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.

I know I’m supposed to be off of sugar but this Sunday I needed to bake and not healthy baking but real sugary, not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, baking. Because my sister and her beau were coming over for dinner I was able to convince myself quite quickly that not only was it o.k to bake but that I needed to bake. Since I had been cooking all day I decided to go with a classic dessert that everyone loves and takes next to no time at all…BROWNIES! These are soooo good. Enjoy.

BROWNIES:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 oz semisweet bakers chocolate ( or whatever you have )
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1.5 tbl vanilla
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a large saucepan melt the butter and chocolate until smooth and fully combined. Remove from heat. Gently stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Now add the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until combined making sure not to over mix. Spread the batter into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 28 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

ICING:

• 6 tbl butter,softened
• 8 tbl cocoa powder
• 1 tbl vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• heavy cream or milk
• Mix adding the cream/milk until smooth and the consistency desired.

*Next time I make these I will be adding nuts to the brownie mix.

So about a couple months ago I had my first visit with a naturopath. I decided to go for a few reasons. #1 – was to try and help me with my sinus problems. I had sinus sugary 5 years ago to try and put a stop to all of the infections but a year ago I was told I would have to have the surgery again…and I just don’t have the time. Because of this I had hoped that seeing a naturopath may be a good place to begin my search for a happier head without the surgery and constant rounds of antibiotics. #2 – I am always tired. I have been tired my whole life – it’s not just because I’m a new mom. Ever since I can remember napping has been one of my fave things to do…for example when I was little girl and supposed to be doing homework I would open my books and use them as a pillow.. or when Danie and I had friends over and we would be playing house we would often add to the story ” nap time ” hoping that our friends would actually sleep, so we could too. To try and get to the bottom of things my naturopath decided to do an allergy test where they take a bit of your blood and send it off to a lab and in 3 weeks you end up with a very detailed list of your body’s intolerances, from mild to severe. I was expecting to find out I had to cut out dairy but oh no, it had to be my favourite thing in the world…SUGAR – or to be more precise cane sugar. So I now have the privilege of having to cut out cane sugar for the next 6 months. Because of this you will notice a lot of experimenting with new sweeteners in my attempt to keep living the sweet life and these granola bars are sweet! I hope you like them as much as I do.

These are perfect for when you are craving something chocolatey sweet…without the guilt. No refined sugar added!

Take all dry ingredients and mix together. Take all wet ingredients and mix together in a small sauce pan over med heat until melted and combined.

Now mix wet and dry ingredients together.

Grease pan. Spread the mixture out in a baking pan and press it down to flatten.

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, dump pan upside down on a large cutting board and cut into bars.

• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 cup (mixture of) chopped almonds,pumpkin seeds and walnuts
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1/3 cup unsweetened carob chips
• 3/4 cup organic sugar free peanut butter
• 1/2 cup apple butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 4 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbl vanilla