I know that this recipe for Carrot Banana Bread might not be the best time to do this but I have been a bit quiet for a few weeks now about what has been going on with my health so I figured now is the best time to do so (if you care to know). If you have been following me for a while, you will know that especially in the past year I have been having some interesting health issues. Massive and uncomfortable bloating, stomach pains, extreme mood swings, depression, lethargy, acne, and a constant struggle between constipation and the Big D. I went on the Conscious Cleanse back in May because all of my symptoms were beginning to point to idea that I was eating something that my body is not happy with. Within a few days into the cleanse my system began to function properly and the bloating went down significantly. My theory seemed to be right about food being the culprit. When the cleanse ended, I picked up some awesome new tricks that added beautiful new foods into my daily regime but I also allowed sugar, processed foods (tortilla chips!) and alcohol back into my diet. Life is too short to feel deprived right? Yeah well, guess what came right back? You got it. Irregularity, bloating, and pain. Yadda yadda.
The moment I started to get weepy and what I describe as what felt like depressed, I immediately went to the doctor. Enough was enough. This was no longer normal for me and I couldn’t deal with how I was feeling anymore. I needed to figure out once and for all WHAT the heck was going on in my body and what I could do to better myself. A round of blood work and stool sample later, I was floored when my doctor told me that I was very malnourished. She even compared my blood work to someone from a third world country with parasites and bacteria in their system because well, oh yeah, did I mention that she also found a parasite in my intestines? Yum. To add to that, I also have a systemic yeast overgrowth called Candida. The solution? Go on a 2 month-long diet that is free of:
- Sugar (including honey, maple syrup, molasses, and anything refined)
- All fruit (but berries and lemons/limes)
- Yeast
- Vinegar
- Anything processed
- Corn (gasp!)
- Alcohol (double gasp!)
- Peanuts
- High starchy vegetables (sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, etc.– can have 1-2x week)
- Soy
- Dairy (don’t eat anyway)
- Gluten (thank goodness I have a gluten-free blog so I know what I’m doing)
- Starches of all kind
Not only that but after the diet, I have to live on a modified version of this everyday in order to keep the symptoms and Candida at bay. Basically if I want to go back to how I was feeling, I can eat everything on that list above. But I don’t want to…
Which inevitably means that things will be shifting around here on Fork & Beans. I cannot upkeep what I have been doing unless I want to be sick again, which as I have stated I don’t want that.
I have always been honest about the fact that I am not a vegan (unless of course I was dabbling with it in the past since I eat a mainly plant-based diet as it is, am allergic to dairy and cannot stand the smell eggs leave on a plate or when mixed in a bowl, it made sense to just go full force). It never really stuck for me but I have such a love for making vegan baked goods and dishes, I just love it! The reality is I do eat animal protein from time to time. It’s rare, but I do. Until now. Now that I am on a stricter diet and my palate has completely altered, I have found myself eating more animal protein. I’m also finding that some grains and beans have been part of the problem with my stomach issues. It’s thrown me for a loop. A big loop really. What does this mean for the future? No clue. I am choosing not to overanalyze and just go with it.
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Carrot Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 c. Cara’s All-Purpose Flour Blend
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 c. coconut sugar (or use granulated)
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 medium bananas, mashed well
- 1/2 c. boiling water
- 1/3 c. oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 c. finely grated carrots (3–4 medium carrots)
- 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (use 1/2 c. more to top the bread, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8″ loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add all of the wet ingredients in (except for the carrots and walnuts) and mix together until just combined. Fold in carrots and walnuts. Coat with remainder walnuts to garnish on top if you desire.
- Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top spring back when gently touched.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes until it is not longer too hot to touch. Remove completely and allow to fully cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 325 calories
- Fat: 14 g
I hope you choose to stay for this new, unknown journey!
cara..tried making the bread this morning..it turn out mushy and gruey inside… is this due to too much gum? My 19 month old ( egg and dairy intolerance) was very disappointed. Gonna try again tomorrow.
This sounds like an oven temperature issue.
BEST Banana bread ever! (I omitted the carrots and nuts. Personal preference on the xarrots and nut allergies) I can’t tell you how thankful I am that another Mom shared your website with me. It’s been a wonderful success with every recipe of yours that I’ve tried so far for my 5 year old with multiple food allergies. He gobbled this up! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
★★★★★
Lori, I am so happy to hear about this, yes! AND the fact that it worked just as well without the carrots is great news. Thank you for the feedback. Much love, xo.
SO glad I found your site. Would this work without the carrots? Could I just add an extra banana and knock the sugar down a little? I’m looking for a solid banana bread recipe, I’m still fairly new to gf baking. Thank you!
