Friday 20 January 2012

A Healthy Brownie?

I am a small time, stupid risk taker. I'm the kind of person who will pop into the supermarket for bananas and milk, and therefore not take a basket and end up with so much stuff piled up in my arms, something clamped in my armpit and struggling to the till will spy an offer on washing powder and think 'grrr, i'll try it' and hold it somewhere between my chest and my chin. Inevitably something has to give.
I will also fill my water bottle up in the gym, with one hand on the tap and the other clutching my bottle together with my iphone thinking 'I really hope my ipod doesnt get wet'
Another thing I do really quite a lot is heat a pan of oil and see if I can skin and chop 2 onions in time, or bake a cake and leave the house. 
If it's a 40minute bake, I know I can run to the high street in that time, if I bump into someone I keep conversation short and tell them I really have to go, I have a cake in the oven at home. I wonder if anyone believes me.
Anyway, if you're the same, or just impatient, or even scared of baking, this recipe for raw brownies will be right up your street. 
It started with an experiment. I love my brownie recipe and so do my friends and family but they may hate me if they saw how much butter and sugar was in those gooey squares of joy.
So, the raw brownie. Trust me, they are yummy. There is no chocolate, no eggs, no flour, no sugar, no butter. This is guilt free and good for you.
In a food processor... blend...
1/2 cup of cocao nibs
2 cups whole walnuts
2 ½ cups pitted Medjool dates (not any old dates)
1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp raw cacao (not cocoa)

Now, press into a tin lined with greaseproof and leave in the fridge for at least one hour. These last days in the fridge and are best eaten slightly chilled. I cut mine into hearts, you don't have to.
The other brownies were baked, and it was a mad experiment and I used all these ingredients and you know what, they were good but the after taste of courgette lingered and so I need to work on this one a bit!





No comments: