Raw Chocolate Protein Brownies
Sometimes I wish I had more of a sweet tooth. I realise that’s a strange thing to say. You see, I’m the savoury person who smugly says no thanks to chocolate, only to savage an entire family-size bag of chips the second no one is looking. The fact is, it’s easier to turn sweet recipes into healthy versions.
At this point I can take any cake, brownie or pastry recipe and create a healthy substitute with little trouble. Savoury snacks – not so much. As my beleaguered husband says, you can replace chocolate with cacao, butter with coconut oil, but you cannot in any good conscience replace cheese with that disgusting wannabe-but-it’s-really-not cheese flavouring.
He is referring to nutritional yeast, a deactivated yeast with a cheesy, nutty flavour that is often used in vegan cooking. I get it. I tried to make it happen for a while, much like fetch, but even I had to admit that the gag reflex was due to the fact that some things are simply not meant to be substituted – it’s the original or die. My go-to savoury snacks consist of raw nuts, seed crackers (when I can be bothered to make them – it’s a lot of effort for a very minimal amount cracker) and rice cakes with cream cheese. Not exactly inspiring to blog about.
So instead I have another healthy sweet recipe for you today, but never fear, this one is utterly delicious. Even if it doesn’t contain cheese.
Raw Chocolate Protein Brownies
Ingredients:
- 2 scoops (100ml) protein powder (I use pea protein))
- 1 tbsp coconut flour.
- 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon.
- 2 tsp agave
- 1/2 cup water, added gradually
- Coconut & cacao nibs for garnish
Method:
- Add dry ingredients to a food processor
- Process slowly, adding water in small quantities at a time until smooth.
- Scoop mixture into a greased or lined tin and press down. Garnish as desired.
- Places in freezer for 20 minutes then cut into squares. Store in fridge.