Caribbean CARROT CAKE with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting

With great affection, I dedicate this post to my blog buddy, Really Rainey of THE PROJECT TABLE.  Rainey has decided to drop to a fighting weight so she can fit into her swimsuit of choice this summer.  A kick in the head reminder for us that if we want to look good in July, we need to think about it now.  She has chosen to "hang it out there", and chart her success on a new blog... REALLY RAINEY's WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY.


Weight loss (well actually, lack of weight loss is something I have struggled with for decades.  I suffer from "3 pound syndrome".  Pretty much, with few exceptions, I have gained 3 pounds a year since I got married.  Never dramatic, but you roll over one day and you are 45 pounds heavier than you were 15 years ago.  I don't have the answer.  If I did I wouldn't share it on a free blog, I would charge Warren Buffet a billion dollars (and he would pay it).  But I digress.


I have tried diets.  I know the facts and I know the ways.  I was all full of myself when I lost 30 pounds at Weight Watchers.  But it was always depriving that made me lose weight.  At some point, I cheated a little, then a lot and then a 5 pound tub of cashews would really send me over the top.  All the gains (well losses) that I made while dieting came back with a couple of pounds of their friends.


About a year ago this month, I started something new.  I stopped depriving myself and worked on portion control.  I think if you have read my blog over the last 9 months, you will agree that deprivation is rarely considered.  I use real ingredients, fatty, oily, high in calories... but filled with flavors.  What you don't see is that I am able to portion control those high calories.  See that slice of cake above.  It is a little thick for the photo, but it was also cut in half for the serving.  I had half and my better half had half.  This cake will last us a week.  For probably 5 nights, we will have a thin slice (probably a third of what we would get from a restaurant).  Many of the photos you see on my blog were divided between Jackie and I for the actual chowing down of the food.  But there is more... The recipe that I altered to create my cake was cut in half.  Have you seen the carrot cakes that are a half a foot tall.  This is not one of them.  Trick of the camera, but the cake is only about 3 inches tall.  By making it two layers, it has the illusion of being a full size cake.  So, I will get 10 servings from a cake that is half the size of a cake that is suggested to feed 6.  Portion control is my answer.


So, where has all this gotten me???


I do not have a scale on island.  BUT, before I left, in 9 months, I have dropped between 10 and 15 pounds (you know it varoes based on my time of the month). In no way do I feel like I am on a diet.  I cook what I want, and I eat what I want.  I eat smaller portions, but I do not feel deprived.  It is not dramatic.  No dropping a belt notch (for the ladies... dress size) in a week.  But if I drop a pound a month, I am more than content.  I didn't put it all on in 3 months, it is insane to expect it to come off in 3 months.


Oh, and I move my ass a little more than I used to...  But that discussion is for another day.

So, Rainey, best of luck to you.  I wish I had an answer, weight loss is personal.  What works for one person will not work for everyone.  I hope your plan is the perfect one for you.


Believe it or not... This is part of my weight loss plan...

CARIBBEAN CARROT CAKE

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Canola Oil
2 large Eggs
1 cup Walnuts
1 1/2 cup grated Carrots
1/2 cup canned crushed Pineapple (include all but 2 TBS of the juice... Reserve the 2 TBS for the frosting)
1 tsp Pineapple Rum (why not!  can substitute Vanilla extract)
1 TBS Ground Cinnamon

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Whisk together the dry ingredients
• Add one egg and the oil... Whisk, add the second egg, whisk
• Add the walnuts, carrots and pineapple, whisk
• Add the rum and cinnamon.. whisk
• oil and flour the bottom of two cake pans
• fill each pan 1 inch of the batter
• bake for @50 minutes (use the toothpick method to check that the center of the cake is done, you all know that trick)

Now it's time to make the frosting...


1 8 oz package Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Butter
2 TBS pineapple juice from the can of crushed pineapple used in the cake
1 tsp Pineapple Rum (WHY NOT AGAIN???  You can sub Vanilla Extract)
1 cup Confectioner's Sugar

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese
• Add the juice and rum and cream again
• Slowly add the sugar and continue to cream
• Let the cake cool completely before you frost

Portion control makes this high calorie dish diet food...


And let's not forget to move our ass a tad more on Caribbean Carrot Cake Day!


Good luck Rainey... And Penny, how is WW working for you?  So hard, so very very hard.  Good luck to all, hope you find your balance.