I made these little loaves for the ‘Share our Strength’ Bake Sale last Saturday and they were a hit!

Being the veggie pusher I am, this gets me excited because the people who bought them weren’t even aware of just how many carrots are in 1 little loaf. It’s got carrot puree, carrot juice, shredded carrots and even… carrot granola! I almost named these little loaves “Hipster Bread.” They’re like so hipster with all their veganness and granola, and stuff.

I won’t lie, I totally stressed, for just a few minutes, about what to bake and bring to the bake sale. Obviously I wanted it to taste good  (no one wants to buy gross homemade goods, right?!?!) but also represent me, and my blog. I fiiiiinally landed on 3 ideas and just had to commit to go with it. No changing my mind (which I am notorious for)! Then I stressed about how to wrap it. Yeah for stressing about things that really shouldn’t be stressed about, it’s like my special skill. I wanted it to be cute, but not cheesy. I also needed it to be inexpensive and fairly easy. But I’m not crafty, period! So getting all artsy fartsy, yaaaa, that’s just way beyond my skill set.

For the labels, do you know what I printed it on? Used Trader Joe’s bags. The thing is, I didn’t want to waste more paper on tags that just get thrown away. Not only waste more paper, but spend more money too. I just cut the paper bags into 8 1/2 x 11 and printed right on them. They worked perfectly! I’m even thinking of making business cards out of paper bags… That’s so very hipster of me also. I don’t have a mustache though, so I’m not REALLY a hipster, just to clarify.

Moral of the story is, if you ever participate in a bake sale, don’t feel like you have to buy all this fancy packaging. You can use things you already have around the house, like paper bags, random spools of ribbon or twine, and plastic wrap. Oh, and also, for the actually baked goods, you don’t have to get expensive ingredients either. Bake what you love, what’d you eat, what YOU would buy at a bake sale. In the end, if you wouldn’t eat it, why do you think someone else would? Ya know what I’m sayin’?!?!

 

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Granola Carrot Bread – Vegan

Granola Carrot Bread – Vegan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup carrot puree (steam carrots then puree in a food processor)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup carrot juice juice (pineapple juice works well too)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, your choice)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup granola
  • 1/2 cup granola (used for the topping)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan of choice:

1 bundt (1 hour 15 minutes)

2 loaf (50 minutes)

6 mini loaf (45 minutes)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s), sprinkle with 1/2 cup of remaining granola, bake for the amount next to each pan above, or until a toothick inserted comes out clean.

Cool in pans for about 15 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack.

Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Baked loaves can be wrapped then frozen for up to a few months. Just thaw at room temperature for a few hours before eating.

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Notes about the bread:

You can substitute pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potato for the carrot puree and shredded carrots.

The carrot juice can be replaced with pineapple juice, coconut milk, or any non-dairy milk.

The granola on top will get extra crispy when it’s baking.  I like that it is almost burnt, but if you don’t like that, cover your loaves with tin foil about halfway through the baking time.