Chocolate Rhubarb Brownies

Did I mention these are also Gluten-Free?
That’s right.  Take a look at these.  Not only are these brownies gluten-free, but they are also loaded with healthy fats and skinny on the sugar.  What could be better than that?

Now I can’t entirely take 100% of the credit for this creation.  I’ve been reading a lot of recipes in the last while, and although I did tweak my recipe to my own liking, the inspiration came from several of the sites I came across. (none specifically)
Now remember how I said they are loaded with healthy fats?  Yuppers!  The base of these brownies are made using avocado as well as a little bit of coconut spread and avocado oil.  I figure that it’s about time I don’t feel so guilty when I want to indulge and give in to my chocolate habit. 
These brownies are very moist, which I believe is due to the avocado in these decadent treats.  And they aren’t as sweet as regular brownies, so don’t be expecting a sweet chocolaty taste.  They have more of a bitter-sweet chocolate taste, which is also due to the avocado because this fruit tends to get a little bit bitter when heated.  Regardless, they are worth every bite.  
 Ingredients:

• 125g dark chocolate, melted ( I used Cocoa Camino’s Organic Semi-sweet 54% baking chocolate)
• 3 medium avocados
• 1 Tbsp. avocado oil
• 3 Tbsp. coconut spread (Artisana Organic Raw Cocoa Bliss)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 large eggs (try to use organic free-range eggs when possible)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (again I used Camino’s 100% cocoa powder)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. sorghum flour
• 1 tsp. GF baking powder (aluminum-free)
• 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan sea salt
• 3 stalks of red rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next purée the 3 avocados in food processor and make sure there are absolutely no lumps.  You want a nice smooth consistency. (such a cool color)

Place the avocado purée into the bowl of your stand mixer (or in another bowl) and add all of the remaining ingredients to it (except rhubarb).  Beat with your mixer until the consistency is smooth and fluffy.  Then fold in the rhubarb.

Beware!  I ate a couple of spoonful's before baking and I could have easily eaten the whole bowl.
Pour your batter into an 8x8 dish and bake for about 35 – 40 minutes.  When you insert a toothpick, it must come out clean. 

Let it cool a bit before cutting and enjoy!  Best enjoyed when cooled in refrigerator.

Brought to you by the letter “A”

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Do anything interesting?

Well since it’s been raining all day again, I had to come up with a creative way to spend my day.  I took a peek through my fridge to find ways to use up the rest of my produce before my grocery shop tomorrow and came across a very lonely avocado.  Lately I’ve been eating a lot of avocados in my smoothies, but wanted to use it up differently. 

A little while back I tried out one of Angela’s recipes that looked oh so temping…her Chocolate Torte.  She uses avocados as her base for the filling and like I said before, you’d never taste it.  So I thought why not recreate something of that sort.  So instead of making an entire torte, I decided to make a simple Silken Chocolate Pudding.  (pictures taken on my Blackberry until I get a new camera – sorry for the low quality)

Ingredients and directions for 4 large servings

Place the following ingredients into you Vitamix or Food processor….

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup organic raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 Teaspoons of Navita’s Naturals Protein Twister Blend
• 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil (or coconut oil)

Turn on the mixer and gradually add ….. 1/4 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Beverage (or almond milk if you so desire) until you get the consistency that you desire. 

For all those sceptics, believe you me when I say that the avocados cannot be tasted at all.  The cocoa masks their taste.  I’m not a big fan of guacamole because I’m not a huge fan of avocados.  Just make sure you buy ripe avocados.

But if you really want to taste some decadent, rich, chocolaty goodness that’s good for you, you must try this.  Yes, it does have 250 calories per serving (an the servings are fairly large, so feel free to have less), but it’s a healthy fat and definitely satisfies anybody’s chocolate craving.

Even better…it’s raw, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free!

Back again soon.

Bea

xoxo

Monday Madness

Crazy…Crazy….Crazy…. that basically sums up my busy today. 

