The only thing better than celebrating graduation with ooey gooey brownies is celebrating graduation with ooey gooey dark chocolate raspberry brownies. With black beans. I mean duh.
I can’t believe it’s over. Mostly because it often felt like it would never end. Everyone keeps asking me what’s next; and the truth is that I don’t exactly know yet. I do know that I plan on taking the RD exam in June before I leave for Europe and will continue my job search until then.
I want to offer private nutrition counseling.
I want to have a healthy meal delivery service.
I want to write a cookbook.
I want to become a personal trainer.
I’m only half kidding. But really. I have BIG dreams. I want to change the world, one chickpea at a time. Of course I want to do a million bajillion different things, which I’m sure doesn’t surprise you one little bit.
There are a couple exciting opportunities floating in the air that I can’t talk about just yet, but stay tuned. What I can tell you that I’ll be partnering with the fabulous Columbus Barre3 for some fun nutrition events at the end of May! I’ll talk details in a later post, but get excited.
And hungry.
Whatever I end up doing or not doing, know that I’ll always be here. Your comments, emails and feedback are beyond inspiring. There’s nothing I love more than hearing this blog has been a stepping stone in your journey to health and happiness.
Except maybe these brownies.
When I came home a couple weeks ago to a package of five dark chocolate bars from Theo Chocolate, I nearly died. If you know anything about me, you must know that I freaking adore dark chocolate. I eat it pretty much every night. I bought Theo on my own before their lovely chocolate showed up on my doorstep, not only because it’s incredibly delish, but also because it’s organic, fair trade, and has a stellar ingredient list. Did I mention the gorgeous packaging? That counts, too. But the best part about Theo is their mission, their passion for the connections that exist from bean to bar. Theo chocolate is sustainably grown with fair trade practices and produced in small batches for the a truly divine chocolate bar that’s rooted in passion.
When I saw that raspberries were on sale at the store, the lightbulb went off like immediately. Fresh raspberries + Theo raspberry dark chocolate = brownies. DUH!
I learned a lot in grad school, but what really stuck with me throughout my thesis research is that a third of the 585,720 deaths from cancer each year could be prevented by healthy diet and a focus on plant-based foods. That’s 193,290 lives. Doesn’t it seem obvious?! Eat more plants!
Cheers to beany brownies and oh ya know, just saving hundreds of thousands of lives a year with nutrition.
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Studded with fresh raspberries, these gluten-free black bean brownies are not only rich and fugdy, but also secretly loaded with fiber.
Ingredients
- 1–15oz can black beans, drained and very well rinsed
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp brewed coffee
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 oz Theo 70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate bar, chopped*
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1–6oz pkg fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. (I like to cut two even strips to cover the dish evenly both ways.)
- Add rinsed beans, cocoa powder, almond meal, maple syrup, eggs, coconut oil, coffee, vanilla, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a large food processor. Process until completely smooth (a couple minutes).
- Stir in dark chocolate, chocolate chips and raspberries by hand.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until brownies are set in the middle. Cool for ten minutes in pan before transferring brownies (still on parchment paper) to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, slice into 12-16 squares.
- Store brownies in an air-tight container for a few days and then transfer to the fridge.
Notes
*You can use another dark chocolate bar if you don’t have Theo or you could use 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Adapted from my Simple Truth Ultimate Black Bean Brownies
Theo sent me a complimentary package of their products. I was not compensated for this post nor asked to review the products. I simply love their chocolate and wanted to share it with you all!
OMG these look amazing, do you think they wud work with a flax/chia pretend egg thing? Cuz I can’t have eggs.
Congrats on graduating, makes all the hard work worth while!
Where are you planning to visit in Europe? I’ve been to loads of places & live in France, so if you need any help, just ask 😉
Nikki
I think they’d work with flax eggs! They may just be more delicate, and they’re delicate already. Let me know how they work out!!
Gorgeous sounding recipe – could any other type of bean be used?? Congratulations on your graduation..
★★★★★
I’m honestly not sure, Laura! I don’t see why not, though it may change the color and look less like a brownie. Let me know if you try another bean!
Gorgeous sounding recipe – could any other type of bean be used?? Congratulations on your graduation..
★★★★★
I’m honestly not sure, Laura! I don’t see why not, though it may change the color and look less like a brownie. Let me know if you try another bean!
