Ah, the start of March, makes me think of Spring! Although, we Albertans typically get winter for another two months or so… BUT I’m not thinking of that right now as I’m still basking away in the Hawaiian sun!

Spring always makes me think of carrot cake, likely because of Easter so this recipe is right on time for the carrot cake recipes inspiration! The recipe isn’t actually cake, so it’s not technically the same, but the flavour of this smoothie bowl is pretty spot on to that classic carrot cake flavour and what-do-ya-know, it’s FULL of the bright orange root vegetable too!

I got the inspiration for this recipe from Joy McCarthy of Joyous Health! She’s a fellow Holistic Nutritionist and a beautiful little lady to say the least. You can tell just by looking at her that her healthy habits truly make her glow! Joy has a fantastic cookbook called Joyous Health and it’s full of great recipes including a carrot cake smoothie! I adapted her recipe by adding in some different fruits and other ingredients and turned the smoothie into a “bowl”!

I don’t know why, but my favourite way to enjoy smoothies is in a bowl with a spoon – it kind of feels like ice cream that way!

This carrot cake smoothie bowl combines carrots with frozen pineapple and peaches to give the smoothie base that carrot cake taste with ample sweetness. The addition of a couple dates brings in some more natural sweetness and fibre, and the hemp seeds add a dose of healthy fats and protein.

I also used North Coast Naturals Vege Pro-7 in vanilla to bring in a good serving of vegan protein and topped it all with some creamy, dreamy, almond milk!

Oh, and not to forget the classic carrot cake spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger!

To top it all off? Shredded coconut, hemp seeds, pineapple, raisins, and shredded carrot worked perfectly to add extra texture and crunch to the smoothie bowl! Not to mention the extra health benefits of all those yummy toppings!

I don’t know about you, but I’d trade this smoothie bowl for it’s not-s0-healthy counterpart most days (yes, most days, once in a blue moon you just gotta have cake…and eat it too!), and with the leftover carrots you can make some carrot cake overnight oats or some raw carrot cake bites too!



*recipe adapted from Joyous Health cookbook

Have a lovely Sunday! Mahalo!

Christal // NITK