My friend, Rain, is having a baby. It’s getting difficult getting to the supermarket, when she’s very pregnant and already has a toddler in tow. So she decided to try one of those home delivery/pick-up services. Basically, she goes on line, orders her food and then for two different prices, she has the option of either picking up the order, or having it delivered. The problem with these services, is, as a shopper, you must be completely aware of products and sizes. Rain, not so much – as she ordered a five pound bag of baby carrots last week. Five pounds is a lot of carrots and I’d imagine most people would be hard-pressed to use them up, let alone someone who doesn’t cook or bake regularly. Lucky for me though, I became the recipient of about four pounds of that bag, so I went to work finding recipes to make.
Yesterday, I did a bit of baking after finding these recipes on Cooking Light. First up, Quick Carrot Bread.
Carrot-Raisin Quick Bread
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup coarsely shredded carrot
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons stick margarine or butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl (flour through nutmeg). Combine carrot and next 5 ingredients (carrot through egg) in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring just until flour mixture is moist.
Pour batter into an 8-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool on a wire rack.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice)
CALORIES 174 (19% from fat); FAT 3.6g (sat 0.8g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 3.1g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 42mg; SODIUM 215mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.9g
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1998
I like the bread and so does Sammi. It comes in at 3 Weight Watcher points a slice, came together easily and I will definitely make it again. I’m out of golden raisins, so I might make another batch using some toasted walnuts or pecans tomorrow.
Today is Chris’s birthday so we had a little celebration with his father and his aunt last night. For dinner, I served a chicken and dumpling casserole for dinner with a mixed green salad but for dessert, we returned to the carrots and had carrot cake as it’s one of Chris’s favorites. Yet again, from Cooking Light.
Carrot Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 1/3 ounces)
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 (2 1/2-ounce) jar carrot baby food
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups finely grated carrot (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup golden raisins
Cooking spray
Frosting
1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted
Preheat oven to 325°.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended. Place flour mixture in a large bowl. Combine granulated sugar, canola oil, baby food, and eggs; stir with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Stir in grated carrot and raisins. Spoon batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
To prepare frosting, combine cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating at low speed until smooth (do not over-beat). Spread over cake; sprinkle with coconut. Cover and chill.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 piece)
CALORIES 262 (30% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 2.7g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 3.2g; CHOLESTEROL 44mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 201mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.1g
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2008
This one won their recipe contest in the dessert category and deservedly so – it was moist and delicious. I altered it a tiny bit by using 1/4t vanilla and 1/4t coconut extract in the frosting instead of all vanilla. We like coconut here. Everyone loved it. It came in at a whopping 6 points for a slice though, so I’m not sure on the “value” of it – I still need to decide.