I left the house at 7:30am and didn’t walk in until 6pm.  But the good news is that I got everything accomplished that I wanted to…yipee

I finished up my class banner this afternoon and had to edit and print off my report cards to be handed in today.  The class banner is looking quite amazing… just one tiny little detail to complete tomorrow and then you will soon see pictures. 

And then I want to send a huge shout out to a fellow Canadian blogger Angela over at Oh She Glows.  I’ve been reading her blog for about a year now and she is so inspiring. Angela is one of the reasons I began blogging too.  And plus she’s got the most adorable kitty and amazing food recipes. 

A little while ago I was searching for a healthier version of Chocolate pudding.  Low and behold… there it was staring me in my eyes….and calling my name….. the Chilled Double Chocolate Torte.

hallelujah !!!!!!!!

What started with a basic search for Chocolate pudding…ended in the most amazing and unexpected find for a Chocolate Torte.  The reason I say unexpected is because of it’s main ingredient…..

……………………………………

are you ready for it?

…………………………………….

It grows on this tree

Did I hear someone say avocado..gold star for you

---

If you think about it for a minute…avocados are the perfect ingredient.  Not only are they creamy (make sure they are ripe), but they absorb the taste of other things.  And avocados are so healthy for you too.  Believe me when I tell you that the result of this cake is so delicious and chocolaty richness.  See for yourself…..

---

Come check out Angela’s blog by clicking on this link for the recipe. 

My challenge to you is to try it out and let me know what you think.   Just remember to keep it chilled so it keeps its firmness and doesn’t go bad.

Have a wonderful night y’all.  I’m going to go and help myself a nice big piece of the torte.

Bea

xoxo

Let the Good times roll

Sigh….it was back to work for me today.  I felt like I just crawled into bed last night when the alarm rang at 6am.  I had all good intentions of waking up and going for another run to kick-start the day, but my knees were very sore from yesterday.  I think I may have overdone it.  I’m going to have to ease back into my routine so that I don’t hurt myself and from now on will be wearing my T-band brace.  On the bright side…I got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes.

For breakfast I made myself a GREEN MONSTER. 

Surely you’ve heard of the Green Monster Movement.  If not, check out this link from Angela from Oh She Glows, who is behind this movement.  Everyone has their own variation of the Monster drink, as is mine. 

---

BEAGLEBEA’S GREEN MONSTER

I drink one of these every morning (at least 5 of 7 days)…an awesome breakfast for on the go or post-workout.  I don’t ever measure my ingredients, so the breakdown listed below is ballpark only.

My ingredient breakdown:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 handful of frozen peaches
• 1 cup of cantalope
• 1 LARGE handful of baby spinach
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1 Tbsp  sprouted Flax/Chia Seeds
• 1 Tbsp  Udo 3-6-9 Oil blend

Blend everything in Vitamix until nice and smooth….

AND VOILA…….

The avocado makes the consistency of the Green Monster smooth and creamy….. and you can’t taste it, I promise.  (I actually don’t really like avocado on it’s own, so believe me when I say you can’t taste it).  And, since I’m allergic to bananas, it makes the perfect base. 

---

My first day back to work/school looked a little like this (not a pic of my students)Well, for the most part at least.  My kids were so excited to tell me what Santa left them…lucky ducks I’d say. 

As for dinner…nothing new tonight…had lots of Butter Chicken leftovers…yummy !

Since my knees were still pretty sore, I decided to try out my new yoga DVD so that I could at least get somewhat of a workout in today.  I was a little sceptical with it because I’ve tried yoga numerous times and could never really get into it, but this DVD came in a box set with the 2 other ones I wanted, so really had no choice. 

I was pleasantly surprised… I love Jillian Michaels.  I’ve been happy with her Wii workouts and her No More Trouble Zones DVD.  We’ll see how it goes. 

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED ANY OF HER WORKOUT DVD’S?

HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO GET IN A WORKOUT WHEN YOU'RE MUSCLES OR BODY ARE SORE?

 

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.

BEA XOX