Healthy Vegan Black Bean Brownies

My name is Danielle and I am a chocoholic. There, I said it. I LOVE chocolate. So much so that saying I "love" it is probably an understatement. Whether it be liquid or solid, ice cream or candy bar, milk or dark, cake or cookie butter, I enjoy whatever form it comes in to the very last bite... or lick. My borderline addiction has surely led to a few extra LB's, so I do what I can to avoid it. But as any other addict knows, quitting cold turkey isn't usually the most effective way to drop a bad habit. That being said, I try to practice moderation and sneaking it in to healthier recipes, which is where these brownies come in to play.

I will admit I was skeptical to try brownies made from black beans. Not that I don't like black beans-- I do-- but in a burrito, not as a dessert. And not with chocolate. The idea was intriguing though, and if the recipe wasn't too good to be true that would mean I could get my chocolate fix for a handful of calories while sneaking some nutritional ingredients into my diet. Who was I kidding, I couldn't get my oven mitts out fast enough.

After I baked my first batch of black bean brownies I was sold. I honestly could not tell there were beans in them and I was so impressed that I tried shoving them down everyone's throats before telling them the "secret" ingredient. However, I was a little disappointed after logging my original recipe and finding that the calorie count wasn't as low as I'd hoped due to the high amount of sugar and chocolate chips. So I played around with a few different recipes and found one that contained healthy ingredients, only 48 calories per brownie, and just happened to be vegan, too-- bonus! Check out my modified version below, and make substitutions based on your own diet or ingredients on hand. 

Adapted from Minimalist Baker
Yields 12 Mini Brownies
Ingredients:

• 1 cup black beans (about half of a 15-oz can), well rinsed and drained
• 1 large flax egg* (combine 1 tbsp flax meal with 3 tbsp water)
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil**, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder 
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• heaping 1/4 cup baking stevia***
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp water or almond milk
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional-- I like to add because it enhances the chocolate flavor)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Other topping ideas include (but are not limited to): PB2 or peanut butter, chopped nuts, almonds, dried cranberries, peanut butter chips, and more... get creative!

*1 egg or 3 tbsp egg substitute may be used
**Canola or vegetable oil may be substituted. I've even used applesauce with great results! 
**Granulated sugar or other sugar substitutes may be used

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare the flax egg by placing flax meal and water in food processor, pulse a few times, and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor and blend until completely combined. 
4. Pour mixture into a 12 cup mini-muffin pan or 11 x 7 pan
5. Allow to bake for 15-20 minutes. Brownies are finished when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Set pan on wire rack and let cool.
7. Dig in and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts:

Calories: 48 | Fat (g): 2.6 | Carbs (g): 5.9 | Protein (g): 2 | Fiber (g): 2 | Sugars (g): .4 

If you want to use the whole can of beans you can certainly double this recipe, I always just make this amount because I'm typically the only one who eats them (I knew I shouldn't have let Eric watch me make them-- he hates black beans). Also, because they are made from such natural ingredients, they tend to go bad within a few days, so this makes the perfect amount for me.

I hope you enjoy as much as I did! Comment below and let me know what you think and/or how you modified. Thank you so much for reading! xox

Skinny Pumpkin Cookies

 

As I've mentioned in one of my last posts, Fall is my favorite season. I adore absolutely everything about this time of the year-- particularly the fact that I have an excuse to indulge in anything pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! This morning I made my first pumpkin meal of the season; Bethenny's SkinnyGirl pumpkin pancakes, and boy were they were amazing. I will be posting that recipe soon, too, don't you worry. The pumpkin madness didn't end there though, I mean I had to use up the leftover pumpkin puree from the pancakes! ;) So just a few hours later I began baking some "42 Calorie Pumpkin Cookies" (which were actually 49 cals according to my calculations) that I found on Pinterest (where else?). I put my own spin on the recipe though and added chocolate chips to a third of the batter, butterscotch chips to a third, and kept the other third plain. I had my bag of white chocolate chips out, too, but I figured I'd use those for the next time-- as I was sure there would be a next time just after test-tasting the batter. All versions were super tasty, but surprisingly I loved the pumpkin-butterscotch combo the best (I expected to like the chocolate chip version best... if you know me, you understand, if you don't, you'll come to.. my name is Danielle and I'm a chocoholic). Needless to say, this recipe did not disappoint, which is why I just had to sure it with you all. :)

Skinny Pumpkin Cookies

Adapted from The Realistic Nutritionist

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-18 minutes
Yields: About 34 cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (you can use vanilla if you prefer)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie  mix)
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• Cream sugar, applesauce, pumpkin and almond extract together.