★★★★★
You can try 🙂 The hard part is that this recipe is for both carrots and bananas so any alterations to the recipe could change the outcome. Good luck though and be sure to check out my Baking 101 series to help you with gluten free baking, Christine! You will get some good info with this 😉
So how do you make your recipes rise without eggs? I made a similar banana bread- it’s super moist but it’s not really that high in height….
It depends on the recipe Priya, but baking soda and vinegar can be key to a nice rise 🙂
Can we change by regular flour? Would it be the same quantity? Thanks
You can always try however I don’t bake with regular flour so I don’t know. They have different liquid absorption rates so you might have to keep an eye on the liquid. Good luck 🙂
Love carrot bread and banana bread… so carrot, banana bread only sounds natural to love!
Hi Cara,
Was it your family Dr who you went to for all of this or was it a Naturaupath? Just wondering because I too am in the same boat an am looking to see someone about it.
Looking forward to seeing your new recipes!!
I’m sorry to hear about your health issues – totally understand you may want to make adjustments to your diet since you need to exclude so many foods, but before you go back to eating a lot of animal products you may want to do a search for “chicken” or “fish” or “turkey” etc. on http://nutritionfacts.org. Unfortunately ALL animal products come with their own health risks that may exacerbate your condition or give you even worse symptoms than what you were experiencing before. Eating infected & diseased animals can’t be good for you either. I hope you find a solution that is a compassionate choice for both you as well as the non-human animals that unwillingly end up on our plates.
Please look up the 801010 diet or raw till 4! so many people have cured candida and parasites on it 🙂 my mom did! best of luck!
Sorry to read about your food struggles… I’ll definitely be following your upcoming journey as: I’m not strictly vegan either (I eat mostly plant based too, but dairy is the only thing I don’t ever eat), only recently excluded gluten from my diet, and have been suspecting a similar candida issue. I realized a while ago I couldn’t manage shifting my diet completely from one day to another, so I’m doing it step by step, one food category after another. The candida diet scares me a bit, but – when I feel ready to start – with your help and inspiration I’m pretty sure it will be much easier. 😉 x
I can’t tolerate xanthan gum. Do you know how much guar gum I should use instead? I don’t think its a 1:1 sub. Thanks!
Ah, at least you now know what is going on inside your wonderful body. Yes, it will be a challenge, but you are a strong woman, so venture forth, make whatever changes are needed and smile!!! You are going to heal and that is all that matters. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m plagued with so many ‘don’t dos’ that I just laugh. I love your blog, am learning to kick gluten, along with sugar, eggs, dairy, and wherever else my body decides it doesn’t want. And, yes, I smile a lot—beats fighting and getting depressed. I found that ANYTHING was better than the pain, anything.
So sorry to hear about your health issues, Cara. I love your blog, and all the gluten free, egg free recipes on it! Wishing you well in your journey to healthy, happy healing.
gfchopstix
It might not be good for the content of the blog, but many people have had success in eliminating candida on a raw vegan diet. Maybe that would be something to look into, or maybe just raw till 4. That way you could still have the baked goods that you’d post on the blog. Just a suggestion.
Aw Cara 🙁 I bet the first stages of this new diet will suck but eventually you’ll get used to it (I hope). Please don’t feel guilty about changing your blog’s content either, it’s not your fault you’ve got limited choices at this point! Whichever direction your blog takes I will stick around because I enjoy your writing and I think your personality and spirit shine through your blog 🙂 Chin up petal! xoxo
Thank you so much for the love Clem, I just so appreciate your support! The first 2 weeks of the diet was pretty rough. I was very dizzy from my meds and I felt fatigued in a way I have never felt before. I also was craving corn (especially in the form of popcorn and/or tortilla chips) as if it were alcohol. Now that I am on week 4, I am MUCH better! I cannot express how night and day I now feel. xo
Cara, I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t been well. I have struggled with digestive issues for nearly half of my life, and it’s tough to deal with. I hope you feel better soon. I did a six-month candida diet many years ago and it was life-changing. You can do this!! Eat what you need in order to nourish yourself, and don’t worry about what other people think. Also, if you’re looking for inspiration, Ricki Heller’s blog is an amazing resource for great candida-friendly recipes.
I’m going on week 4 and I can already say that it has been life-changing. I cannot wait to say how even BETTER I feel 3 months down the road! Thank you so much for the support and love. You are so right about not caring what other people think. I’m really understanding this more and more as I find healing in my gut. It’s just not worth sacrificing! Thank you for Ricki’s reference–she is a blogging friend of mine that I have been stalking 🙂 ha Much love, xo!
