My mother loved to bake! I inherited that love and along with it a “few” pounds…. 

Over the past couple years I have grown more concerned about my health and fitness and that of my family. I have worked hard to adapt a cleaner, healthier eating lifestyle. The 21 Day Fix Eating Plan has been instrumental to my success. I have lost 46 pounds!

However the one thing I didn’t want to give up was the joy of baking! This has led me to experiment with different ingredients and recipes. I pay close attention to ingredients when baking and love to try to use super foods to provide as much nutrition as possible in much loved treats and sweets.

So what are super foods? There’s no official scientific definition of a super food.  The simplest way to explain super foods is that they are foods that contain natural ingredients with exceptional nutritional values or protective qualities. They can be a source of antioxidants, substances that shield our bodies from cell damage and help prevent disease such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.  Super foods can also help the fight against the effects of aging and improve mental alertness. So including these foods, and there are hundreds, in your diet can only benefit you.

This all leads as a great introduction to delicious moist brownies that contain no flour or eggs. Instead they are made up almost entirely of super foods: sweet potatoes, organic almond butter, pure organic maple syrup, cocoa powder, cocoa chips and pecans.  Surprisingly most people would never guess they are made of sweet potatoes! My husband didn’t! 

A little about the ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes: This vegetable has gained popularity! And it rightly should not only for its taste but for its nutritional benefits.  This vegetable is full of alpha and beta carotene. These are antioxidant pigments that not only provide that beautiful orange color but helps protect against cancer. Sweet potatoes are also high in vitamin E for heart protection and fiber for healthy digestion.  

Almond Butter: Almonds are full of mono-saturated fats for lowering cholesterol levels and protecting the heart. They are also rich in vitamin E which may help prevent cancer and in fiber to protect the bowels. 

Cocao Powder and chips:  Cacao  contains flavonoids, which are known to help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain and heart. However make sure to read the label carefully staying away from Dutch or alkalized cocoa as it has been processed, doing away with up to 90 percent of the antioxidants.  You want to look for the raw or non-alkalized version, which contains all the phytochemicals and antioxidants to protect your body.

Pure Organic Maple Syrup: Maple syrup has not been officially listed as a super food…yet.  Research is finding  that it has the same antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as green tea, which is also a super food offering health benefits, just like blueberries, red wine and tea. Because of its antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, maple syrup helps prevent cancer and Type 2 diabetes. When purchasing maple syrup choose pure maple syrup avoiding table syrup as it is full of sugar and often devoid of maple syrup. 

Pecans:  These nuts like their counterparts are good for the heart. They contain beneficial cholesterol lowering unsaturated fats.  Pecans are high in fiber, omega-3’s, B vitamins and vitamin E.  They also contain flavonoids  to help protect us against cancer.

So get out your mixing bowl, turn on the oven and get baking! 

Healthy Brownies

2016-08-06 19:03:48

Yields 12

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Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato
2. 3/4 cup organic almond butter
3. 3 tablespoons pure organic maple syrup
4. 2/3 cup cocoa powder
5. 3/4 cup carob chips or semi sweet chocolate chips
6. 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
7. coconut oil baking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a 8x8 baking pan with baling spray.
3. Add the almond butter and maple syrup to a small sauce pan.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.
5. Remove the pan from the heat when the almond butter is melted and well combine with the syrup.
6. In a large bowl combine the mashed sweet potatoes and almond butter mixture.
7. Add the cocao powder and mix well with an electric mixer.
8. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts (I also sprinkle a few on top).
9. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
10. Bake for 12 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
11. Cool brownies before cutting and store them in the refrigerator.

Notes

1. Container equivalents: 1 brownie equals 1 yellow.
2. Cool brownies before cutting as they are moist and will fall apart when warm.
3. Store them in the refrigerator.

By Donna Englestad

Coastal Girl Food n' Fitness http://coastalgirlfoodnfitness.com/

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