Hi everyone! How’s your day going?? Mine has been full of training appointments and a small shopping blitz at TJ Maxx –our TJ Maxx here is surprisingly awesome….oh, and a mountain of carrots.
Since I couldn’t get that sweet, tasty Indian carrot dish (which, thanks to you guys, I found out was called “Gajar Halwa”) out of my mind, I decided to make my own.
Before I got started, I had the urge to juice some things.
Blurry kale ribs, 6 strawberries, an organic cuc, 1/2 beet and an apple
It was probably the coolest looking Cullen juice I’ve made.
Layers!
I chugged that bad johnny down and got to work.
Vegan Gajar Halwa
Serves two normal people as a side dish; serves one Gina as a snack
Ingredients:
-8 large carrots
-1 T Earth Balance (I use soy-free; roll with any vegan butter of choice)
-sea salt
-1 C almond milk
-1 t vanilla extract
-pinch each of nutmeg and saffron
-1/4 t cinnamon
-7 drops liquid Stevia (or sweetener to taste)
Directions
1. Heat a skillet just over medium heat (one 1-10, ours was set at 6) while you prep the carrots
2. If you have a lot of time, grate the carrots. If you’re impatient like me, throw them in the food processor and pulse until crumbly but not mushy
3. Add 1/2 T of the Earth Balance to the skillet, the carrots and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Cook the carrots, stirring occasionally for 7-10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium low and add the almond milk, the other 1/2 T Earth balance, the saffron, vanilla, cinnamon, Stevia, nutmeg and saffron.
5. Cook for 15 minutes until mixture is thick and creamy, almost like a pudding. If you can stand it anymore, it’s perfectly edible after 10 minutes
6. Feast… and wish you had made more
©2010 The Fitnessista
Please let me know if any of you give this a whirl! 
Conference call, core body fusion (just abs and stretching) and then meeting the girls for dinner and a movie. We’re seeing Remember Me- I’m thinking that I’ll love it 
xoxo,
G$
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YUM! i wasn’t sure how i felt about this til i saw the recipe…it sounds amazing! hope you guys have a blast tonight at the movies
That looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I saw Remember Me the other night– I’m curious to hear what you think of it! I will tell you, it’s a bit surprising!!
hahah i begged a client to tell me the entire synopsis
That sounds really good – I think I’d rather make it with olive oil than Earth Balance though – even more flavor!
That looks really good and I don’t even like carrots!
That sounds delicious!! I love carrots
Haha it looks like your spoon is bending under the weight of the carrots!
hahah i’m pretty sure i ate with a spoon that i used to break into ice cream at one point
This looks awesome. I have such a sweet tooth, so I think I’ll love it. It sounds almost dessert-like.
it was totally like a dessert
So WEIRD — on the morning tv show I have on whilst I get ready for work here in Toronoto – there was a lady making that exact dish (but not vegan) – I have never heard/seen this dish ever now its twice in one way – funny how things like that happen!
You are a cooking goddess! I don’t know how you do it!
thanks girl!
i loved the movie! it really is suprising, but it really struck a cord with me, idk why haha
p.s. your carrot mountain looks and sounds delicious!
Oh my god! I’m so trying that recipe! I think I (and my boyfriend) are gonna love it! Thanks for your obsessiveness!
hahah anytime
That dish looks soooo yummy! I’m going to try it tonight!
let me know what you think!
I wanted a new yoga class so I went to yogadownload.com with the fitnessista discount in mind!! But I was so excited about getting the class that I FORGOT TO USE THE CODE!!! GAHHH IM SO MAD. lol. oh well… at least I have my class..
Shopping + core fusion=better workout than weight and cardio (in my humble opinion lol). That recipe looks awesome, I just can’t stand cooked carrots so I think I might be skipping this particular Fitnessista creation
And I just realized I’ve been commenting on your blog this whole time with the wrong URL. I’m an idiot.
This recipe sounds FANTASTIC! Next Fitnessista — try your hand at making that delicious Indian rice pudding veganized. I would die over that.
“Cullen juice” lol
That carrot dish looks great! V. impressive!
Nice job on the recipe. Looks fab! I can’t wait to see what other Indian dishes you “Gina-ize”.
YUM! looks so good!
Do you shop more at TJ Maxx type stores or department and specialty stores?
Thanks,
Katherine
more specialty type stores. almost all my clothes are from express, j crew or victorias secret. the tj maxx here is seriously amazing though!
