Here’s a recipe that no one can tell is healthy.
I love serving beautiful tasty treats that seem so decadent … and then after everyone has oohed and ahhed, mention ‘oh by the way this is gluten and dairy free, and has BEANS in it!’
This recipe was inspired by a post from Ingrid DeHart (live well eat well), and was carefully developed with a tasting team consisting of my poor ‘suffering’ husband and whoever came to my Nia classes on the days that I baked. I started with black beans and by serendipitous circumstance (ran out of black beans), tried the white Navy beans … and love the results. The texture with the white beans is a little lighter yet still has all the nutritional benefits of black beans. See the nutrient list below.
Black and White Muffins
* all ingredients are organic
2 cups soaked and cooked navy beans or black beans
3 large or extra large eggs
1 cup coconut sugar
2 Tb coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs and coconut sugar until frothy. Put in a large bowl. Puree the beans until smooth, then add cocao, coconut oil, vanilla and salt. Now add 1/3 of the egg mixture and fold in. Add another 1/3 of the egg mixture in and continue processing until really smooth and creamy. Add this mixture to the last of the egg mixture and fold it all together until it has the consistency of a cake batter. If you use black beans you may need to add a little bit of water. Pour into muffin tins and pop into the oven for 25-30 minutes. YUM!
To finish the muffins off I melt a few pieces of my favourite organic chocolate bar on top. Once the chocolate is melted, swirl it over the surface … and then keep your hands to yourself until the brownies have completely cooled. Right up to the last test batch I flubbed the serving of these delicious treats by cutting into and trying to serve up before it had fully cooled and set.
Small Print Notes:
-if you have a convection oven, try 325 for 25 minutes
– White Navy beans AND Black beans have lots of protein and fiber, and are both great sources of folate (Vitamin B9). Like most veggies they are also good sources of trace minerals.
-the chocolate gives a nice bump of magnesium, and the walnuts add Omega 3s.
– For even less work, you can put the batter in a cake pan and voila – delectable Black and White Cake!
For more recipes just like this one, you might like my gluten and dairy free cookbooks: Celebrations (holiday recipes) Recipes for Loving The Body You’re In and Savoury ‘n’ Sweet: Treats for Every Occasion