Bean Brownies

Keeping with the theme of unusual desserts, I found this recipe last week on Allrecipes.com and couldn't believe it: chocolate brownies made with black beans! This surprise ingredient adds moisture, fiber, and nutrients like protein and iron; other pleasant surprises included 1) no flour needed 2) the entire batter mixes up in seconds in your blender, and 3) they smelled and looked like the real thing. I deviated from the recipe only by increasing the cocoa to 1/3 cup and adding an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract. This pic shows the nice shiny surface after they're baked.

It was by far one of the easiest brownie recipes I've ever made and was highly rated by more than 500 users on the Allrecipes website. The downside is that they just didn't taste like chocolate brownies, even as I tried my hardest to pretend that they did with each bite. They were moist but not chewy as I prefer them. The cocoa, coffee, and chocolate chips added a nice intensity but I couldn't ignore the hint of bean texture (reminded me of the pastiness of hummus). 

The upside is that my husband who usually won't try any dessert categorized as "healthy" really liked them—this was the biggest surprise! Maybe because they weren't overly sweet. I'd like to try making these again but adding some flour, or a teaspoon of baking powder as suggested by a few Allrecipe testers, to produce a more cake-like texture. They're a gluten-free option and definitely worth testing once on the kids (without mentioning the secret ingredient!).

Chocolate Banana "Ice Cream"

It's one of those recipes that I heard but didn't believe. My young niece Alexa loves to cook and shared this refreshing concoction that she discovered for frozen bananas that taste like a rich dessert. She only needed to verbally tell me the recipe because it was that short and easy to remember. I said "there's no way!" and she said "seriously it tastes just like chocolate ice cream!" Well now that ice cream season is here, I was motivated to try it and she did not exaggerate. Wow, this stuff was so delicious and melted in the mouth just like creamy chocolate ice cream that I kept gobbling up the samples before I could take a photo of it. Even if you're not a banana fan, you'll like it because a banana flavor is not that noticeable.

So here's the recipe, courtesy of Alexa. It makes one serving at 150 calories, 2 grams fat, and 3 grams protein. It comes out gloppy looking and not something I'd serve to guests but it really hits the spot when you're craving cold and sweet! Check out Alexa's pin boards for other good-for-you recipe ideas.

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 frozen banana*

1/4 to 1/2 cup plain almond or soy milk (just to thin out a bit)

1 tablespoon good quality cocoa powder

Sweetener (honey, stevia) to taste, but I didn't even need this because the banana was so sweet

Directions

Blend cocoa powder and almond milk in food processor or blender. Add frozen banana and pulse on low. Stir down any mixture on sides of jar and keep pulsing until well incorporated. Pour into a dish and enjoy immediately.

*You may cut banana into slices before freezing; store in a Ziploc bag.

Lower Cholesterol Deviled Eggs

I adore eggs. I have to limit the yolks though because even though I usually have low cholesterol, that number shot up one time after an egg-crazy season of enjoying weekly fresh eggs from a relative's chicken farm. One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is to mash them into an egg salad with hummus instead of mayo, which gives them extra flavor. So l loved this recipe for Chickpea Deviled Eggs. The filling is similar to a hummus but lighter because there's no oil or tahini and instead you add Greek yogurt. You only use three yolks for the whole recipe so that cuts down on cholesterol if you're sensitive to that. I also added in some of my favorite spices.

These are perfect appetizers for a get-together or to keep in the fridge for a quick low calorie, high protein snack. Or you can pair them with whole grain crackers or pita for a nutritious lunch that won't weigh you down. 

Curried Chickpea Deviled Eggs adapted from Diabetic Living magazine

Makes 8 servings (3 egg halves each)

Ingredients

12 hardboiled eggs

1 15-ounce can chickpeas

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

2 T plain low-fat Greek yogurt

2 T sugar

2 T chopped green onion

2 T lemon juice

1 T yellow mustard

1 T water

1 t fresh parsley

1/2 t salt

1/2 t curry powder

1/8 t paprika

Directions

1. Halve hardboiled eggs lengthwise and remove yolks. Set egg whites aside. Place three yolks in a food processor and discard the others. 
2. Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Fill each egg white half with 2 teaspoons of the chickpea mixture. Garnish with herbs, chives, seeds, cucumber slices, chopped bell pepper, and even raisins!

Nutrition info per serving: 100 cals, 2 g fat, 9 g protein, 46 mg cholesterol