vegan fudge brownies - low-gi

Joel absolutely loves brownies – if made well and gooey.

I attempted build some for him a while back, but they didn’t quite turn out the way I’d hoped.

Round two and OH MY GOODNESS – amazing.

Not too sweet, rich and gooey, low-gi, grain-free, packed with healthy oils and best of all vegan!

Ordinarily I would have used eggs to bind the mixture together, but a few weeks back I picked up ‘No-Egg’, a gluten and dairy free egg replacer. Unopened and wanting to keep these brownies vegan, I decided to incorporate the egg replacement into the recipe. I was skeptical at first, but was pleasantly surprised with the result.

I love hiding vegetables and fruit in baked goods, it keeps the meal healthier, lower in fat and higher in fibre.

Not to mention, Joel does not like beetroot - like, at all. I’ve tried everything for him to eat this vegetable, but he is no fan. So, I hid a large beetroot in the mixture and he didn’t seem to notice! Score one for my sneaky beetroot endeavours.

I’ve also used Lucuma powder in this recipe to keep it nice and low-gi as this Peruvian health food has a super low gi index of 25.

Lucuma also contains 14 essential trace elements, including a considerable amount of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, beta-carotene, niacin and phosphorus. Phosphorus is important for bone and protein formation, digestion and hormone balance.

There are also studies to indicate that lucuma may have anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and skin-repair effects on human skin.

Ingredients

(makes 12+)

1 large beetroot, roughly chopped

1 large red apple, roughly chopped

¼ c water

Dry

2 c shredded coconut, pulsed in blender/processor until powdered

½ - ¾ c raw cocoa powder (depending on how rich you like your chocolate)

½ c mesquite powder

½ c lucuma powder

½ c coconut sugar

2 tsp bi-carb soda

40g vegan dark chocolate

pinch of vanilla salt

Wet

3 tblsp No-Egg, mixed in ¼ c water

½ - 1 tsp stevia (depending on sweetness)

1 tblsp vanilla extract

¼ c coconut oil

¼ c cocoa butter, melted

Heat oven to 180 C and line a 6” x 12” porcelain dish or brownie tin, with baking paper.

Place apple and beetroot along with water in a large pot – cook through until soft.

Cool, then empty contents into a food processor/blender and whiz until pureed.

Separately combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and create a well in the middle.

In the well, pour in the wet ingredients along with the puree.

Stir in a rotational movement until well combined.

Scoop batter into the baking dish and place in oven for 40 mins – or until skewer is inserted and comes out clean.

Cool (if you can wait) and enjoy.

With just the two of us at home, we won’t get through these brownies in a couple of days, so I will be storing them in the freezer. Just pull them out to thaw about 1 hour before you’re ready to eat, good as new.

Sometimes, when that chocolate craving comes around, it’s good to have something on hand.

homemade beetroot pasta with pine-nuts and zesty greens

So, it's Joel's birthday today.

I dedicate this post to him.

I know what you're thinking; why am I blogging on such an important day, when I should be spending time with my husband.

Answer: he's playing Legos right now.

Joel is a Lego collector.

I bought him 10 kg of Lego for Christmas last year and it was the beginning of the end as he's found any excuse to add to the collection ever since.

Anyways, we spent the day together - starting out with some delicious wholemeal pancakes (chocolate chips for Joel) topped with fresh jam and almond cashew nut butter. 

Then on to the toy store.. yep, the toy store.

He needed to add to his Lego collection.

We got home late afternoon and while Joel tore open and constructed his new toys, I started on dinner.

Whenever I ask Joel what he feels like for dinner, the never ending 'pa-sta, pa-sta, pa-sta' chant begins.

I'm not such a fan of pasta, so these days I just say 'you have two options for dinner; this or that'.

But today is his birthday after all, so this is a blog post about my pink pasta for the birthday boy.

And by 'pink' I mean beetroot.

Also, I wanted to incorporate some kale, basil and lemon from my garden. 

That's when I decided on a zesty topping.

If you have a pasta machine, now is the time to dust it off and bust it out. 

If not, no problem, just use a rolling pin!

Ingredients

(serves 4)

Pasta

1 c flour + some

1 organic free-range egg

1 tblsp beetroot puree

1tblsp water

pinch of salt

Combine the above ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined.

Turn mixture on to a floured surface and knead for 5-10 mins.

Put dough aside and rest for 20 mins.

Cut into 8  even portions.

Pasta machine

Feed through rollers until level 8, flouring the individual portions after each level.

Finally feed through the 'spaghetti' setting on the machine.

or

Rolling pin

Roll each portion as thin as possible.

Then using a sharp knife, slice into desired lengths.

Heat a large pot of salted water and drop spaghetti slowly into the water.

*Boil for 1 minute or until the pasta has risen to the top.

Using a slotted spoon, remove pasta from water, drain and place in a large bowl.

*Tip: you may find it easier to boil small portions.

Flavouring

2 medium zucchini, shredded

1 tblsp lemon zest

1 large lemon juiced

1/4 c pine-nuts

8-10 italian basil leaves

1 tsp of salt

1 bunch of kale, roughly chopped

quality olive oil

salt and pepper to serve

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Toss the mixture through the warm pasta and serve.

Drizzle with oil and serve with a pinch of salt and a turn of cracked pepper.

I love my husband and am so happy to be by his side forever. I will always be there to cook him pasta as he celebrates his future birthdays.

Love to my lover xoxo