Protein-Rich Cacao Brownies
Shake up your post-workout routine with an indulgent, protein-packed brownie. We usually think of brownies as a treat, but these are made with whole-food, high-quality ingredients like bananas, raw cacao powder, and nut butter. The bananas act as a binding agent due to their high pectin content, the cacao powder and dark chocolate give these brownies a rich and chocolatey flavor, and the nut butter gives them a fudgy consistency that will have you questioning how these can taste so good and be so good for you.
For a quick, on-the-go-treat, wrap these individually and store them in the freezer. They take about 20-30 minutes to defrost.
PROTEIN-RICH CACAO
BROWNIES RECIPE
Ingredients:
4 very ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup or 125 ml nut butter (check out our DIY nut butter recipe), such as almond or hazelnut
¼ cup or 20g cacao powder
¼ cup protein powder (choose a very fine powder)
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
Flaky sea salt for garnish, if desired
100g dark chocolate - 70% minimum, roughly chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and grease an 8X8 brownie pan with coconut oil, butter, or ghee.
Peel bananas and place them in a food processor. Blend on high until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the flaky salt and chocolate) and blend until incorporated. Roughly chop the chocolate and fold in about half.
Pour the brownie batter into a prepared brownie pan, and scatter the remaining chocolate over the top. Sprinkle with a couple pinches of flaky sea salt and place in the oven.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool, slice into 12 squares, and enjoy. Store leftovers wrapped tightly in the freezer.
Tips:
Choose a chocolate bar that has 70% or higher cacao. The higher the cacao content, the less sugar, and ultimately the healthier they are for you. Also, buy organic if possible as cacao is a heavily sprayed crop.
Make sure to use very ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the more easily digestible the sugars in it are and the lower glycemic index they’ll have.
If you can, opt for raw cacao powder. Since it hasn’t been roasted, it is less processed, more nutrient-dense, and richer in flavor.
Use a fine protein powder so it incorporates easily into the batter, otherwise you may end up with a grainy texture.
Take half of the chocolate and add it to the batter to add a bit of a chunky texture, and reserve the rest to sprinkle on top.
RECIPE COURTESY OF SARAH BRITTON:
Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sarah is the creative force behind My New Roots, the award-winning food blog which features original recipes that taste great, look beautiful, and boast incredible health benefits. Following her philosophy of “making healthy choices every day”, she has been creating recipes for her readers all over the world since 2007.
Winner of the 2014 Saveur “Best Food Blog – Special Diets Blog” Awards, Sarah currently teaches cooking classes, runs workshops on detoxification and cleansing, food as medicine, and nutrition fundamentals. She creates exclusive menu plans and recipes for various media and gives lectures and speaks in public forums such as TEDx.