Thanks for telling us what is going on with you. One reason I began reading your blog is because my son, who is 4, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease about 7 months ago. He had the Big D All the time and started having blood in his stool right before Christmas last year. Since then we have been working with naturopathic doc who has tested for candida and parasite and he was negative on those but he has dysbiosis which is an overgrowth of the bad bacteria in mostly his small intestines. I know what you are going through from his perspective. He stays from pretty much everything on that list. And I try to follow a macrobiotic diet which involves a lot of grains and beans but you cook them in away that makes them more easily digestible. Now my kid is 4 and does not eat what I cook but I work on him All the time. If you are interested, we work with a lady named Virginia Harper who has seen lots of cases such as yours and my son. Her website is http://www.youcanhealyou.com . She has been symptom free of Crohn’s for 30 years doing macrobiotics. It does sound like you are on the right path even though it is a hard diet to stick to. I wish you luck and will keep you in my prayers.
I am definitely passing this link along to some friends I know who are still struggling with Crohn’s, thank you Kelly! And thank you for supporting Fork and Beans and for the prayers. Means more to me than you will ever know, truly! xo
This is why we are soulmates. I literally just made a banana bread.. pumpkin-banana though. This looks so legit!! Also, I hope you are feeling better! Your #anticandida posts still are drool-worthy.
Soul mates!! I love synchronicity, don’t you??? Much love!!
I think as long as you are doing what you need to do to be happy and healthy, you have nothing to worry about. I’m glad you are figuring out what works for you! I can’t wait to see what this new journey brings!
Thank you so much for that Gabby! All this love and support just gives me tons of strength and courage…xo
Cara, your blog is awesome! I just discovered it and I can’t wait to make all these yummy treats! I have to admit I more of a savoury than sweet kinda gal but your donuts look to die for! I’m sorry to hear you haven’t been well and that you have to eat nimal protein to feel better. That just seem so strange to me because I had the absolute opposite experience but I know what it’s like to feel like crap and not know why… I hope you can turn things around and feel on top of the world like the superwoman you are. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Zoe! Your dreams might be coming true soon as I am slowly moving away from the sweets and starting to add more savory. Glad you like the donuts though 🙂 Yes it’s true, I am eating more animal protein but I was never a vegan to begin to with; I am just eating more of a balanced diet. I still eat a TON of veggies but my body is responding really well to this new way of eating. Every digestive system is different.
Cara,
Thank you for so honestly sharing what is happening with you. I’m sorry you have been so sick, but glad that you found out what was causing the trouble and how to fix it. You can do it! I have enjoyed your blog for years and that will continue into the future! Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!
Thank so much Laura! I am so happy to hear that you are going to be sticking around, hooray 🙂 xo
I have no idea when/how I started following you (lol). However, your posts pop up on my ‘feed’ frequently – actually, your posts are the only things that pop up on my feed! Anyhow, I think that you should look into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. There is a website and a book about the SCD. I also have many SCD friendly-recipes on my blog, if you would like to check them out :). Best of luck in your health journey xo
Thanks Deanna, will do!
Thank you for sharing this, it completely floored me as I have the EXACT same symptoms and have been having them for about a year now. I too went on a diet to try and see if it was a food allergy and ended right back where I was before. I have an appointment with my doctor at the end of the month and a naturopath, so hopefully I will get some answers…I will be staying tuned to see what you do for sure!! I just got your cook book and love it, I do maintain a mostly vegan diet myself so it will be interesting if I have to change that.
Katie, we are twins! I wish you tons of love and luck as you figure everything out. Hopefully all the tests will give you an answer as to why you have been feeling this way. I can honestly tell you that I feel a night and day difference in my body and my mood now that I have cut out all processed foods and sugar, etc. from my body. In fact, I have always had excess fat around my belly and bum that I could never rid of and it’s just falling off in the past 3 weeks. I am floored at what is happening! Wishing you the same success, ox.
GREAT post, you need to focus on healing! Let me know if you need any more support, as an Registered Holistic Nutritionist I totally think you’re doing what’s best. I hear you on the vegan thing, I am not vegan but I have been asked by disappointed people who then stopped following me. i too sadly found too many grains lead to intense sugar cravings and major over indulging! I eat similar to a candida cleanse most days, tough stuff!
keep us updated!
Thank you SO MUCH Amanda. Means a lot to hear that from someone who is a professional and knows what she is talking about! And thank you for the encouragement. It’s been the best thing that I have done for myself (finding out what is actually wrong). This new diet is literally saving my life and making me the happiest I have ever been! I will definitely keep you updated, xo!
I think it takes courage to write/speak authentically, as you’ve done in your post, Cara. You are giving voice to something that I believe many people deal with, and you are empowering them to seek answers and make their health/well-being priority. I appreciate how hard it can be to detach from sweets and alcohol especially, but I believe you are embarking on a new aspect of your path and others will benefit greatly from your honesty and discoveries, too. Also, I just met with a friend who’s reacting to a lot of foods and undergoing testing. I will mention the parasite, in case she’s not yet been tested. She is seeking recipes that taste delicious but don’t involve some of the inflammatory foods you’re also avoiding. Maybe you’ll be the creative force behind some of these new recipes! Also, although I am vegan for spiritual reasons, I respect that you have made a different choice for yourself. I recognize from some of my own past experiences (and those of people I know) that the plant-based diet, done 100 percent, doesn’t work for everyone. I just want you to know that I will still enjoy your work and website, and I think other vegans will, too. You are doing the best you can and your health comes first.
