A Meal in a Brownie (and Chia Pudding)

Part of me thinks that if the world knew you could make brownies with black beans, spinach, squash, prunes, and yogurt, they wouldn't be so stuck on the idea that you make adults with white walls, attendance sheets, and mandatory reading lists. So, I'm posting my brownie recipe here and labeling it OER.

To back that up, I'll point out that I derived this recipe by scouring the web for both foodie/indulgent recipes and off-beat/healthy brownie ideas and then mashing them up into something that would actually taste good and be reasonably healthy. The result: a meal in a brownie. In fact, if you leave out the sugar, cocoa, and flour, the rest makes for pretty decent burrito filling. Moreover, caloriecount gives it an overall nutrition grade of B, and IT'S A BROWNIE! Amazingly, it's also the best tasting brownie I've ever had.

1/3 c. cooked black beans (rinse thoroughly if canned)
1/3 c. winter squash (e.g., butternut, pumpkin, or sweet potato; best if cooked)
1/3 c. cooked or thawed spinach (packed)
1/4 c. pitted dates (or prunes)
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 T. butter
2 eggs
2 egg whites (or whole eggs; to use the egg yolks, see my chia pudding below)
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. brown sugar (2/3 c. if you use prunes instead of dates)
1 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. rye flour (or other flour - buckwheat's good!)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts (or walnuts - good with buckwheat)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix black beans, squash, spinach, dates/prunes, yogurt, butter, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla in blender. Pour into a bowl and mix in sugars. Then stir in the cocoa, flour, salt, baking powder. Stir in nuts. Pour into a greased 9"x13" pan and bake for 40 min.

16 servings
+ High in diatary fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosophorus, and vitamin A.
- High in sugar.



Chia Pudding

3 T. chia seeds
1/4 c. water
1 T. turbinado sugar (more to taste, and none if you use sweetened almond milk )
1 1/4 c. vanilla almond milk (unsweetened)
2 egg yolks

Soak the chia in water for at least ten minutes. Add sugar and almond milk and soak for at least ten more minutes or overnight. Stir in egg yolks. Enjoy creamy deliciousness.

And if you blend in some leftover pumpkin or butternut squash with a little cinnamon and nutmeg, it's even better.