Iced Protein Carrot Loaf

This recipe began with two-thirds of a bag of shredded carrots sitting in my fridge that I didn’t know what to do with. Then I thought, “Oh! Carrot cake!”

Well, I actually wanted a healthy snack as opposed to dessert, so I set about doing what I love to do…doctoring traditional recipes to make them enjoyable and nutritious. This one was a real guessing game, I just threw things in, but it actually surprised me, turning out first time absolutely delicious – great texture, depth of flavour and exactly what I would look for in a carrot loaf.

Bonus? It’s gluten-free (if you are very sensitive to gluten, make sure to use certified gluten-free oats, which are easy to find nowadays) and dairy-free (the icing is optional). It is also, as with all of my recipes, only sweetened with natural sweeteners. It is high in protein but if using protein powder is not your thing, you can sub in more of the oat or almond flour. Those will still give it a nice kick of protein, but it won’t be as high as the stats below this recipe show.

Iced Protein Carrot Loaf

INGREDIENTS (makes 10 slices):

2 cups grated or shredded carrots
1/2 cup oat flour (blend whole oats into a powder)
1/4 cup almond flour
3 scoops unflavoured or vanilla protein powder (each of my scoops is between 4-5 tbsp. You can substitute this with more almond or oat flour)
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup baking stevia (can use more coconut sugar here or any other granulated sweetener)
1 egg
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Optional icing:
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line a loaf tin.

2. Combine carrots, flours, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sweeteners in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add raisins into the mixing bowl, if using.

4. Blend egg, pineapple, applesauce and coconut oil together until smooth.

5. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle walnuts, if using, on top.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through.

7. Let cool thoroughly. Meanwhile, combine Greek yogurt and maple syrup.

8. When loaf is completely cool, pour yogurt over top of loaf and spread to ice it. Refrigerate overnight and the yogurt will firm up into an icing consistency. Enjoy!