Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Over the last two weeks I’ve become pretty passionate about one thing and that thing is this pumpkin carrot cake. I’ve made it twice and I already plan on making it again this weekend!

Pumpkin Carrot Cake:

• 3–4 large carrots, peeled and grated (2-cups packed)
• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup unsweetened milk of choice
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1/2 cup cream cheese of choice, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons monkfruit powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Peel and grate the carrots. Place grated carrot on 2 pieces of paper towel and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible.
• Measure out 2 cups of grated carrots and place into a large bowl along with the rest of the dry ingredients and mix.
• In a medium bowl, mix together wet ingredients.
• Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• While the carrot cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and mix until smooth.
• Frost the cooled cake and sprinkle some cinnamon on top if desired. Refrigerate leftovers for up to five days.

Have you ever tried pumpkin and carrot cake together?! I has been my go-to lately and I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon.

Favorite Post Workout Snack!

NOTHIN’ BETTER THAN THIS.

I’m a creature of habit when it comes to my post workout snack and this bowl of goodies actually motivates me to workout. It’s not fancy but it sure is good!

WhatRobinEeats Favorite Post Workout Snack:

• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 2 tbsp powder peanut butter

Toppings:

• 1/2 cup plain O’s or puffed kamut cereal
• 1/4 cup fruity Magical Spoon Cereal (my other favorite flavors are peanut butter, honey nut, and fruity! Use “whatrobineats” for a discount on all Magic Spoon Cereal!)
• 1/4 diced banana when I have it

Mix the yogurt, cottage cheese, and powder peanut butter together then top with cereal and fruit if you’d like! I’ll be having this the rest of my life. 

Enchilada Pasta Bake

I love enchiladas but I don’t always love prepping the tortillas. I have a pretty good technique of softening the tortillas on the stove top in hot water before stuffing them but that still takes a chunk of time that I don’t always have. That’s when the enchilada pasta bake was born!

I wanted enchiladas last week and throwing pasta on the stove was doable so I combined the two. I’ve never been so happy with a past bake! Joel’s mind was blown and I’m already planning on making it again tomorrow.

Enchilada Pasta Bake:

• 1 box cooked pasta of choice
• 1/2-3/4 cup red enchilada sauce (you can make your own but I usually just buy one that’s not super sodium filled from my local grocery store)
• 1 cup steamed veggies of choice (I used steamed carrots and one fresh diced jalapeño)
• 1 cup cooked ground meat of choice (I actually used two vegan breakfast sausage patties! Cooked them on the stove top then diced into cubes. You may omit the meat or add black beans!)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used white cheddar)
• Fresh cilantro for topping after baking

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8 baking dish with non stick cooking spray, set aside.
• Mix all of the ingredients, except for the cheese and cilantro, together in a large bowl or the pot you just cooked the pasta in. Pour the pasta mix into the prepped baking dish and evening top with shredded cheese. You can add as much cheese as you’d like!
• Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta bake is heated all the way through.
• Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro. I served mine over romain lettuce to get some extra veggies in me but you can eat this straight from a bowl. It’s even better the next day as leftovers!

Thoughts on an enchilada bake? I was kinda weirded out when I thought about it but I was completely sold after the first bite!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Smoothie

Disclaimer, I made this once and haven’t made it again because zucchini hurts my stomach. I thought being pregnant would change the fact that zucchini hurts my stomach but nope, still bloated up like a painful balloon. Good news it that I can still eat dairy totally fine when pregnant and this smoothie tastes great. So if you like zucchini, and your stomach agrees, make this today!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Smoothie:

• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tsp manuka honey
• 1 tbsp peanut butter (or another nut butter of choice)
• 1 handful frozen zucchini
• 1/3 frozen banana
• 1 cup milk of choice,
• Cinnamon to taste
• 10 ice cubes

Directions:

Blend all of the ingredients together until smoothie and pour into a tall glass. Top with chocolate granola and puffed kamut cereal. Zucchini, do you eat it? I am so envious of all the zucchini recipes that I’ve been seeing lately so be sure to eat and extra slice of something for me.

Sweet and Savory French Toast, in collaboration with Chino Valley Ranchers

I’ve been told I make brown food look good. 🤓

Scroll through my feed and you’ll see a similar pattern of breakfast and baked goods, aka brown food. Not sure how this happened but all I know is that lookin at my feed I start to drool so I’m not mad about it! Partnering with my friends over at Chino Valley Ranchers this morning to give you this sweet and savory french toast. Made with Chino Valley Ranchers cage free egg whites and topped with an organic, soy free, and free range drippy egg. There couldn’t be a more “Robiny” meal than this right here.

