Vegan Black Bean High Fibre Brownies

I love a good brownie and so does my little tyke but they are packed full of eggs, sugar and butter and other stuff that I would rather not put in my mouth. So when I saw the recipe for vegan brownies, I did a little jig. 

These puppies use black beans as the base so although they do contain a cup of coconut sugar, they are not so terribly bad for you. You see black beans contain a huge amount of soluble fibre, to promote regularly, optimal gut flora and steady energy.  Decent amounts of protein for growth, repair and regeneration. A whack of minerals including; calcium and magnesium for nerve, muscle and bone health, zinc for optimal immunity,  iron for buoyant energy levels and folic acid for healthy everything.

Now, I don’t know about you but my daughter can usually smell something healthy a mile away and turn her little nose up at it, however well it is disguised.  So although I made these with the best of intentions for a full embrace from the six year old brigade, I was, to be honest, unsure.

Well, boy, was I wrong. Even before they hit the muffin tray, still in their goopy uncooked state I was getting hassled to let her and her little buddy lick the bowl or even just a spoon. While they were cooking they sent wafts of chocolatey goodness through the house and  the kids started to turn into rabid unfed dogs, checking the oven every minute with rounds of “are they ready yet?, are they ready yet?”  

Upon taking the poor defenceless things out of the oven, I was cajoled into letting the little sprites taste one, in the likelihood that their poor little unfed mouths would be burned. The verdict? Well, I didn’t get one. They never made it out of the muffin tray alive. Every time I passed the bench top where they were sitting cooling, there was one less and the sound of giggling children nearby.

So, are they kid friendly, most definitely!  They are going to be a lunchbox addition from now on.

What’s in it?

•  1 can of  black beans, rinsed and drain
•  2.5 T flaxseed meal + 6 T water
•  3 T coconut oil, melted
•  3/4 cup cacao powder
•  1/4 tsp sea salt
•  1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•  1 cup of coconut sugar
•  1 1/2 tsp baking powder
•  Raw cacao bar for grating over top or you could just use choc chips or walnuts of whatever other topping you like J

How do you do it?

•  Preheat oven to 180 degrees
•  Lightly grease a muffin tray with coconut oil
•  Combine the flax and water in the food processor until it is blended
•  Add  all the remaining ingredients  into the food processor and puree  until it is very smooth
•  Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.
•  Grate the cacao over the top or add whatever topping you wish to
•  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are dry  to touch  and the sides are starting to shrink in.Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.
•  Store in an airtight container and  keep them in the fridge if you want them to last longer. 
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