Now that I’m back home, I wanted to do something pretty simple. All this travelling has taken a lot out of me. However, I can’t leave dessert behind. I like having my sweet fix after dinner. I just can’t help it. I also think it helps me to eat healthier. If you are constantly skipping something you love, eating healthy becomes torture.

This week I’m starting with a recipe for Carrot and Zucchini Bars from Better Homes and Gardens. The calorie count isn’t as high as some of the other recipes. It has a nice hit of vitamins from the veggies contained within. However, I can lower the carbs. Doing that will make this even healthier.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replace the cream cheese with a vegan variety to remove the dairy.
• I replaced the sugar with their sweetener equivalent.
• I replaced the flour with almond and coconut flours to reduce the carbs.
• I replaced the honey with a low sugar variety to reduce the sugar.
• I reduced the servings from 36 to 24 because the calories were so low, I wanted to make bigger pieces.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Lower Carb Carrot and Zucchini Bars

Makes 24 bars

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 ½ cup shredded carrot
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded (1 cup)
• ¾ cup packed brown sweetener
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup cooking oil
• ¼ cup honey substitute
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounce package plant based cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sweetener
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel or orange peel (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together eggs, carrot, zucchini, brown sweetener, raisins, walnuts, oil, honey substitute, and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. While the cake is baking, make the frosting.
4. In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese and powdered sweetener with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. If desired, stir in lemon or orange peel.
5. Cool the cake completely in pan on a wire rack. Frost with Citrus-Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut into bars.