Bean Brownies

A tasty treat was made in the kitchen today!  I got the recipe from Happy Herbivore.

Secret ingredient is beans!

My slight variant on this recipe was:

1 can of cannelini beans, drained (I don’t do black beans)

2 ripe nanas

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/4 cup oat bran

2 tbsp sugar.

Blend everything except the oat bran, walnuts, and chocolate chips in a food processor until smooth. Stir all the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl with the batter.  Pour into a 9×9 pan sprayed with nonstick spray and bake for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Very fudgy and a fairly strong banana flavor, so not super brownie-like, but really tasty and very good for you.  They pack fiber, protein and very little fat (Omega3 from walnuts)!  And there is no trace of any bean flavor at all, so don’t be afraid to try them!  Really great refrigerated.

When cut into 9 pieces – approx 110 calories per brownie.

Can you tell it’s fall? I am all about the pumpkin now! Lucky this recipe turned out good on the first try – don’t even think I need to change anything! These are dense and filling, very portable.

Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Bars

Ingredients:
28 grams of protein powder
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup lowfat yogurt (any kind but fruit – I happened to have vanilla on hand)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
40 grams of Craisins (or dried cranberries).

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper. This will really make it easier to get these out, trust me.

In a bowl, mix together the protein powder, pumpkin, eggs, yogurt, spices, brown sugar with a mixer. You want to make sure the protein powder is really well incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Chop the Craisins smaller and add to the mix. Then stir in the oats.
Press the mixture evenly into the 9×9 pan and bake for 35 minutes. These won’t really get brown, they will just firm up – so don’t over bake. Remove from the pan right away and cut into 9 squares. It’s much easier to cut these when warm.
Store in the fridge.

Stats with my ingredients:
Per bar: 157 calories, 3 grams fat, 27 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 8 grams protein, 54 grams sodium.

Whole Wheat Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Using an electric mixer, combine the eggs, egg whites, sugar, orange zest and extract, and orange juice concentrate and mix until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine all the rest of the dry ingredients.  Add to the wet and mix thoroughly.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Divide the batter evenly between the 2 sheets into a loaf shape (dough is sticky and will spread).  Should look kind of like this:

Bake for 25 minutes until slightly firm to touch.  You aren’t finished baking here, so don’t go too hard.  Take the baking sheets from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Turn the oven temperature down to 300.

After 10 minutes, remove the biscotti block to a cutting board and use a serrated knife to slice the loaf into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.  Then place these slices cut side down back onto the baking pan.

Slide into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake another 10.  You may need to go a little longer depending on the humidity and how wet your dough is.  The biscotti should be dry and crisp.

Here is a tiny end piece just waiting to be dipped!

Calories per each biscotti if you get 40 cookies is approximately 50.

These turned out quite good!  I think I might reduce to 1 egg to make the dough stiffer and easier to form into a log.

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Psuedo Protein Cheesecake:

• 32 grams of fat free ricotta cheese
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 15 grams of strawberry soy protein powder
• enough water to make a creamy consistency
• chopped strawberries

In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ricotta, and protein powder really well.  Add in water a tsp or 2 at a time and stir until you get a creamy consistency.  Top with chopped strawberries and enjoy!  This would be great with a graham cracker, too.

Stats:  97 cal, 0 fat, 8 g carbs, 15 g protein