We’ve just come out of Easter and I’m sure everyone has spent the weekend enjoying lots of chocolate and other yummy, indulgent dishes. Whenever I’m trying to get back on track, I always bake some healthy desserts or I risk going to healthy and then just binging on all the leftover Easter chocolate…
Healthy dessert recipes mean that you can enjoy sweet treats whilst avoiding the sugar high that usually accompanies them. Whilst a sugar high (i.e. insulin spike caused by an overload of glucose) might sound fairly harmless in the short run, excessive sugar intake can have negative impacts in the long term. See here for information about how excess sugar affects your teeth, joints, skin etc.
To avoid these complications, I try to reduce my sugar intake whilst still enjoying great desserts. It all about everything in moderation!
This recipe has substitutes from the usual brownie recipe that we all know and love, that not only make it lower in calories, but also provide some wonderful health benefits with the same delicious taste.
Sweeteners
Bananas – These delicious fruits provide a wonderful texture to the brownies whilst also giving a subtle fruity undertone. Banana’s are rich in vitamin B6 which helps your body metabolise carbohydrates and fats and remove unwanted chemicals from your body. Banana’s also provide a healthy source of Manganese which helps your body produce collagen to boost your skin.
Sugar Free Maple Syrup and Chocolate – Sugar free alternatives are great ways to enjoy sweet, sugar-like flavour whilst avoiding cane sugar. It is important to note that some no-calorie sweeteners may upset your stomach. If this is the case opt for a natural sweetener like Stevia.
Healthy Fats
Coconut Milk – Coconut milk is rich in healthy fats and antioxidants, which help to protect you from harmful radicals that are produced when your body breaks down food.
Flours
Oat Flour – Oat flour is a naturally gluten free, whole grain flour, which provides an excellent source of fibre to help your digestion whilst keeping you satiated. If you enjoy the taste and texture, oats are a powerful substitute in creating a healthy recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup canned LITE coconut milk
- 1/2 cup rolled oats or Oat Flour
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 3 tbsp sugar free maple syrup (or real maple syrup if you prefer that).
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 90g Chocolate – I like to use Well Naturally Sugar Free Chocolate
- Optional: 5 drops of MyProtein Chocolate FlavDrops
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200 C
- Put rolled oats into blender and blend. Then, add bananas, coconut milk, cacao powder, syrup, vanilla extract, and baking powder into blender and BLEND.
- Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in salt and chopped up chocolate. Add FlavDrops if you desire a richer chocolatey taste (the sweetness of this batter will subdue when it bakes, so aim for a mixture that is slightly sweeter than you desire).
- Bake for 15 minutes or until fudgy brownie comes out on skewer inserted.
- Allow to cool a little bit and then cut into 16 slices!
ENJOY! Let me know how the recipe goes! X
CLARE HOPKINS 