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Carrot Cake Smoothie + a detox update!

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You know you want to put vegetables in your smoothie.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

Because these carrots won’t taste like vegetables at all. Just creamy, vanilla-scented, cinnamon-spiked liquefied carrot cake. Get this in your belly, that’s all I’m saying. I found a secret that will keep you from sipping on hard, raw chunks of carrot no matter how weak your blender is—get excited.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

This smoothie is also detox-friendly. Yay! Have you been wondering about my detox? It officially ended little over a week ago and I’m trying to retain some of the good habits. Mainly: smoothies.

Here are my final observations on the detox, though by all means—skip to the recipe for extreme carrot yum!

  • The grand finish: So I started my detox on a Monday, which means my last official day would have been on Sunday, 2/10. What I didn’t take into account was my trip to New Orleans for MARDI GRAS that weekend (we drove down Friday afternoon)!! Talk about no way in hell was I going to be able to finish my detox. I held out for as long as I could—I prepped the butternut squash, quinoa and spinach for lunch on Friday, Subway salad for dinner—but in the end, the beignets prevailed.
  • The interruption: was worth it. Sequin bras, lots of beads and cheap shoes were had (note to anyone who goes to New Orleans, ever: no one wants to walk around NOLA in open-toed shoes. No one.)IMG_0122v2IMG_0123IMG_0128
  • The final numbers:I lost about 6 pounds at my peak weight-loss point, but some of that definitely could have been water weight. Since the end, however, I’ve been consistently weighing in under my former weight by about 3 pounds. Not the most exciting weight loss in the world, but better than nothing right?
  • Results: I think I’ve definitely cured the worst of my sugar addiction, or am at least on the road to recovery. I think a combination of not eating sugar at all for nearly three weeks combined with a really healthy stream of vegetables, fruits, gluten-free grains and lean protein helped reset my palette. I still crave sugar, but maybe not quite as much because I know how crappy I feel after I eat it. Like really, my tongue feels dirty.
  • What I learned: Everyone’s body works differently and I think what I appreciated most about this cleanse was what I learned about my body (and how to cook with onions and garlic!). I was dreading the first week of smoothies since I figured I’d be hungry and grumpy all morning long from running on a skimpy cup of fruit juice. What I found totally surprised me—the smoothies kept me the fullest for the longest amount of time—my stomach usually emptied out around 11 or 11:15, which was just close enough to lunch that I could wait to eat, eliminating my usual 10 a.m. snack. The cardamom quinoa porridge, on the other hand, felt like not a lot of food and left me craving more and hungry until lunch. Same with the muesli cereal. I felt the same craving after the banana oat pancakes and buckwheat muffins, although they filled me up eventually. Conclusion: my body does best with smoothies in the morning, for whatever reason. Eating carbs makes me crave more carbs and milk in the morning is a general no-go.
  • Rinse and repeat: Would I do this again? Totally. I plan on incorporating many of the detox meals and principles into my everyday diet and showing you some of my favorites!

Did I have a total pig out session after I *officially* finished my detox? Um, no. But I did eat two completely luscious raspberry-stuffed chocolate muffins with absolutely NO refined sugar and felt like I had just won the lottery. And then on Valentine’s Day, I went to dinner with Erik and thoroughly enjoyed half my entrée of spaghetti squash and assorted veggies and devouring Erik’s sweet potato fries. Then, after dinner, when the mood struck me to assemble a mini cake out of the cake scraps in my fridge, layered with almond butter, raspberry jam and raw chocolate ganache? I ate half of it and didn’t even feel bad. Okay, I felt bad. But that didn’t stop me from eating two more chocolate covered strawberries.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

And after that eating blitz, I decided it was time for some mild detoxing again. So I got back on the smoothie wagon. The first version of this smoothie involved raw carrots and a smoothie that was more chew-able than sip-able. Chunks of raw carrot slipped through my blender—gross. Steamed, softened carrots, however, blended like a dream.You can see a few chunks in these photos since I added rolled oats instead of instant, but these teensy chunks are far less offensive than shards of raw carrot.

