Red Velvet Brownies
What better way to send your son off to college than with brownies that are loaded with quality ingredients and decadence.. As Seinfeld’s wife Jessica calls it - ‘deceptively delicious’.
These moist brownies are inspired by Magdalena Wszelaki - author of Cooking For Hormonal Balance. She has been a great resource and teacher of mine in the field hormone and liver health. And, as we health junkies darn well know - food is essential in the process of cleansing our bodies.
Beetroots are included in this brownie recipe. They are a great blood cleanser and prevents inflammation in the liver - therefore, cleanses the liver, too. When you detox your liver you gain hormonal balance. The two (liver and hormones) go hand in hand. Everything you breathe, ingest, or apply to your skin (another giant topic of discussion for another blog) gets into your bloodstream and passes through the liver organ. So, eat these brownies and know that you’re liver is enjoying them, as well.
You’ll be amazed how yummy these brownies are, and the best part of the decadent experience is that they’re good for you. Win Win!
Recipe
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
2/3 cup hot water
2 cups cassava flour or almond flour (both guten-free) or all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups raw cacao powder or cocoa or carob powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine salt - Himalayan or Celtic
1 cup firmly packed, peeled and finely grated red beets
1 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup brown coconut sugar
1 1/3 cups applesauce
2 tbsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
Instructions
preheat oven to 350 degrees
whisk the flaxseeds and water in a small bowl and set aside
line a 9x12 baking pan lined with parchment paper and grease with a small amount of coconut oil
in a large bowl combine the flour, cacao powder, baking powder. and salt
in a larger bowl add the grated beets, coconut oil, sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, and flaxseed mixture and whisk until well combined
add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well to combine. Optional to fold in pecans
spread the batter in the baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes - test with a toothpick or knife and insert in the center of brownies to check if baked through
cool completely in the pan before removing
store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days
Genia’s Spoon Me Tips
Cassava is a tuber root vegetable plant. They have the same shape as a sweet potatoes. White wheat flour s stripped of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. Cassava flour comes from the entire cassava root dried and ground into flour. Tapioca. flour/starch is made from cassava root , too. It has anti-inflammatory properties, and high in vitamin C.Cacao: In Ayurveda it’s considered a G-dly food. Hey, isn’t all natural food G-dly? Cacao has been used as food medicine and even used as currency for thousands of years. Wouldn’t you accept high quality chocolate as a fair exchange? Please look for cacao in it’s purest form - you want to receive it’s amazing source of anti-oxidants (protecting us from free radicals), and helps us be vibrant, happy and healthy. Yup, cacao rocks the health world. FYI, cacao is bitter tasting - enjoy in a recipe. This brownie recipe above is a great way to enjoy pure chocolate.
Much love,
Genia