I went up to my Dad’s for the week. While I was there he asked if I could try and make him a healthier version of one of his favourite snacks. Brownies. This is what I came up with.

1/3 cup of cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dates + 3tbsp water

1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp vanilla

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl sift together the cocoa and baking powder. In a food processor add the dates + water, blackbeans, vanilla and coconut oil. Mix until smooth ( if the mixture is too thick add a bit more water ). Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Stir in the chocolate chips, feel free to save a few to sprinkle on top. Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch squair baking pan. Bake for 50 to 55 min. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Refrigorate for a few hours and serve.

*note: These brownies are best served cold. The texture is smooth almost like a truffle when served this way.

We had a few friends over for dinner last weekend. It was great to catch up, but even better to watch our friends interacting with Poppy and Poppy interacting with our friends. I decided to go with a Mexican themed dinner and dessert. Dinner was fish tacos and for dessert I made these beautiful, creamy, rich, chocolatey mini cakes. Heaven.

For those of you wondering what happened to me being  ” off refined sugar ” – well I think it goes without saying that I am no longer going down that path. I did it for a few months and I felt no difference in my energy or in any area that I was hoping to improve. I am now back to eating as we all should…everything in moderation. Enjoy.

CAKES:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 10 ounces 56% to 70%-cacao baking chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 4 tsp all-purpose flour
• 2-3 tsp adobo sauce ( from the can of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce ) I used 2 tsp and couldn’t even taste a hint of the adobo, next time I will definitely use more.
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly coat the inside of the ramikins with butter, then sugar. In a medium saucepan combine the 1 cup sugar and orange juice. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the chocolate and butter, stir until melted. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Now stir in the flour, adobo sauce and salt.

Set the ramekins in a baking pan. Divide the chocolate mixture evenly among the 8 ramekins. Place the baking pan on the oven rack. Pour boiling water into the pan, enough to reach half way up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is set. Using tongs, gently remove the ramekins from the pan placing them on a rack to cool. Serve in the ramekin or turn out onto dessert plates. Top them off with a generous drizzle of sweet crema.

SWEET CREMA:

• 3/4 cups Mexican crema or sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix together

*recipe from Better Homes and Gardens