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Breakfast Brownies
I have a sweet tooth---or HAD a sweet tooth. You see, I love the idea of sweets, but I don't like the way sugar makes me feel. However, just because I don't tolerate sugar well, doesn't mean that I have to miss out on tasty treats like brownies. Since I'm using whole-food ingredients and no added sugar, I can incorporate my "treats" into my daily diet without it throwing me off.
When I eat something, generally, I want to make sure that it has a pretty good nutrition profile. I know that I need protein and fiber to feel satisfied, and this brownie recipe has both! Instead of sugar, I use Swerve because I personally don't like the taste of stevia. You can use any sweetener you would like. Keep in mind that if you use real sugar, the nutrition stats will change. The ripe bananas and protein powder also add sweetness.
I used garbanzo bean four in this recipe because I have a LOT in my pantry and I need to get rid of it! I initially purchased it because of it's impressive nutrition profile: a 1/4 cup serving provides 6g of protein 5 g of fiber but I've been holding off on using it because it seems that no matter what I make, the "beany" flavor comes through. I played around with this recipe and found that adding the instant coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla helped cut the bean flavor. You will taste it when you taste the raw batter but it goes away once it is cooked. If you don't have garbanzo bean flour, oat flour (or any flour for that matter) can be substituted. As with the sweetener, the nutrition stats will change and the protein and fiber will be slightly less than noted below.
I used 4 mini loaf pans, simply because I love them, but you can use an 8x8 baking dish and just cut into 4 pieces. These are thick enough to slice in two. After slicing, I topped each half with 1 Tbsp all natural peanut butter. The peanut butter added 8g of protein + 3g of fiber+ healthy fat.
If you're looking for a way to satisfy your chocolate craving without experiencing a mid-morning sugar crash, this is the recipe for you!
Makes 4 mini loaves- Serving size: 1 full loaf
Ingredients
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1/2 cup (62.5g) Chocolate Protein Powder (I used Orgain Creamy Chocolate Fudge)
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1/2 cup (60g) Garbanzo Bean Flour (if you don't have this, sub oat flour)
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1 Tbsp ground flax seed* (mix with 3 tbsp lukewarm water and let sit for 5 min to make flax “egg”)
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2 Mashed very ripe bananas
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1/4 cup (20g) cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder)
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1 cup water (or unsweetened non-dairy milk)-- add more to thin batter if too thick
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1/2 cup pumpkin puree
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1 tsp instant coffee (enhances the chocolate flavor)
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1 tsp vanilla
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1/4 tsp cinnamon
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1/2 tsp baking soda
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1/4 tsp baking powder
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1/4 cup Swerve (erythritol based sweetener) you could sub 1-2 tbsp stevia, 1/4 cup sugar, or omit for a less sweet brownie
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together
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In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. You might need to add additional liquid to thin the batter depending on the protein powder and flour you use.
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Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well blended. Spray 4 non-stick mini loaf pans or 1 8X8 inch baking dish .
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Pour in batter and bake the mini loaves at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Notes
* Feel free to use 1 egg instead of flax egg