GF adventures - brownies

Did you know that you can make brownies using black beans? That's right. The kind from a can.

Sound revolting? Let me show you the light.

(yes, that's an instagram photo. Feel free to judge.)

I'm always looking for new gluten-free recipes. That is, the kind that actually taste good. And this year my roommate is writing a cookbook, so she's always in the kitchen whipping up some kind of fragrant baked goods. Lately it's been sourdough bread, pumpkin spice cookies, honey nut granola, chocolate pumpkin bread, cranberry chocolate muffins... Our house smells delicious all the time.

To me, it smells forbidden.

Every now and then I'll sneak a pinch of a melted chocolate chip or a tiny corner crumb. I feel guilty immediately after, not to mention afraid of the possible impending digestive - ahem - distress.

So last week I went on a hunt for a way to get my baking fix without using heaps of processed flour or pounds of sugar. I found a really good one on a blog called Eat Good 4 Life. While I don't usually trust things with numbers in their titles, Eat Good had a pretty promising recipe. And a pretty border decoration.

These turned out really well. Although relatively low in sugar, they still taste sweet and quite chocolatey. Don't worry, they taste nothing like black beans. The consistency is actually more cake-y than fudge-y. They're also full of protein and fiber, so be careful not to eat them before a business meeting.

Montana and I killed these on our camping trip last weekend. I had a lot of fun watching his reaction when I told him they were made of beans. I did this every time he ate one.

Here's the recipe, adapted a for my kitchen and love of dark chocolate (I doubled the amount of cocoa powder and chocolate chips in the original recipe).



Surprisingly Edible Black Bean Brownies

Yields 10-12 servings 

1 15.5 oz. can black beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown rice flour 
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unrefined sugar
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup chia seeds
3 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped 
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
 .
Place all the ingredients except chocolate chips and walnuts in a food processor or blender and pulse thoroughly until smooth and well combined.
.
Pour batter in the baking dish. Top with nuts and chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is dry and edges begin to pull away from the baking dish. Cool completely before cutting. 

gluten freedom

I promised myself that I wouldn't do too much food-blogging, since I'm officially an athletic blog and everything. But I couldn't help myself this time.

The other day I overheard my dad complaining that a bowl of Cheerios made his stomach hurt. My allergy-sensitive ears perked. A twisted smile lit up my face.

"Maybe you're allergic to gluten!" I gleefully shouted across the room.

His face fell. I sneered. Glory be! Another victim of processed grains to join my celiac friends and me in our barren, breadless world.

"Oh no," he said. "That means I'll have to give up cookies." His voice was hollow. The man was purely devastated. I had torn apart of my father's primary reasons to live. My shriveled gluten-free heart grew about three sizes. I couldn't take it anymore.

I quickly rescinded my comment. We decided that it was probably just the high oat content. Then he walked away, munching on a chocolate cookie.

But if you're like me, don't fall into a deep despair. Sure, there are lots of things you can't eat - like whole-wheat pasta or everything on the Panera Bread menu.

But you CAN eat this:

That's right. It's a whole pan of cookie. Covered in chocolate. Covered in nuts. Covered in more chocolate.

Thought your dessert options were limited to tiny low-fat brownies that look like dried poo? Think again. Even though this recipe is gluten-free, there is literally nothing healthy about it. The main ingredients are butter and sugar. How could you ever possibly go wrong?

So go ahead, eat yourself a cookie. Or devour a whole pan. And then maybe go running or something.