Why Do The High Holidays Make Me Crave Carrot Cake?

At sundown tomorrow, the Jewish Holiday, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement begins, ending the "10 Days of Repentance." It marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. During these days, Jews are asked to contemplate their wrongs and ask for forgiveness from the ones they have wronged. It's similar to the 4th Step, in the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs, where you are tasked to do a "moral inventory" and make amends to the one's you have wronged and harmed with you illness.

Yom Kippur itself is a day of fasting, which to me represents a physical cleanse after a week of spiritual and emotional cleansing. This Yom Kippur will be unique for me because I have spent the last 6 months on a cleansing journey that has been physical, emotional and spiritual. I have worked on ridding my body of the excess weight of inflammation and from the emotional weight of anger and resentment. In this practice, I have been able to find myself and fulfill my passion of sharing with others my love for real food and cooking. I am so grateful that there are over 500 people that have shared this journey with me. Thank you.


For whatever reason, I associate the High Holy Days with Carrot Cake. Whenever, it's time to dip apples into honey, I crave the spiciness and richness of a delicious carrot cake. This year to satisfy my craving, I came up with my own grain-free vegan carrot cake muffin recipe. I prefer to bake in muffin tins, because it's the best way to control portion size. The muffins turned out delicious and very tasty.

Grain-Free Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins
1 1/2 cups chestnut flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 3/4 cups carrot pulp (approximately 2-3 carrots juiced)
1/4 cup apple pulp (1/2-1 apple juiced)
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/4-1/2 cup Grade A Maple Syrup (I used close to 1/2 cup and found it a bit too sweet)
2 tbsp chia seeds & 9 tbsp water
1 tbsp Apple Spice
1 tsp Powdered Ginger

1/2 tbsp aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Celtic Salt


 Process
1. Preheat over to 350
2. In a bowl, mix chia seeds and water and let stand for 10 minutes
3. In another bowl mix all dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt)
4. Add wet ingredients to chia seeds (pulp, syrup, oil) and mix well
5. Using a mixer, mix on medium speed while pouring wet ingredients into the dry
6. Mix until all ingredients are well distributed, you should have a bunch of small chunks of dough
7. Line a muffin tin with baking cups
6. Take a heaping 1/4 cup of dough/batter and roll into a ball and place in baking cup and press until dough sits nicely in the cup

8. Bake for 20-22 minutes
9. Let cool on a wire rack.