
Alexandra
June 20, 2013 at 1:41 pm (12 years ago)Hi Catherine!
First of all, as everyone else, I love your blog! I was sad when you hadn’t updated it in a while but am happy to see that you’re back at it. I also apologize in advance for a long post.
I used to be very thin. I was (and am) 5’6″ but about 125 lbs. I still am not overweight at 140lbs, but I have been struggling with transitioning from being able to do whatever I want to having to pay attention to what I eat and wear. I eat A LOT of junk and my biggest weakness is sugar. Anything sweet, I will eat. Instead of drastically changing my lifestyle, I’m just trying to eat less junk and more “whole” foods. I know a lot of people that try to do this substitute sugar for maple syrup, honey, stevia, or other sweeteners. I don’t need a detailed answer, but I was just wondering if you could enlighten me on how these are really better than regular sugar. To make it easier for myself, at least in the beginning, I would like to still eat a lot of sweets, but substitute the donuts and candy that I normally eat for healthier options like the deserts on your blog. Will this actually help me get healthier or is it a waste of time? I know eventually I will have to drastically cut all types of sugar, but I thought this might be a good way for me to get used to eating a little better.
Again, I apologize for the book. Thanks for keeping me inspired 😀