Steaming the carrots adds a few more minutes to this recipe, but it’s so worth it.You could even steam a few cups ahead of time and store in the fridge for future smoothies because this delicious thing? I just want to make it every day. Ob.sessed. (Next obsession? This healthy cheesecake.)

I want to feed this to you.
I want to feed this to you.
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Carrot Cake Smoothie

Steaming the carrots beforehand is the key to making a velvety, luscious chunk-free smoothie. Carrots are the star of this smoothie, so use the best you can find (no baby carrots). Add more milk if you like your smoothies runnier and oats for for a more filling smoothie.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 1 serving
Calories 93kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup carrots washed, peeled (if not organic) and chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ cup almond milk
  • 1 small or medium frozen banana
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons oats optional

Instructions

  • Combine the carrots and water in your smallest saucepan over high heat and cover. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium or medium high and steam for 5-10 minutes, until carrots are easily pierced by a fork.
  • Pour carrots and water (save all those nutrients!) into blender and add remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.

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  1. girl in a food frenzy

    Wowsers! Carrot cake smoothie, something I think that people dream of with awesome flavour, little calories and tasty bits for your body. As for your post detox dinner, I think chocolate covered berries and raspberries and almond butter are the ultimate treat, yum yum!

    Reply

  2. Alicia

    Best blog post I’ve read in a long time! I can relate so much to loving smoothies in the morning. It is the only “healthy” low calorie food that keeps me full until lunch time. I have been working on breaking my sugar addiction as well and I have found that smoothies are the ultimate cure. Not to mention, I am super stoked to try this recipe tomorrow as I am definitely in need of a detox after a day of self pity-eating (I’m sick) haha. How neat that you made this recipe adaptable to those of us who have not yet invested in an expensive vitamix! Although I hope to purchase one soon, I am so excited to try your recipe in the mean time 🙂 Thank you so much for this post.

    Reply

    • erika

      Thank you so much, Alicia! Your comment totally made my day! So glad you’ve also found that smoothies are the key to a great breakfast/breaking your sugar addiction. Please let me know how you like it if you do end up trying it!!

      Reply

  5. Cynthia

    Congrats on your detox!!! I’m so jealous that you went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras! I’ve always wanted to go! Looks like you had a good time and got a lot of beads! 😀

    Btw, this is really random, but do you know a guy named David Liou? He went to Rice, I believe. We grew up in the same town in New Mexico.

    Reply

    • erika

      Um ARE YOU KIDDING. I went to New Orleans with David Liou!!! He’s roommates with one of the girls in the pictures and we literally slept in the same hotel room. That is so funny!! Did you know him well? I’ll have to tell him!

      And thanks 🙂 You should definitely go someday, it’s an experience!! And bring closed-toe shoes!!

      Reply

    • erika

      These would be a perfect way to use up your carrots! I loved this smoothie so much, I just bought a 5-lb. bag. Perhaps I was a little over-enthusiastic…

      Reply

  9. John

    Hi I’m John from Fooduel.com. It is a site in which users vote recipes
    from 1 to 10.

    There is a ranking of the best recipes and a profile with your recipes ordered. Each recipe has a link to the blog that belongs recipe. This way you will get traffic to your blog

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    I invite you to enter add your blog and upload a recipe with a nice photo.

    We would love that you participate with some recipe like this. Look amazing!

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    Reply

  11. Natasha

    It’s awesome to read about your detox. I so often consider doing one. I actually am a pretty healthy eater generally, but I love love love dessert. Maybe a detox would help kick my sugar addiction or at least control it a bit? Ah, maybe I’ll muster up the courage to do a detox soon. You’re definitely making me think seriously about it!

    Reply

    • erika

      Aww yay that makes me so happy to hear! That’s exactly how I am–I always felt like my healthy eating + love of dessert balanced each other out, but then I realized I was getting sick quite a few times a year and wondered if something was wrong with me since I exercise a lot and eat healthy most of the time! During the detox, I didn’t get sick at all, which makes me wonder if sugar actually DOES suppress your immune system somewhat…anyway. More food for thought! Thanks so much for stopping by!! I really love your blog!

