Okay well
“weigh” back whenI had Lydia, I was freaking out about my weight. And to be honest, I just keep struggling. I am good for a while, and then deadlines (along with stress) pile up, my time is gone and I make awful choices, and increase my sugar intake. So, my weight has been up and down 5 lbs or so for the last few months and I am still not dropping the final 8-10 lbs.So, I need to make some easy changes. One of these is easy dinners, that I don’t buy out. That is where my
new menu plan helps a lot, cuz i don’t have time to think about what I want to make and honestly that is my least favorite part- thinking of what to make! (which happens too often when I am stressed, and the dishes haven’t been done for 4 days!) So while dinners are getting under control, I still LOVE sugar.But the hard truth, is I don’t really want give up desserts. I don’t have the desire, I really enjoy making treats. That is the kicker… so, this week I decided to just try a little harder to avoid unnecessary sugar, or should I say too much unnecessary sugar. While still allowing myself to have a few treats every now and then, with limits.Toward that goal, I messed around with yet another recipe and came up with a pretty decent chocolate carrot cupcake (maybe a little closer to a muffin, but really good!) I plan on a few tweaks next time, but this recipe was great even without those tweaks!
Chocolate Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Makes 26 (24 plus a small loaf pan)
Mix all dry ingredients together first:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (**next time I will add 1 cup)
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Add in the wet ingredients:
1 cup natural applesauce
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs (or egg substitute)
2 ripe smashed bananas
3 cups raw finely shredded carrots! (WHOOPS!)
1/2 cup milk
I baked them as cupcakes, about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for approx 20 minutes.
(I froze half… for emergencies!) ** The cupcakes were not as chocolatey as the picture above,
it just needs to have more to really taste like chocolate to me… I know!! It would be good as a cake too,
but you will need to bake it for approx 1 hour, if you do a large 9 x 13 pan.
Easy Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz low fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
Just beat together for frosting! Optional: After frosting the cupcakes, sprinkle with chopped toasted pecans.