Clean Brownie Recipe

So, I didn't mention the REAL name of this recipe, because if I had said "Black Bean Brownies" in the title, chances are you might not be here right now, am I right? Haha, sneaky, sneaky!  Well now that I've got you here, I only ask that you keep an open mind because this is one of my FAVORITE recipes!!!


I found it on LeanBodyLifestyle's YouTube channel and I'm completely hooked on it.  It's pretty easy, has lots of fiber (I don't think I have to go into detail on why that's so great!), and if you're a clean-eating chocolate addict like I am, you'll love them!  I make them all the time and everyone who I tell this to gives me that same "OMG she's finally cracked" look, but I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT TASTE THE BEANS!  The only complaints I have gotten are 1.)the aftertaste of the Stevia (you could substitute with real sugar if it bothers you that much, but keep in mind, that would make it considerably "dirtier" - ha ha) and 2.) this is a direct quote - "They are too chocolatey."  That last one was from my sister though, who has always been pro-vanilla, so in my mind that makes her opinion null and void. :)


Sooooo, on that note, you might be wondering how exactly I'm going to turn THIS:

into THESE:

Welllll...here goes!  Here is a list of the ingredients that I use - if you clicked on the link for Michael from Lean Body Lifestyle's recipe above, you'll notice they are just slightly different, because of course I had to play around with it and put my own twist on it - although the original one from the video is amazing too, as are all of his recipes!!!

INGREDIENTS: 

1 (15 oz.) can Low Sodium Black Beans

1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Stevia

6 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (not in the original recipe, but if you just had a good workout, your muscles will thank you!)  ;)

Vanilla extract (your preference - I usually do a couple of teaspoons or so!)

2 egg whites (the original uses 1/2 cup liquid egg whites from a carton - I find that the texture is a little lighter with real egg whites)

About 5-6 oz (give or take) water

Cooking spray 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. In a bowl, add all dry ingredients together.

2. Be sure to rinse the beans well.  Blend the water and beans in blender/food processor.  

3. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Slowly add more water if needed - it should have sort of a thick pancake batter consistency - thinner than the batch in the video above, but they'll still be perfect, I promise!  

4. Spray brownie pan and pour.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I find that 22 min is just about perfect in my oven, but yours may vary, so keep an eye on them - they will be a little dry if they bake too long!  :)

Now for the icing! I will admit, I actually haven't tried the protein icing in the video, although it does look delicious.  But I added protein into the brownie itself and I have a couple of different SUPER EASY icing options you could try out if you're with me on the Walden Farms calorie free bandwagon. :)

Option A: Fluffanutter Icing

If you LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter, like I do, you'll probably want to go with this one.  You could do it one of two ways:

Equal Parts Natural Peanut Butter + Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

                                              OR

Equal Parts PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter (mixed with water to your desired consistency) + Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

Microwave for a few seconds to soften, mix together and ICE!

Option B: Low Fat Cream Cheese Icing

Equal Parts Reduced Fat Cream Cheese + (You guessed it!) WF Marshmallow Dip

Same directions as above!

*** I can't give exact measurements for the icing because I usually (especially if I'm using the PB2 recipe because you can't mix that in advance) ice each brownie with a small serving when I am ready to eat them, instead of icing the whole pan all at once!  Mix the amount you would like at your discretion! 

Nutrition Info:

Brownies (without icing): *NOTE: Traditionally, you would cut a pan of brownies into 16 squares, but taking into consideration my love for chocolate, I just don't see the point in having that small of a serving - ha ha - so I cut them into "Brownie Bars" (meaning 8 larger brownies).  So the info below is if you are going to have 8 brownie bars - if you prefer regular size brownies, just cut everything in half!  :)

Calories/Brownie Bar: 90

Protein: 9 grams

Fats: 1 gram

Carbohydrates: 17 grams

Fiber: 6 grams

*** Also, one last helpful hint that I learned the hard way - if this were a batch of regular brownies, I would simply cover them and store them on the counter (out of the reach of the dog, of course, since, even though he can barely see, he still always knows when there is something yummy up there!), but because of the beans, I HIGHLY recommend refrigerating whatever you don't plan on eating right away or you WILL end up with a mouthful of rotten beans!!!  Not fun!!!  :)

Hope you enjoyed this recipe and are brave enough to try it out because it will be totally worth it!  Comment below and let me know if you liked it!

Also, since my blog is still new and I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I'm going with it, if you have any suggestions on recipes or topics you would like to see to make it more interesting and fun, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have!  Thanx!

~Sara  :)