Vegan Athlete Diet
I eat very healthy on a regular basis. I used to have a HUGE sweet tooth but have also been able to wean myself back and adjust my taste buds to enjoy healthier alternatives.
I’d been eyeing a number of different vegan chocolate fudge brownie recipes and finally decided to modify a bit to see how I liked it. I LOVED it! I also had a couple of non-vegan friends over to sample the 1st “experiment”. It went well, so sharing now here on my blog.
(I don’t have to do gluten-free myself BUT you could easily make this gluten-free if you use chickpea or rice flour instead.)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flor
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
- 1 cup unbleached cane sugar or maple sugar
- 2 TB agave syrup
- (Optional – but I LOVE cinnamon with chocolate) 1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 (1-oz) squares of unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1/2 cup canned or cooked black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup soft or silken tofu
- 3/4-tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9×9-inch baking pan (or 8×8 if that’s what you have) with non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil. Tap out any excess flour
- In a large bowl, sift the flours, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder OR blend with a wire whisk.
- Add sugar next to large bowl of dry ingredients and stir
- In a small microwaveable container, combine the baking chocolate squares and agave syrup. If you have a newish microwave, it may have a custom melt (for chocolate) setting. If not, microwave on low power in 1-minute intervals then check/stir/repeat as needed until smooth. You don’t want it to burn
- In a blender, combine the water and black beans to blend on high for 1+ minute or until smooth. Add the tofu & vanilla extract next and blend for 1 to 2 minutes more until smooth.
- Reduce the blender speed to low and slowly add in the melted chocolate mixture. Blend that for about 2 to 3 minutes until smooth. You might need to use a rubber spatula to scrape down sides of blender occasionally until it is all blended well
- Pour the liquid contents from blender into dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold only until the ingredients are incorporated and no dry clumps are visible.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 28 to 32 minutes. (Use a knife to test – it is done when the knife inserted into the center comes out nearly clean.)
- Cool completely in the pan resting on a wire rack before cutting. Show patience!
You should be able to store these at room temperature for up to 2 days if covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
I also just got wind of a delicious sounding vegan chocolate ganache to try as a topping on this next. I’ll have to post the pics and results of that as well. Enjoy this Vegan Athlete Diet recipe!