CONGRATS on finishing! WOW! You are gonna excel in whatever you chose to do, Alexis!
There is proof of that- in these brownies – they look so super dense and moist! Deeeelicious!
I have lost a friend, an aunt, a family friend and 2 coworkers to cancer – what totally boggles my mind about them is that 3 out of 5 of them were extremely healthy eaters – one even practiced a raw food diet but got colon cancer…makes me scratch my head…
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Shashi! WOW–that is so crazy about the loved ones you lost to cancer. Cancer is such a scary thing…there are so many causes that have yet to even be discovered!
CONGRATS on finishing! WOW! You are gonna excel in whatever you chose to do, Alexis!
There is proof of that- in these brownies – they look so super dense and moist! Deeeelicious!
I have lost a friend, an aunt, a family friend and 2 coworkers to cancer – what totally boggles my mind about them is that 3 out of 5 of them were extremely healthy eaters – one even practiced a raw food diet but got colon cancer…makes me scratch my head…
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Shashi! WOW–that is so crazy about the loved ones you lost to cancer. Cancer is such a scary thing…there are so many causes that have yet to even be discovered!
I was telling D I was doing a legume/bean challenge in you and her honour…this look so delicious, I’d be willing to suffer stomach pains for yearssssss..
Congrats champ. You will be a nice Crest Queen. One day.
Eat allllll the beans in my honor!! Thanks, mah dude 🙂
I was telling D I was doing a legume/bean challenge in you and her honour…this look so delicious, I’d be willing to suffer stomach pains for yearssssss..
Congrats champ. You will be a nice Crest Queen. One day.
Eat allllll the beans in my honor!! Thanks, mah dude 🙂
Your posts always make me smile! Congrats on finishing grad school! I am a big fan of whacking the old bean into a brownie recipe – these look great!
Awww thanks so much, Lauren! That’s so sweet 🙂
Your posts always make me smile! Congrats on finishing grad school! I am a big fan of whacking the old bean into a brownie recipe – these look great!
Awww thanks so much, Lauren! That’s so sweet 🙂
Could you whip up a batch of these, feed them to me, and not tell me about the beans? I had a bad experience with black bean brownies once, which totally scarred me for life. You make these look so good, though, that I might just have to give them another chance…
A bad beany brownie experience?! Tell me it isn’t soo!!! Give them another chance, for me 😉
Could you whip up a batch of these, feed them to me, and not tell me about the beans? I had a bad experience with black bean brownies once, which totally scarred me for life. You make these look so good, though, that I might just have to give them another chance…
A bad beany brownie experience?! Tell me it isn’t soo!!! Give them another chance, for me 😉
Congratulations on your graduation! These brownies look incredible – I guess I’ll have to print the recipe and save it for a month, I’m guessing I can’t eat these during the Barre3 challenge? Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on with them!
Thank you so much, Tiffanie! You actually CAN eat these during the barre3 challenge–they just say no to refined sugar, but maple syrup is fine 🙂
Finally listened to the May 1 lecture this morning and am understanding a lot more. At the beginning I thought I had to follow their meal plan exactly each day. I will try these this weekend 🙂 I hope the challenge is going well for you!
Fabulous! I cheated MAJORLY this past weekend because I was home. I had gluten galore! I’m back on track this week, though 🙂
Congratulations on your graduation! These brownies look incredible – I guess I’ll have to print the recipe and save it for a month, I’m guessing I can’t eat these during the Barre3 challenge? Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on with them!
Thank you so much, Tiffanie! You actually CAN eat these during the barre3 challenge–they just say no to refined sugar, but maple syrup is fine 🙂
Finally listened to the May 1 lecture this morning and am understanding a lot more. At the beginning I thought I had to follow their meal plan exactly each day. I will try these this weekend 🙂 I hope the challenge is going well for you!
Fabulous! I cheated MAJORLY this past weekend because I was home. I had gluten galore! I’m back on track this week, though 🙂
Congrats on your graduation! I want to go back to school for nutrition. I’m so tired of corporate America and want to do something good that I love. These brownies look deeeelicious! I haven’t made any with black beans yet but is definitely on my list of try’s.
You totally should!!!
Congrats on your graduation! I want to go back to school for nutrition. I’m so tired of corporate America and want to do something good that I love. These brownies look deeeelicious! I haven’t made any with black beans yet but is definitely on my list of try’s.
You totally should!!!