Rad Black Bean Brownies

The idea of using black beans to make brownies has always intrigued me, but I never had any great desire to actually make them. That was until I had a brownie craving.

Once my heart was set on brownies, my original intention had been to try out making them with avocados. That obviously didn't happen because 1) my avocados weren't ripe enough and 2) I wanted to use an avo in my dinner that night. On a student budget, avocados are a luxury. It's a hard knock life.

The idea of avocados in brownies still scares me. That will have to be my next experiment.

We aren't gathered here today to talk about nonexistent avocado brownies, though. We're here to talk about these rad black bean brownies of which I am now a major supporter.

These things actually taste like brownies. They taste like the delightfully unhealthy treats you buy at the bakery. The little (or big) chocolatey squares that cause a party in your mouth and warmth in your heart. The treats that we people call brownies.

Don't believe me? Try them out!

Rad Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:

~ Black beans - 1 cup

~ Flax egg - 2

~ Coconut oil - 2 tablespoons

~ Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

~ Salt - 2 teaspoons

~ Vanilla - 1 teaspoon

~ Coconut sugar - 1/2 cup

~ Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

~ Water - 4 tbsp

~ Fair trade coffee (espresso, instant, etc...) - 1 teaspoon

~ Vegan chocolate chips - click here for an easy recipe!

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to a toasty 350 degrees.

2. Make the vegan chocolate chips. To make the chocolate chips, follow the Creamy Homemade Chocolate recipe and once the chocolate has hardened, chop into tiny chunks. These are the chips.

3. While the chocolate chips are hardening in the freezer, make your 2 flax eggs. Q: What on earth is a flax egg??? A: 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water = 1 flax egg.

4. Blend everything in your food processor except for the vegan chocolate chips. Now you have brownie batter! If the consistency seems too thick, add a tbsp or 2 more water. This batter will not be as runny as brownie batter from a box, so don't go overboard with the water.

5. Mix in the vegan chocolate chips.

6. Spread the batter evenly in a tin and let them bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. They're finished when you can cut into them with a knife and the knife comes out clean.

Wait for the brownies to cool before cutting into squares. You just made some seriously rad black bean brownies. Reward yourself with a party in your mouth.

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First dinner - Avocado rice bowl with black beans and mango

After an exhausting day in the studio it was so nice to come back to my new place, take a hot shower and make a simple dinner that's both healthy and delicious! I don't have that many food options in my kitchen but everything that's in those cupboards can make such a wide variety of tasty foods. For my first meal I decided to make a simple rice bowl with a twist.

Avocado Rice Bowl:

This is incredibly simple to make and incredibly delicious to eat. It's the best of both worlds. This recipe is for one serving.

Ingredients:
~Brown basmati rice - 1 cup
~Avocado - 1
~Lime - 1 half
~Cilantro
~Salt - 1 pinch
~Pepper - 1 pinch
~Black beans - 1/2 can
~Mango - 1 half


Start by cooking the brown rice. I use a rice cooker which makes things pretty easy. All I have to do is pour in the single cup of rice and 2 1/4 cups of water and the cooker does the rest. Rice takes a while to cook so I made the avocado dip while I waited. Check the instructions on your rice box to make sure you use the correct amount of water for 1 cup of rice.

While the rice is cooking, peel, pit and mash the avocado. Chop and sprinkle in however much cilantro you feel is appropriate. I'm not the biggest cilantro fan (although it's growing on me) so I only added about half a handful. Next squeeze half a lime and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix this all up.

By the time you finish making the avocado dip, the rice will probably still be cooking...slowly but surely. I know you're craving to dig into that beautiful bowl of avocado but you'll have to wait a little longer. Might as well get ahead of the game and heat up black beans while you wait. I used a can of black beans so all I needed to do was pour them in a pot and wait for them to heat.

Slicing the mango takes only a minute or two but if you're still waiting on the rice, why not do it now? You can really use as much or as little mango as you'd like. I cut 3 big slices which is about 1/2 of a mango.

Eventually the rice will be ready! Pour all of the rice into the avocado dip. Mix it all up so the rice is completely covered in the delicious avocado. Now pour the black beans on top. I didn't end up using the entire can of black beans, so I saved whatever I had left in the pot after pouring my desired amount into the bowl. I ended up saving about 1/2 the can to eat another time. Lastly, just arrange the mango in a pretty way. There you have it! A beautiful rice bowl created with your own two hands! I wasn't kidding when I said this recipe was simple.

This was the first dinner I made in my new apartment and it was a goodie. It's inspired me to make more delicious recipes that are equally as simple and equally (or even more) mouthwatering! More recipes will be coming soon so stay tuned.

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