Enjoy this high protein carrot cake banana bread for a snack or dessert! Gluten free, easy to make, high protein, grain free and super filling! Did I mention its carrot cake! Frosting and all!
Carrot cake is hands down my favorite dessert. So clearly I’m always looking for new ways to enjoy my favorite dessert. This super simple carrot cake banana bread is packed with all the right flavors, its dense and filling and the coconut butter frosting makes it almost dreamy!
I crave sweets often. I used to try to ignore those cravings, or only have “a bite or two” of what I was craving. But I realized, I am not a good moderator. Some people are. One of my best friends can have a huge bag of dark chocolate at her desk and gelato in her freezer and every day just has one piece of dark chocolate and will have a spoonful or two of gelato when the craving strikes. Me. HA! I would burn a hold through that bag and it would be mostly gone by the end of the day. Gelato and ice cream are not even purchased. That is just a stomach ache waiting to happen from a late night binge.
So what is a girl to do? Well I had to learn to get creative in the kitchen. I make my own versions of my favorite foods: cookies, cakes, sweet desserts, etc. This way I get to control the ingredients and I also don’t tend to over indulge as much since I don’t feel like these sweet treats aren’t as “off limits”. I bake with protein powder as the base of so many of my recipes as it tends to make the desserts more filling and something I can enjoy post workout.
Two of my favorite childhood memories: carrot cake at my birthday and banana bread at least once a month. My mom was an amazing baker. I remember she would let my sister and I help her in the kitchen and I loved watching the butter and sugar in the kitchen aid. In face, one of the first gifts my mom got me when I moved out on my own was my very own kitchen aid mixer. I have to admit, I don’t pull out my kitchen aid much anymore. I’m more of a one bowl and fork kind of girl. Not sure when or why that happened but cleaning up is so much easier now!
To make this recipe packed with protein, I used Vega Performance Protein in Vanilla. It’s got 30 grams of protein per scoop. The scoops tend to be a bit larger, so if you are using a different protein powder, you may want to go up to 3 scoops of protein to get the right consistency. If you haven’t tried Vega Performance yet, you need to! You can order directly from Vega you will receive $15 of free money to use on your favorite Vega products after your first purchase (referral link). I love adding it to my caulioats recipes and to my smoothies! It’s such a great way to get my protein in everyday.
- 2 mashed bananas
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 4 egg whites
- 2 scoops Vega Performance protein (see post for substitutions)
- 2 tbs coconut flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbs cinnamon
- 2 carrots shredded
- Punch salt
- ¼ cup coconut flakes
- ¼ cup raisins
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2-4 tbs. coconut butter
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the egg whites and applesauce. Combine well.
- Add the vanilla protein powder, coconut flour, cinnamon, ground ginger and stir well to combine.
- Grate the carrots and add directly to the batter along with the coconut flakes and rasins. Stir until completely combined.
- Add a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
- Place a sheet or parchament paper in the bottom of a loaf pan and spray with non-stick (coconut oil spray).
- Add the batter and bake at 350F for 60 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely after removing from the oven.
- Add 2-4 tbs. of melted coconut butter and place in fridge to harden.
What about you?
- Do you make your own healthy versions of your favorite childhood desserts?
- Carrot cake – love it or hate it?
- Have you tried coconut butter as frosting yet?
High-protein and such a tasty cake! I think I have finally found my recipes paradise and it’s here, haha! Thanks a lot for this one. I promise to abuse it 😛
I just pinned your awesome bread,it looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Carrot cake is a favorite dessert too! It’s interesting to see the different versions such as yours. Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday.
Yummy yummy! Pinned so I can give it a try 🙂
Yay! I love carrot cake! 😀 Can’t wait to try this out!
Carrot cake is my fave! Thanks for joining last weeks Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesday – we hope you’ll join us this week!