• In another bowl, or if you're like me, in the same bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spice. Once mixed, add to bowl with the wet mixture and combine well.

• Add chocolate chips or butterscotch chips to mixture (optional).

• Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto pan and bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until browned.

• Enjoy!

Nutritional information per cookie: 49 calories, >1 gram of fat, 9 grams of carbs and >1 gram of protein. 
(I added these to MyFitnessPal-- you should be able to find them by searching Cupcakes and Corgis).


There you have it, 49-calorie pumpkin cookies that don't taste like cardboard, but rather taste extremely delicious. Not only are they lo-cal, but they're very easy to throw together. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I did. 

And there is a lot more where these bad boys came from! I have several more healthy recipes on my radar, so look forward to more skinny-deliciousness in upcoming Motivational Monday postings. Use these recipes as a reminder that eating healthy doesn't mean having to break the bank, or sacrifice flavor or time. I hate, I mean hate cooking (baking is another story), so a majority of the recipes coming your way will mean minimal cooking time and easy prep-- although I can't promise the same for my baking recipes. Regardless, you can expect most healthy recipes I share won't contain 2334546 ingredients, take hours to prepare, or require you to buy high-end ingredients. I hope these recipes motivate you to make smarter meal choices and ease you into adapting to a healthier lifestyle. I will also be sure to include nutritional information with these recipes as well, just to make it easier in keeping yourself on track.

Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful week! xox
 <3 Danielle

Healthy Turkey Chili

Between Spring 2012 and Spring of this year, I lost a total of over 30 lbs. A lot went into this weight loss, the key components being exercise and eating healthy. I've slightly discussed the exercise portion of my lifestyle change in previous posts, here's a little about the healthy eating part. One of my secret's to a healthier diet would be substituting high-calorie, fatty foods for healthier alternatives. My favorite swap? Ground beef for ground turkey. I have eaten so much Jennie O as a part of my diet that I'm surprised I haven't sprouted wings and started gobbling. That being said, it shouldn't come as a surprise that ground turkey is the star of tonight's meal.

Upon coming inside from the chilly, Fall weather this morning, I knew right away what I wanted to make for dinner-- Turkey Chili. Not only is it so delicious and healthy, but it's also super easy to prepare. And to top it off, it's one of Eric's favorite dishes. In fact, when I told Eric what I was making his eyes lit up, and he just walked over to the stove to get seconds. He's not into eating healthy-- it's just that good. If that isn't enough to convince you of the deliciousness of this recipe, I don't know what is. Did I mention that it's only 327 calories a bowl?

Turkey Chili

Makes 4 bowls
Adapted from Self.com

Ingredients

• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Shredded reduced-fat cheddar to top (optional)

Directions

1. In a 2-quart saucepan (I use a large pot), sauté bell pepper and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes.

 

2. Add turkey and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. 

 

3.Add tomato sauce, beans, and seasonings.

4. Stir well. Increase heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 

6. Ladle into bowls; top with cheese if desired.  

 Nutritional info: 322 calories per serving, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 29 g carbs, 38 g protein
 

There you have it, the staple Chili recipe in the Smith-Woods household. Hopefully it's a hit in your house, too! Remember, you don't have to sacrifice flavor or enjoying your favorite meals in order to lose weight, sometimes you just need to give them a little makeover. Also, be respectful of serving size; eating the entire pot of this Chili kind of defeats the purpose of it being healthy. Making small changes like these in your diet can lead to big changes in your waistline. Happy cooking! 

xoxo Danielle