Wishing you lots of healing and love, Amy
Thank you for that Amy. I so agree with you that not every body can do plants 100% and I truly try to incorporate as many plant-based options and veggies as I possibly can. I am still finding how better I am functioning now, I’m floored really! Thank you so much for the love, encouragement and support–just means the world to me, it really does!
Some days I cant walk and Have to be hospitalized from my G. I Pain,it runs in my bones down my arms and legs. I have had over $700,000 of bloodwork and cancer biopsies(bone marrow OOOUCH). And with no diagnosis. Im tired of going to doctors, specilaists,straightup, frustrating, expensive. I make Immune medicines and they have helped me the last week where Im getting back into exercising. Ive been sick for 3 years. I also live in a town where theres bad water and everyone gets leukemia and rare diseases(I live in 2 towns). So Cara your ova & parasite comment is of no surprise to me because I get tested for that too. But I deworm(parasite) naturally with herbs daily and Candidia Yep Ive been there too. I have been taught how to make all the medicines you need it sounds like and I also struggle with this Gastro problem, In fact “she” my stomach areas is making noises right now as I type. Its like I eat and my stomach just poofs out and I feel like it just doesn’t digest like it use to and it doesn’t like all sorts of food anymore, tomato, acidy, cow milk, spicy. It really truly has be come a debilitating pain in my ***. And I have a mobile gallstone The reason I make my own medicines is because it so much cheaper, Like my essiac tea If I buy It, it is almost 20dollars if I make it its 1 to 2 dollars. Well sorry for the long post. Feel better Mrs. Reed. 🙂
Girl, I am sending YOU tons of healing thoughts and prayers!! Time to finally figure out what the heck is going on in your body and get better 🙂 And yes! Totally exploring the world of natural remedies, I love it.
I am so proud of you! You are amazing and I am so excited to see what a happy, healthy Fork and Beans brings. Also, this bread sounds fantastic!
Thank you friend. I love you too!
I love you sweetheart! Now we have always been kindrid spirits. “Oh Diana!” But how funny that years ago we were popping gas ex tabs together and here we are pretty much with the same issues and food sensitivities. If anyone can do it, you can. Tenacity at its greatest!!
HAHAHA. I cannot wait to reconnect, lady!
I really appreciate your honesty! I love all your recipes and what you stand for! I really hope you feel better 🙂
Wow Cathy, thank you a million for saying that. Much love to YOU! xo
You know I love you but you didn’t have to go to such extremes to match my food problems/protocols. Always overboard, this one. 🙂 If you have to eat a bit of meat (I do what with the soy, dairy, legume problem) make sure it is grass fed. Anything else will have an antibiotic which will again feed that nasty candida. Don’t play around with your health, nothing and I mean NOTHING is worth it. Well, except now I won’t have to make so many substitutes. hehe <3 <3 <3
I figured it just wasn’t fair that you had all the fun 🙂 Plus I was tired of knowing that you were having sub everything, ha. And thank you for the grass fed tip. That has been the one thing I think of when shopping. In fact, I buy my meat from my farmer’s market who has a local farm with humane practices, etc. But that tip definitely keeps me away from ordering meat at a restaurant unless specified.
Good luck with your food endeavors! Don’t stress about the animal protein; it certainly does not affect my interest in your recipes. I am dairy and soy free, so I eat meat. I read your blog for dairy/soy free ideas. 🙂
YAY, I love hearing that April. Glad you are staying for the new journey!
Hi Cara. Thanks for sharing more about your issues. I’m glad you are finding some answers. I had those similar symptoms and was diagnosed with celiac disease. Even after giving up gluten, I was still having issues, so my dietitian suggested trying to eliminate foods high in FODMAPs (http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/). Since I am also vegan (lactose-intolerant, issues with eating meat), that restricted my foods even more, but I gave it a try. My doc also prescribed a digestive enzyme for sucrose, which I have to use every time I eat. I’m glad to say most of the issues have resolved. I’m able to eat some higher-FODMAPs foods, but in limited quantities, and never combined.
I love your blog and recipes and will stick around no matter what you choose. I may not make as many of your recipes, but that’s ok, because I have plenty of your existing ones to keep trying! Do what you need to do for you.
Thank you so much for saying that Beth, I truly appreciate it. Definitely have been looking into FODMAPs and am ordering digestive enzymes!