Black Bean Brownies

On Tuesday, I made Garbanzo Bean Blondies, a recipe I found on Jami Nato's blog. She also has a recipe for Black Bean Brownies, which I was dying to try as well. They are gluten-free and have protein and fiber. They even have spinach in them for some added nutrition. I'm all for hiding veggies in yummy things and have been doing it for years.

Jami notes that these brownies are better cold than warm and fresh (the exact opposite of how I like to eat brownies normally). So I figured I'd try it both ways to see if I agree. She is definitely right! Feel free to try it both ways also.

So here's what you need:

**UPDATE**:  Over time, we have changed some of the ingredients we use in recipes.  Instead of canola oil, I now use organic extra virgin coconut oil, and instead of refined sugar, I use coconut sugar or half of each (1/2 cup coconut sugar and 1/2 cup cane sugar, preferrably unrefined).  

• 1 can black beans (15.25 oz), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach (more or less)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (I generally substitute applesauce for oil in normal brownie recipes; however, I wasn't sure how it would turn out with this one, so I left it as is)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground coffee
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• (Note: I put baking powder in the picture thinking I would need it, but this recipe does not call for it. So just ignore that!)

After draining and rinsing your black beans, place in blender and pulse a few times to break them up. Add oil and spinach and blend, blend, blend until it is very smooth with no lumps (you may have to scrape the sides of the blender a few times with a rubber spatula through the process). At this point your mixture should look something like, well, poop. Yep, I said it. After I blended the beans, spinach, and oil, I put the mixture in a bowl because I figured it would be easier. But you can continue to do the rest of the mixing in your blender if your blender is a good one.

Add vanilla, cocoa powder, sugar, coffee, and salt and blend together. Jami says that here she threw in a TBSP of chocolate chips, but this is optional (I didn't add them here). Add the eggs last and pulse until well-blended. Don't overdue it, though. The mixture should now look like actual brownie mix.
Grease an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and pour brownie batter into it (it will be pretty thin). Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the top (mixing them in will make them sink to the bottom, as I learned accidentally...more on that in a moment...). Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes until middle is done. My confession: I totally forgot to mix in my cocoa powder until the very end. I already had the mixture poured into the dish and about 3/4 of the chocolate chips scattered over the top before I realized this, so I had to mix it in. This is why the following picture looks like it exploded or something. I'm just glad I caught it before baking it, otherwise I think these brownies would have been downright nasty.

Once they were done, I let them cool for a little while before cutting into them. I tried one warm, like I said, and they were just ok. I refrigerated them and tried one once they were cold, and it was way better. They have a coffee/chocolate flavor, and I didn't notice the beans, though you can tell there is something different about them. My husband can't decide if he likes these or the Garbanzo Bean Blondies better, but he likes them both nonetheless. I'm hoping to get Em and Cohen to try the brownies after dinner this evening.

Garbanzo Bean Blondies

I'm sure just after reading the title of this post, you are thinking, "Um, gross." A few years ago, I would have thought the same thing. But I have altered mine and my family's eating habits drastically since Matt and I got married six years ago. We have made small changes over the years (like switching from "white" grains to whole wheat stuff, etc.).

But that's an entirely different blog (or several). This blog is about the Garbanzo Bean Blondies I

made from a recipe I found on fellow blogger Jami's blog. It gluten-free (although she points out that oats, which are one of the ingredients, is currently suspected to contain gluten, though I don't know this has been proven). We have not gone gluten-free, and I don't intend to unless it's medically necessary (I mean, we have enough nutritional challenges around here without hopping on the gluten-free bandwagon for social reasons), but I am all about making sweet treats more nutritious. I don't know the actual numbers, but I know these blondies have fiber and protein and are flour-less. They do, however, have sugar and chocolate, but if they didn't, you'd have blondies that taste like beans. Ick.

I would just say to hop over to Jami's blog for this recipe, but I had to modify a few things (namely, not mixing the ingredients in a blender as she suggests because my blender is apparently not as efficient as hers).

You will need:

• (1) 15-oz can garbanzo beans/chickpeas
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Drain and rinse your can of beans. If you have a blender or food processor, I recommend pouring the beans in there and pulsing it to break up the beans. Otherwise, you can do in manually in a bowl. Once your beans are mashed up, place in a bowl and add vanilla and almond butter (or peanut butter) and mix together. Add egg, oats, and flax seed and mix together. Add brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix again.