Sweet and savory french toast: (makes two servings)

• Four slices your favorite bread
• Egg wash (6 tbsps Chino Valley Ranchers cage free egg whites, 1/4 cup nut milk, and cinnamon)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Chino Valley Ranchers organic soy free free range eggs
• “Everything but that bagel” seasoning

Directions:

• Whisk egg wash ingredients together in a shallow bowl.
• Dip each bread slice into the egg wash, coating each side.
• Place on a hot skillet sprayed with non stick cooking spray and cook until desired crispness on both sides.
• While french toast is cooking, fry whole eggs on a skillet and season with “everything but the bagel seasoning”.
• Place french toast onto two plates, top each with a fried egg, and drizzle with syrup.

Would you try this? Comment below if you’re into it or not.

Seedy, Chocolate, & Raspberry Gluten Free Blondies, in collaboration with Driscoll’s

My afternoon snack just became better because of YOU.

A few days ago on my stories I asked what should I make with Driscoll’s berry of the month, raspberries, and a number of you said raspberry blondies. Light bulb, what a killer idea! These seedy, chocolate, and raspberry grain free blondies were in the oven shortly after and they are more perfect than I could have imagined. Run, don’t walk, to the kitchen to make this afternoon, midnight, any time of day treat asap!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Driscoll’s organic raspberries
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup unsweetened nut milk
• Juice from 1 medium size lemon
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 + 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 + 1/4 cup gluten free flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons mixed seeds (chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, any seeds!)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, nut milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, and sea salt. Mix in almond flour, seeds, gluten free flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Stir in the chocolate chips, adding a tiny splash more milk if it looks too dry
• Transfer mixture to a sprayed square baking dish lined with parchment paper.
• Press the Driscoll’s raspberries into the batter just before baking.
• Bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown on top.
• Let cool completely before cutting into squares and devouring!

Banana, Butternut Squash, and Chai Spiced Cake. In collaboration with Flora Healthy

Whoever said you can’t eat cake for breakfast (or lunch and dinner) hasn’t tried my banana, butternut squash, and chai spiced cake topped with a Flora Healthy manuka honey peanut butter frosting. 🤯🍯

Been eating this cake for any meal the last few days and it’s been the best idea. It’s packed with goodies like bananas, butternut squash, and most importantly Flora Healthy manuka honey. Manuka honey has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant benefits. In fact, it has traditionally been used for wound healing, soothing sore throats, preventing tooth decay, and improving digestive issues. 👏🏼  Head over to florahealth.com to get yourself a jar (or two) of Flora Healthy’s manuka honey and don’t forget to use “honey15” to receive 15% off your manuka honey purchase. Now who’s ready for CAKE?! #BeFloraHealthy #ManukaHoney

Cake:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 large bananas ripe
• 1/4 cup mashed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup plain kefir yogurt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted and slightly cooled
• 1 egg room temperature
• 2 scoops vanilla chai lactation powder

Frosting:

• 1 cup powder peanut butter
• 1/2 -1 cup nut milk (may need more or less depending on your desired consistency)
• 3 tablespoons Flora Healthy manuka honey

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• Whisk together the pastry flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl, set aside.
• Using an immersion blender, combine the bananas, butternut squash, kefir yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, coconut oil, and egg. Blend until smooth and pour the blended wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk well until combined.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool completely in the pan before frosting.
• Make frosting by mixing the frosting ingredients together with a rubber spatula in a medium size bowl. Start by adding 1/2 cup nut milk and gradually add more until you’ve reached your desired frosting consistency.
• Frost cake, decorate with unsweetened coconut flakes, vanilla coconut flakes, and dried banana.
• Store frosted cake in the fridge in an air tight container for up to a week or freeze!

 

Paleo Oreo Cake, YEP.

Paleo Oreo cake! Disclaimer: the cake is paleo, the frosting is not. BUT you can easily substitute this frosting for a paleo vanilla frosting.

Oreo Cake:
* 2 cups raw minced sweet potato
* 1/4 cup coconut flour
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup black cacao powder
* 1/2 cup maple syrup
* 1/2 cup coconut oil
* 1/2 cup coconut sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
Frosting:
* 1/2 cup powder sugar
* 1/2 container vanilla frosting
* 1/4 cup vanilla probiotic smoothie
* 1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
* Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of two 6″ spring form cake pans with rounds of parchment paper. Spray the pan first with nonstick cooking spray for the parchment paper to stick.
* Mince sweet potatoes in a food processor. Then add in all ingredients for the cake and mix until smooth. You can add everything to a blender to make the cake smoother but I was pressed for time.
* Divide batter in-between the two cake pans and bake on 350 F for 50 minutes.
* While the cake is baking, combine frosting ingredients in a medium size bowl and whisk together until smooth. * Remove cake from the oven and let cool completely before frosting. Try not to eat all the frosting before the cake is finished, this was rough for me. Enjoy!

#BerryTogether in collaboration with Driscoll’s Berry and the feedfeed

Sharing food with my family is one of my favorite acts. The time spent cooking my heart out in the kitchen is always worth it when I see the joy on everyones face after each bite.

I wish you could have seen the look on my mother-in-laws face after she took her first bite of this Sangria Berry Crumble. It made my heart so happy to see her enjoy her birthday dessert as much as she did! Joel loved it too which is huge because he’s not a sweets guy (except for boxed brownies). I used a combination of Driscoll’s berries: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, and topped the warm crumble with french vanilla ice cream. Click the link in my bio or swipe up in my stories for the recipe! Or you can simply invite me to your next party and I’ll gladly make this for you

Sangria Berry Crumble:

• 6 ounces Driscoll’s blueberries
• 6 ounces Driscoll’s blackberries
• 6 ounces Driscoll’s raspberries
• 12 ounces Driscoll’s strawberries, cut in half
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 lime, juice and zested
• 2 tablespoons gluten free flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 3 tablespoons red wine, I used Malbec

Oat crumble:

• 1 1/3 cup gluten free oats
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I love cinnamon so I usually add more!)
• 1/4 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
• 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• French vanilla ice cream for serving, diary or non dairy

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. 
• Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add all the Driscoll’s berries to the baking dish and toss in the lime zest and juice with a silicon spatula. Wish together the coconut sugar, gluten free flour and pink salt and then mix into the fruit mixture. Sprinkle this over the fruit and gently toss. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes. Drizzle the red wine and fresh orange juice over top.

Oat crumble:

• Combine the oats, coconut sugar, flour, cinnamon and pink salt in a large bowl. Mix in the softened butter and combine thoroughly. 
• Add in the vanilla extract and combine. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over top of the fruit. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the crumble on top is golden.
• Let cool slightly before serving, you still want it to be warm when eating. Serve with french vanilla ice cream (or chocolate peanut butter if you’re feeling wild like me). Enjoy!

Salsa Verde Crockpot Chicken – in collaboration with La Victoria Mexican Salsa

Big debate, chunky or smooth salsa?

I’m a chunky salsa kind of gal. That’s why when LA VICTORIA, a delicious line of authentic, flavorful Mexican sauces and salsas, reached out to collaborate with their Thick’N Chunky Salsa Verde I basically gave a big “hand flick” and “party” emoji all at the same time. They’re inspired by a century-old family recipe that lies at the heart of American food culture todayand I love that their tomatoes are sourced from California’s fertile central valley.

My go-to family recipe when I have a jar of LA VICTORIA Thick’N Chunky Salsa Verde is crockpot salsa chicken – it’s bold and inviting, with plenty of jalapeno pepper. Your taste budswill be rewarded since it’s easy, delicious, and lasts the entire week. It’s the perfect meal prep for tacos, salads, burrito bowls, or tossing on a plate with veggies. You really can’t go wrong with how you enjoy it!

Salsa Verde Crockpot Chicken:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 2 cups LA VICTORIA Thick’N Chunky Salsa Verde (LA VICTORIA Mexican sauces and salsas are always made with real, simple ingredients. They’re available in the salsa aisle of most major grocers along the West Coast, including Safeway, Albertson’s and Ralph’s.)

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

• Add chicken to the slow cooker. Top with salsa verde, sprinkle with cumin, and season with a few generous pinches of sea salt and pepper. Use a pair of tons or a spoon to turn the chicken so that both sides are coated. Cover.

• Cook for 6 hours on low heat.

• The chicken is ready when easily shreds with a fork. Shred the chicken in the slow cooker and toss with the juices.

• Then remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and serve warm. Or, store the shredded chicken in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 

I used the chicken for a burrito bowl today with brown rice, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, fresh lime, and blue corn tortilla chips. How would you use LA VICTORIA Thick’NChunky Salsa Verde?