Protein First: Carrot Cake – T Nation Content – COMMUNITY

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Have Your Cake and Make Gains Too

Normal carrot cake is high carb, high fat, and high calorie. And it won’t get you any closer to your protein goals. This version does the opposite.

Some people try to sneak vegetables into every meal. I do the exact same thing but with protein. The problem is, when people think of protein, they often only think of meat or maybe beans if they’re malnourished vegans (kidding, guys).

But if you’re like most people, there are times when you want something delicious and don’t feel like eating chicken, fish, or beef. You may even crave dessert. That’s where protein powder comes in. You can eat cake and work toward your daily protein goals at the same time.

The main advantage? You get satiated faster and consume fewer total calories than you would’ve if you’d tried to satisfy your sweet tooth with a conventional, low-protein treat.

That may sound bizarre to some. There’s this mindset that if you don’t treat yourself to normal desserts, you’ll deprive yourself of a good life. But that belief is destructive. The norm these days is to gradually gain weight with age, collect all the diseases that come with it, and then go on a never-ending rollercoaster of medications to treat those problems. So, find a way to avoid eating like normal people if you don’t want to have all the same (normal) health problems.

The best way to do that is to eat a diet you can adhere to. And the best way to do that is to satiate your appetite without overeating. And the best way to do that is with a protein-first strategy.

Emphasizing protein, or a protein-first strategy as we call it, makes it easier to adhere to a diet that won’t just help you get and stay lean, it’ll also help you keep and build muscle. These are the keys to living outside the norm.

Eat cake. Get plenty of protein. Make leanness easy. Oh, and bonus: this recipe happens to have a vegetable in it. Win-win!

Protein Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 large carrot (enough to make 1 cup shredded)
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup vanilla MD protein (on Amazon)
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup baking Splenda (on Amazon)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cake Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (165 Celsius).
Spray a 9×9 pan with coconut oil. Coat it evenly with a thin layer of MD protein to prevent the cake from sticking.
Use a cheese grater to shred your carrot. Don’t buy pre-shredded carrots or shred one ahead of time because it ends up dry and gross. Get a fresh carrot and shred it yourself.
Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl.
Pour the batter evenly into the pan.
Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top looks golden brown and you can jab it with a toothpick without any batter sticking to it.
Let the cake cool off completely before putting any frosting on it.

Frosting Ingredients

1 block (8 ounces) of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 scoop vanilla MD protein (on Amazon)
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup Splenda (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Frosting Directions

Using a hand mixer, mix all the ingredients together. If you don’t have a mixer and want to eliminate the cream cheese lumps, leave it sitting out at room temperature while the cake is cooling, then mix. (Don’t leave it out for more than 60 minutes.)
Evenly distribute it over your cake.
Cut the cake into 9 pieces. If you have a square pan, make three equal cuts down and three equal cuts across.

Option for fun people: Use a thinner layer of frosting on the cake, and just eat the rest yourself with a spoon. Or a finger, you animal.