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

Grease an 8x8 baking dish (mine is glass) with cooking spray (I use canola oil spray, but I also have coconut oil, which would be great to use also). Scrape the batter into the dish and bake at 350 for about 4o minutes, give or take. The outside of mine was done before the middle, which was still pretty gooshy. I just kept checking the middle every few minutes with a toothpick until it was done. Let them cool like you would brownies before cutting into them.

My verdict: These were good with just a hint of the bean taste, but the sugar and chocolate cover it up quite well. If you are new to this (healthifying desserts), I don't know that I would recommend this as your first one to try, only because they taste much different than your traditional blondies/brownies, and you may be turned off by the idea entirely.

I'll update this later to let you know what my husband thought about them and if I was able to get my kids to try them (they are strange in that they have to be talked into trying everything, even desserts, whether it is healthy or not).

Recipes by Request

Every week, I try to make at least one new recipe. I stumble upon recipes constantly in magazines, online, and in grocery store ads (namely Publix). For Christmas, I received a cookbook I had been eyeballing for a while called "Deceptively Delicious", which happens to be written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica. The book has dozens of kid-friendly (and overall family-friendly) recipes that incorporate vegetables and fruits into common recipes without the kids knowing it. In other words, you are hiding the veggies. I have done this for quite some time now, but this book has given me tons more recipes to try using this method. I do jumping jacks inside when I see my kids eat the meals I have made that have veggies and/or fruits hidden in them (because they, like many kids, are quite picky). I make a lot of these recipes for dinner; it's an easy way to make a delicious, nutritious meal for my entire family.

Now that I am trying to lose weight, and because dinner is our family's "biggest" meal of the day, I try to make all my dinners as healthy as possible. I am going to share a few in this blog, all of which have been requested for me to share by at least one person. Enjoy, and be sure to let me know what you think if you try one of these recipes!


Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas (requested by my friend Becca):

Ingredients:

• 1-10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's Healthy Request)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I use fat free)
• 1 cup Pace Picante sauce
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use boneless skinless chicken breast)
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 6 flour tortillas (6"), warmed (I use whole wheat tortillas)
• 1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
• 1 green onion, sliced (optional)

Directions:

1. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce, and chili powder in a medium bowl.

2. Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken, and cheese in a large bowl.

3. Divide the chicken mixure among tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side down in a shallow baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Top with tomato and onion (if preferred).

*These were pretty filling. I ate one and was done! I made a couple extra so Matt could have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Party Chicken (requested by my friend Laura): *very delicious but not one of the "healthier" meals I cook*

Ingredients:

• cooking spray (I use canola or olive oil)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• large plastic zip-top bag
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1-10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup (I use healthy request)
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise (I used Hellman's Light)
• 1 1/2 cup Panka break flakes (Japanase bread crumbs) (these are in the baking aisle next to the regular bread crumbs; at Walmart, they are about $1.50 a box)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cut butter into small pieces and place in a medium bowl to soften.

2. Place flour in a large zip-top bag. Season chicken with flour; add to bag. Seal bag tightly; shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag and shake off excess flour. Arrange chicken in baking dish.

3. Combine soup and mayo in a second bowl; spread mixture evenly over chicken. Stir panko and cheese into softened butter, mixing until crumbly. Top chicken with cheese mixture; cover dish with foil. Bake 10 minutes.

4. Remove foil. Bake 10-15 more minutes or until top is golden and internal temp. of chicken reaches 165 degrees.

*This is another very filling dish. A couple of pieces of chicken plus a side of cooked veggies will fill you up easily!*

Healthy Homemade Mac 'n' Cheese #1 (requested by my mom and my sister Shauna)

*For this recipe, you have to steam and puree the cauliflower and/or butternut squash ahead of time. I puree a big batch at one time and freeze it in 1/2 cup portions so that I can easily use a puree when I need one. If you need help making the purees, let me know!*

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (I use whole-grain or whole-wheat)
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup skim milk (or low-fat)
• 1/2 cup butternut squash or cauliflower puree
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 oz. reduced-fat or nonfat cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.

2. While the macaroni is cooking, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.