Our last day of Primary Care, a third year course that is both the most educational course of the year and the bane of our existence, our group decided to have a pot luck. In the spirit of bringing something healthy, guilt-free and yummy to get us through our last weeks of class, I decided to try making these guys: chocolate chip white bean blondies. In true naturopathic spirit they are made of whole foods and are grain-free, dairy-free, contain no eggs or preservatives and are low in sugar. It’s important to chow down in a guilt-free manner from time to time.
Chocolate Chip White Bean Blondies
Ingredients:
1 can of white kidney beans (or chickpeas)
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbs maple syrup or honey (you can use more if you’re trying to fool people, i.e. your kids, into thinking these are made from a brownie mix and not out of beans. You might pull it off, too!)
3 tbs natural peanut butter or almond butter
1/4 cup flax meal
1/3-1/2 cup chocolate chips (or you can use crunched up bars of plain, dark swiss chocolate)
Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. In a food processor, blend together all of the ingredients. If you’re using chocolate chips, don’t process them, just add them in last. If you’re using a bar of dark chocolate, add it to the food processor so that it breaks up into little pieces. Once blended add in the chocolate (if you haven’t already), smoosh the mixture into a small greased baking pan. Dust the top with cocoa powder (optional) or sprinkle with some chocolate chips and then insert into the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Allow to cool and serve! Oh, I wouldn’t mention that they’re made of beans until everyone’s gobbled them up. They might be creeped out, so be sure to remind them that they’ve just ingested a significant portion of their daily dietary fibre requirements as well as some lean protein and even some anti-inflammatory alpha-linoleic acid (from the flax meal). Tell them they won’t get diabetes and that you’re welcome.
Then, consider singing the song we’d chant as kids: Beans, beans the musical fruit! The more you eat the more you… well, you know.
these look AMAZING!!! did you calculate the calorie content for each?
Interesting thought. I didn’t calculate the calories for each (not such a calorie person anymore, which is actually a good idea for a future post) but I imagine it could be done easily by adding up the calories of 1 can of white beans, 3 tbs maple syrup, amount of chocolate chips you add, 3 tbs peanut butter and 1/4 C flaxseeds, then divide by the number of brownies you make. Then you’re good to go!
Update: So when I make these I use a mini-muffin tin which makes 24 little muffin-sized blondies. I calculated the calorie content and it’s roughly 45 kcals a piece (for 1/24 of the batter) and is loaded with fibre, healthy fats and low in sugar. Hardly breaks your caloric bank, and adds satiety!