I saw on twitter that you’re heading to Vegas. I’ve been out there a bit, since my parents live outside of Vegas. You must try to make it to Go Raw. It’s off the strip, but worth it
Also I suggest the Stratosphere for awesome rides. You can get some good deals on hotels. I stayed at the Luxor for 35 a night.
Um, I was to visit Carrot Mountain, please!!
Have fun at the movie!!
Oh my God. You are a genius, I am in love with Gajar Halwa but have never attempted it before. That will be rectified immediately! Thank! I bet it would be awesome with some vanilla bean coconut bliss.
yes it would!!! i have some in the freezer too.. stupid lent, haha
Haha, thanks, not thank.
I love that you still make time for your girlies despite being married. You’re a superwoman without even trying. [;
of course, i love hanging out with my girls
jealous that you have an awesome tj maxx. the one i go to is soooo hit or miss.
My spiralizer came!! Can’t wait to spiralize everything. Let us know how your dinner and a movie are.
whoo hoo! what’s going to be first? a sweet potato or zucchini??
I think zucchini!!
Hey!! Seriously tried Indian food for the first time last weekend and this carrot dish was to die for! Ahmazing!! Thanks for the recipe! I’ll let you know how it turns out! Enjoy the movie! RPatz!!
I think you’ll LOVE Remember Me – I did! It was a lot different from what I was expecting, but so good, darkly funny, and a huge twist ending!
Have fun tonight! You will love Remember Me–it’s actually pretty impressive, and even it weren’t, it’s 2 HOURS of Rob Patt!
God. I loved Remember Me. It was depressing..but good. And duh. 2 hours of R. Patz is a wonderful thing
I LOVE TJ MAXX!! So great!
I will definitely be trying that recipe! I LOVE carrots. I LOVE Indian food. Therefore, me thinks, I will LOVE carrot mountain. Do you think it would reheat well? It looks like maybe not, but I’m on a packed lunch regimen M-F. I can already anticipate the looks I would receive for eating what resembles babyfood. TJ Maxx has nothing on nordstrom rack, but TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc still all good in my book. Requires a little digging sometimes, but that can be half the fun.
i think it would reheat very well
and nordstrom rack is amazing… i love a good treasure hunt
I love that it serves two or 1 Gina hungry or a snack!
That looks great!!!! And I want to see that movie too, very curious as to if you like it or not!
I tried the carrot dish for dinner tonight but made a few substitutions for the spices. It was DELISH. Doubling the recipe = lunch leftovers
Thank you!
Awesome! It would probably taste yummy with coconut oil, too.
I love how you whip up vegan ethnic food like nobody’s business, girl! You rock! And I hope you guys enjoyed the movie
Oh yum! Looks fantastic. Maybe even DH would like it . . .
Yum! I’ve never eaten Indian food, but this looks like something I must try!
Remember Me is good, but has quite the unexpected ending! Take some tissues
Hey- I was just wondering what size food processor you have that you used to chop the carrots? thanks!
i have a little cuisinart food chopper– i just chop the carrots in batches
Love tj maxx! I knew you could make delicious Indian food:)
That looks crazy delicious! I am totally saving this recipe… perhaps as an addition to easter dinner?? I need to come up with some vegetarian recipes because my mom’s making lamb, which i have not eaten since I was about 7 when I realized exactly what it was.
You should try the gajar halwa with cardamom powder next time! I’ve always had this dessert with cardamom in it and it adds something really special that nutmeg and cinnamon do not.
You should try to recreate a healthy version of my favorite indian dessert: http://food.sulekha.com/sweet-copra-pak-id3135-33851-recipe.htm
COCONUT!! You’ll love it.
YUM! that sounds glorious
Love the layers in the juice
And wow that carrot mountain looks delicious!
My twin sister and I have our own food blog, but we’ve been readers of yours for quite some time now. A first time commenter, but I realized we had incorporated too much Fitnessista into our lives to not give you some credit! We made this carrot dish tonight- totally delish. Also just started making breakfast cookies and we’re absolutely in love with them! We may or may not use the words “lonchi”, “foodgasms”, and “bloggys” on a daily basis. So thanks for being so awesome and keep up the super blog
I made your recipe a while back, but I think my carrots must have been a lot larger or something, because using eight made a HUGE amount! Were you using large baby carrots?? I wound up with a huge tub of mashed up carrot and the spices were all off because there was WAAYYY too much carrot! (And I love them!)
It was still good, I was just confused
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