I don't think I know anyone who truly does not have the desire to both look and feel their very best. In my own personal journey to wellness, my efforts are now focused on adopting and maintaining a healthy, nutrient dense diet. While I am now making progress and starting to reap the rewards, I cannot deny that I still have a sweet tooth, with an incurable fondness for chocolate.
In my effort to have it both ways, I have tried many of the healthier recipes that are currently trending on social media such as 3 ingredient cookies, chickpea cookie dough, and have found that these healthy treats have one thing in common; they aren't very good. A treat should be a treat or why bother? Its just not worth the calories.
Therefore, I found I had the instinctive reaction of inwardly wincing when my friend, Hilda, offered me a vegan, black bean brownie that she had brought just for me. As I am well-known to be both a chocoholic and a vegan food enthusiast, I knew I couldn't bear to refuse her gift. What I did need to do, was prepare my "eating face" in advance- people always watch you for a reaction when you are trying something they made.
So, with my game face applied, I bit into her creation and I can honestly report that it did not even remotely meet my expectation... because it was amazing. Not bean-y at all but tasted like the rich, dark chocolately/fudgy type brownies that I adore!! I would eat these no matter what. The healthy, protein-rich, gluten/flour free part is just a huge added bonus. It also has my favourite feature-EASY to make. Just blend and bake!
Black Bean Brownie
. 1 15 oz. can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained
·
2 large flax eggs (see below)
·
3 T coconut
oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)
·
3/4 cup cocoa
powder (the higher quality the better)
·
1/4 tsp sea
salt
·
1 tsp pure
vanilla extract
·
heaping 1/2
cup raw sugar, slightly ground or pulsed in a food processor or coffee grinder
for refined texture ( If you are avoiding sugar like me, Hilda has substituted the sugar for xylitol, with great results)
·
1 1/2 tsp
baking powder
·
Optional
toppings: crushed walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips
Flax egg
- 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal (ground raw flaxseed)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp water
Add flaxseed meal and water to a dish and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipes in place of 1 egg.
Instructions
1.
Preheat oven
to 350 degrees.
2.
Lightly
grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan (not mini). Make sure you've rinsed
and thoroughly drained your black beans at this point.
3.
Prepare flax
egg by combining flax and water in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a
couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.
4.
Add remaining
ingredients (besides walnuts or other toppings) and puree - about 3 minutes -
scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
5.
If the batter
appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of water and pulse again. It should be
slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.
6.
Evenly
distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or
your finger.
7.
Optional:
Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.
8.
Bake for
20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from
the sides. I found mine took about 25.
9.
Remove from
oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender,
so remove gently with a fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don't
be concerned if they seem too moist - that's the point. Plus, they're vegan so
it doesn't really matter.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Refrigerate to keep
longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment