Carrot Fruit Cake-Bread

2 big carrots - finely chopped

1c chopped frozen pineapple 

1 mashed banana

1"cube fresh ginger - minced

1 whole mandarin orange - zest and chop

1/2c coconut sugar

1/2c brown sugar

3 lg. eggs

3/4c light olive oil

3/4c sunflower kernels

- - walnuts or pecans would be better

1/2c plain Greek yogurt

1T white balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° Chop, zest, mash and combine everything above, in a medium glass bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

1T cinnamon

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

2T ground chia + flax

1t salt

1c corn flour

2-1/2c all purpose flour

Pour the bowl of well combined wet ingredients into the flour bowl. Working quickly with a big silicone spatula, fold and combine these into a heavy batter. Today I transferred this to a buttered and sugared 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan to make a snack-coffee cake. This would have also made wonderful  muffins! Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. If making muffins, cut the baking time way down, start with 20 minutes then do the toothpick test. Let the cake cool an hour before cutting.

My daughter was here while this was cooling. She suggested a cream cheese drizzle to accentuate the flavors. I didn't have cream cheese, so instead made this butter-cinnamon-vanilla glaze:

3T melted butter

1t Mexican vanilla

1c powdered sugar

1t cinnamon

2T heavy cream

Mix these together until smooth in a small bowl. Pour and spread over the top. 

Have fun with your creative combinations. . .Lin

Coconut Fruit Smoothie

1c coconut milk - from a carton

2c mixed frozen fruit - today I used

pineapple, mango, strawberries, blueberries

1c plain Greek yogurt

1T± Mexican vanilla

Put everything in a blender jar, pulse and blend until smooth.

My neighbor texted me yesterday to see if I wanted some extra coconut milk they had. I've used canned coconut milk before, but never this, the thinner type, in a carton. This Stuff Is Good!  For a while now, the liquid in my yogurt-fruit smoothies has been a variety of fruit juices. I like this much better. It seems to create a more natural balance of flavors, plus it's lower in sugar than fruit juice.

These amounts made 2 big servings, containing 240 calories each. Ohhh, this was good! Give it a try!  Get creative with your fruit choices. Bananas, frozen cranberries, frozen cherries, a whole-unpeeled mandarin orange are also excellent choices.  .😃. .Lin