Inspired Healthy Carrot Cake Recipes for People With IBD

deleciousfood | June 8, 2024 | Cake | No Comments

Carrot cake is a delicious spring classic, with its moist texture, comforting spices and decadent cream cheese frosting. Even though it contains a vegetable, it’s no secret that a typical carrot cake isn’t exactly a health food. It’s usually made with a good amount of sugar, refined white flour, and a frosting loaded with butter and cream cheese. Additionally, for people with digestive disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), these heavy ingredients can be difficult to digest, triggering gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. That said, there are plenty of healthier ways to make your carrot cake without aggravating your gut. In fact, carrots have many health benefits, from antioxidants to soluble fiber.

Health Benefits of Carrots for People With IBD

Carrots are rich in nutrients that are particularly beneficial for people with IBD, such as beta-carotene, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that our bodies convert into vitamin A, which many people with IBD are deficient in. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about a quarter of children with IBD are deficient in vitamin A, and adults with IBD are also at increased risk of being deficient in this essential nutrient. As highlighted by research published in the journal Nutritional research as of November 2021, vitamin A plays a role in immune regulation and maintaining the health of the intestinal lining, so it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough of it.

Carrots are also an important source of soluble fiber. According to the NIH, soluble fiber helps manage symptoms by absorbing water in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby slowing intestinal motility. It also nourishes our good gut bacteria to promote a healthy gut microbiome. In fact, therapeutic diets designed to reduce gut inflammation by incorporating prebiotic-rich foods, such as the IBD Anti-Inflammatory Diet (IBD AID), encourage the consumption of carrots in all phases, even during an active flare.

Although biting into a crunchy, raw carrot may seem intimidating when you have an inflamed gut, grating and cooking carrots softens their texture, improving their digestibility. Here are five IBD-friendly carrot recipes, made with nutritious ingredients, so you can have your carrot cake and eat it too.

1. Carrot Cake and Overnight Oats

Who says you can’t have carrot cake for breakfast? If you often wake up with a sweet tooth, this overnight oatmeal carrot cake recipe is sure to satisfy you. In addition to making a delicious breakfast, oats are rich in a type of prebiotic fiber called beta-glucans. As highlighted by research published in the Nutrition Diary as of October 2021, beta-glucans specifically serve as food for gut bacteria associated with gastrointestinal health, such as Lactobacilli And Bifidobacteria.

To make this breakfast you will need rolled oats, carrots, chia seeds, vanilla extract, unsweetened almond milk, a dash of pure maple syrup and some spices like cinnamon and allspice. Although people in remission can add raisins, it’s best to leave them out if you’re in crisis. Indeed, dried fruits can be difficult to digest and, in larger quantities, they can have an osmotic effect, worsening diarrhea by drawing water into the intestine. Additionally, people with severe Crohn’s disease are advised to avoid dried fruits because they can get stuck in the narrowed intestine, according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Try adding plain Greek yogurt to these overnight oats for a boost of protein and probiotics to balance out the meal and help fill your gut with good bacteria.

For recipe details, visit Fit Foodie Finds.

2. Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins

You can make flavorful, nutrient-rich Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins with just a few simple ingredients you may already have in your kitchen. Mix together oatmeal, almond milk, eggs, grated carrots and coconut, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, finely chopped walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you’re in a crisis, try replacing chopped nuts with creamy nut butter, which will still provide a dose of healthy fats and flavor, but is easier to tolerate and unlikely to irritate the intestinal lining.

For the ultimate gut-healthy snack, spread one of the muffins with a little creamy almond butter. Nuts and nut butters contain a variety of antioxidant compounds that help reduce gut inflammation, according to a study published in the journal Nutrition Frontiers in January 2023.

For more recipe details, visit The Girl on Bloor.

3. Carrot Cake Smoothie

When you’re in a crisis, smoothies are a great way to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to heal, in an easy-to-digest way. Smoothies are also hydrating and easy to drink when appetite is reduced.

To make a nourishing smoothie reminiscent of carrot cake, blend frozen banana and pineapple chunks with grated carrots, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, plain Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, almond butter and unsweetened milk of your choice. The banana and pineapple provide plenty of natural sweetness without the need for added sweeteners, while the carrots and mild spices give this smoothie that delicious carrot cake flavor. Use frozen fruit rather than fresh to make it extra thick and creamy.

Pineapple contains a blend of enzymes called bromelain, which helps break down proteins found in the foods we eat and has also been studied for its anti-inflammatory properties by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). According to a study published in the journal food as of September 2021, bromelain may even reduce markers of inflammation in people with IBD. In addition to its anti-inflammatory benefits, pineapple is rich in vitamin C, with frozen pineapple providing almost 80% of your daily value per cup, according to the USDA.

For more recipe details, visit All the Healthy Things.

4. Carrot Cake Bars with Greek Yogurt Frosting

Although delicious, the cream cheese frosting traditionally used to make carrot cake is not only high in refined sugars, but it is also high in saturated fat, according to the USDA. Recent dietary guidelines from the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IOIBD) published in the journal Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology in February 2020, recommend that people with IBD limit their intake of saturated fats. Indeed, a high intake of saturated fats from full-fat dairy products (like butter and cream cheese) may increase the risk of a flare-up in people with ulcerative colitis, according to IOIBD guidelines. That said, this doesn’t mean you should skip frosting altogether. It’s easy to make a healthier, more gut-friendly frosting alternative with plain Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup. Use low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt as a frosting base to provide a tangy flavor similar to cream cheese, but without all the saturated fat. A dash of pure maple syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness without overdoing the added sugars.

Spread your Greek yogurt frosting on homemade carrot cake bars, made with a handful of simple ingredients like oat flour, mashed banana, shredded carrots, skim milk or milk alternative unsweetened, pure maple syrup, spices and optional mix-ins like raisins. and finely chopped walnuts. If you’re upset, you’ll want to pulverize the nuts in a food processor until they are finely ground, which will make them easier to digest. You can do the same with the raisins or just leave them aside.

For recipe details, visit Eat the Gains.

5. Greek yogurt and carrot cake parfait

Greek yogurt is a great snack rich in protein, calcium and probiotics. Upgrade your plain Greek yogurt by layering it in a glass with crumbled homemade carrot cake, for the perfect festive treat. To prepare the carrot cake you will need almond flour, eggs, grated carrots, honey, sweet spices, oil, raisins and chopped nuts. As with carrot cake bars, pulverizing the nuts and raisins in a food processor first will help improve their digestibility.

For the ultimate tasty treat, mix cinnamon and a pinch of vanilla extract into Greek yogurt before assembling your parfait. Then top it all off with additional grated carrots, cinnamon, and a drizzle of creamy almond butter.

For more recipe details, visit the UMass Chan Medical School Applied Nutrition Center.

Health Benefits of Carrots for People With IBD

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