A (healthy!) chocolate fix

Well, if cayenne, ginseng, Vit C, Zinc, and all the other vitamins out there can't cure a cold, then at least there's CHOCOLATE!

I've mentioned the blog Eat, Live, Run a few times before. The author of the blog is a woman named Jenna, and I read ELR on a daily basis. I've discovered several new foods and vitamins thanks to her! A few days ago, she posted her own recipe for vegan brownies. It looked awesome and really easy, so I decided to try and make my own tonight. They turned out fantastic!

However, I can't seem to ever leave any recipe completely alone. The one thing I changed in Jenna's recipe is that I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Other than that, I followed it exactly. Here is Jenna's Vegan Brownie recipe:

Makes 12 brownies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa (preferably organic. I like Green and Black)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup soy milk
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8”8” baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the chocolate chips and stir until combined.
3. Add the olive oil, soymilk and maple syrup and stir gently only until combined. Don’t over mix.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes. Let cool before slicing into 12 squares.



For my oven, the time was too long. It was in there for about 45 minutes when I noticed the sides were beginning to pull in and the top was cracking (you can see that in the picture), so I quickly pulled it out. However, I don't think that hindered the yummy-ness factor in the least. Jenna claims that a serving of these brownies have approx. 200 calories as opposed to 400 calories in a "traditional" brownie consisting of eggs, butter, etc.

She was right that it is a bit more of a cake-like texture and not the flat and gooey brownie that you're probably used to. But I don't think this recipe sacrifices taste OR texture AT ALL. I think this recipe will become a norm for me when I make brownies.

Mmmm....



(Click on the picture of the slice to get a bigger and fuller view of it. It looks even more enticing when you can see it in all its detail and glory! YUM!)