      Reply

  12. Eva Kelemen

    Congrats on your detox, I know they can be very challenging. Looks like you had a great time in New Orleans, I have never been but would love to visit.
    This recipe looks delicious. It can even be a great healthy dessert topped with coconut whipped cream and flaked toasted coconut 😉

    Reply

    • erika

      Thanks so much Eva! You should definitely visit! I could never live there, but it’s a fun city to spend a weekend. That’s a fabulous idea to make this into dessert–I might do that tonight!

      Reply

  13. Alex @ Brain, Body, Because

    Congrats on chugging through that detox! I know how horrendously difficult it can be.

    Also, I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself in New Orleans. I think the HLB community can sometimes take itself too seriously, so I’m happy to hear that you had a ncie time 🙂

    Reply

    • erika

      Thanks Alex–so true! Have you been through a bunch of detoxes?

      And I’ve been racking my brain but can’t figure it out–what does HLB stand for? In any case, thanks! 🙂

      Reply

  15. Kenley Leigh

    Congrats on finishing your detox Erika! Good for you! (Oh, and your Mardi Gras looks like it was a ton of fun!) This smoothie looks wonderful! Love the idea of not just having a carrot smoothie, but having it taste like carrot cake!!
    Kenley

    Reply

    • erika

      Bam! It’s been awhile since I’ve visited your lovely blog–thanks for stopping by 🙂 Post-detox, I’m feeling pretty good, although not QUITE as good as I was on the detox since my diet has become decidedly less pure. Whoops 🙂 OH MY GOD I just clicked over to your site–it’s new! And beautiful! Can’t wait to check it out!

      Reply

  18. Nancy @ gottagetbaked

    Way to go, Erika! You should be so proud of yourself for completing and surviving the detox. I’ve always wanted to do one but fear stops me every time. Fear of what? I’m not quite sure – of failure? Perhaps. Of becoming a starving, stark raving madwoman? Definitely. Also, I don’t think I’d be able to just cook for the Husband and then serve myself detox liquids/foods. But maybe i should try. And reading about your journey is definitely inspiring me. Thanks for the straight up deets on your experience. It’s so helpful to hear about how someone else felt and handled it all. I love the pics of Mardi Gras – you and your friends are good lookin’ ladies! And this smoothie? Amazing! Only you can work your magic and turn a healthy smoothy into liquid carrot cake.

    Reply

    • erika

      Oh Nancy, you are such a funny, funny lady. Yeah, I would NOT be a fan at all of serving up two dishes at each mealtime…in some ways, this detox is totally cut out for a single lady living on her own who has LOTS of free time to cook! But whirring up a smoothie in the morning isn’t too much work and you could just try cutting out some dairy/soy/gluten out of both your diets here and there–nothing drastic…but you have to keep blogging no matter what so I can keep enjoying your entertaining posts! Got that? 🙂

      And thanks, thanks, thaanks 🙂

      Reply

  20. Leah

    Yay for finishing up your detox! I think you totally had a right to finish a little early considering you went to New Orleans! (jealous!). I loved reading about your experience – I definitely agree that carbs make me crave more carbs, so weird. Congrats on your weight loss – 3lbs is still 3lbs! I lost 7 and I’m already back up 3. It’s a slow give and take!

    Oh by the way – Jon would LOVE this smoothie since he loves carrot cake and without the oats, it’s Paleo-friendly!

    Reply

    • erika

      Haha thanks Leah 🙂 Ugh I wish the carb thing would just go away! I just want to indulge in a few carbs here and there but not leave behind a trail of never-ending cravings! Hah. And thanks so much for the kind words on the weight loss…that is totally true! And 7 is AMAZING! Slow give and take…amen.

      Hope you guys get to try this out! I think it’s super tasty 🙂

      Reply

    • erika

      Thanks Heather! This smoothie is actually on the small side–definitely more of a snack than breakfast for me! But one of these days I might try doubling it for breakfast because you’re right–smoothies that aren’t substantial enough run right through me!

      Reply