Carrot Cake Salad #fantasticalfoodfight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, or to join the fun, check out this page!

This month, our theme is CARROT CAKE!  What's not to love here?  I am not much of a cake person (pie for me, pie all the way), but if I'm asked what kind of cake I'd like, it's going to be Carrot Cake, especially around Easter.

But here's the thing - while we are not doing Whole30 right now, my husband and I are also not going to eat a whole cake, or even a slice.  We loosened up this month so we could sanely deal with catch as catch can meals while we moved, and that means the occasional slice of bread or some cheese on a diner meal. It does not mean cake!

But that's okay, because the flavors of Carrot Cake can also be found in this simple, old school salad some of us may remember from the diner counter or a potluck spread.

My mom used to make something similar (using mayo as the dressing, and some mini-marshmallows in the salad) for Easter every year.

It's not Whole30, or Paleo - because it wouldn't be Carrot CAKE salad without a bit of cream cheese.  But it is delicious as a side dish or  a snack.  If you want to make it dairy free, I think some coconut cream along with the lemon juice would also create that creamy tangy taste we all love.

Carrot Cake Salad
makes 4 cups

3 cups carrots, shredded or fine chopped in food processor
1 can crushed pineapple, drained (reserve juice)
1/3 cup raisins (or chopped dates)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
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3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tblsp. light olive oil or avocado oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
2 Tblsp. reserved pineapple juice
1 Tblsp. honey
salt to taste

Combine carrots, pineapple, raisins and walnuts in a medium bowl.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, whisking until smooth.  Add dressing to salad and stir to combine thoroughly.

Chill in refrigerator at least four hours before serving.

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