Flourless Black Beans Brownies

It’s summertime and that means the sun is out, smiles are bigger than ever, and hopefully we have more time to practice some yoga! Summer is also a good time for some desserts, all that sweating has to be for something, right?

Using black beans in brownies may sound odd, but give it try; I promise you won’t regret it! Here is the super simple recipe:

Fortunately I have a healthy-fied version of brownies we can all enjoy guilt-free. We will eliminate flour altogether and instead fill those empty calories with some nutrient rich calories, using black beans.

“One-half cup (92g) of raw black beans contains approximately 312calories. This measure will also contain 19.5 grams of protein, 0.8 grams of fat, 0 grams of cholesterol, 58 grams of carbohydrate and 14 grams of dietary fiber.That same half cup serving provides approximately 44% of daily iron needs, 55% of thiamin, 100% of folate, 37% of magnesium, 40% of phosphorus, 39% of potassium and 13% of zinc needs”(What are the health benefits of black beans?, Medicalnewstoday.com, June 2015).

These rich nutrients in black beans promote healthy bones, lower blood pressure, help manage diabetes and heart disease, may prevent cancer, and are excellent for digestion.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1/3 cup of melted coconut oil

¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

½ cup of raw honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
In a separate bowl, whisk 3 eggs (vegan option – use flax eggs, 1 tbsp grinded flaxseeds + 2.5 tbsp water)
Fold eggs (or flax eggs) into batter and mix
4. Add ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to batter and mix – also optional: dark chocolate chips, crumbled nuts, raisins, or natural peanut butter.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins