Love my Brownies!!!

Black Bean Brownies Recipe

Servings: 9  

Amount per serving:  
85 Calories 
1g fat 
16g carbohydrates 
4g protein (without optional sugar)

 

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 whole bananas
• ⅓ cup agave nectar (can substitute honey)
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup raw sugar (optional)
• ¼ cup instant oats

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease an 8x8" pan and set aside.
Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scrapping sides as needed.
Stir in the oats and pour batter into the pan.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the brownies to cool before slicing. 

Chef's Note: if you find these brownies are too soft or too fudgey, add another 1/4 cup oats or flour.

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From HappyNutritionist.com

Black Beans are a wonderful source of dietary fiber which is recommended to naturally lower cholesterol and maintain regularity of the gastrointestinal tract. The high fiber content also prevents blood sugar levels from skyrocketing after meals, making them a wise choice diabetics and hypoglycemics. When Black Beans are prepared with whole grains such as barley or wild rice, the Black Beans provide a virtually fat-free, high quality source of protein. Recent research also shows that Black Beans are rich in antioxidants as well. Antioxidants destroy free radicals, and when eaten regularly, have been shown to offer protection against heart disease, cancer and aging.

Researchers from Michigan State University tested the antioxidant activity of flavonoids found in the skin of 12 common varieties of dry beans. The research was published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Black Beans crossed the finish line in first place having more antioxidant activity, gram for gram, than other beans, followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans, in that order. In general, darker colored seed coats were associated with higher levels of flavonoids, and therefore higher antioxidant activity, says lead investigator Clifford W. Beninger, Ph.D., a research associate at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. 

 

"Black beans are really loaded with antioxidant compounds. We didn't know they were that potent until now," says Beninger, formerly a researcher with the USDA's Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit, located at Michigan State University in East Lansing, where he worked on the project under the leadership of co-author George L. Hosfield, Ph.D., a geneticist who recently retired from the USDA. The study found that one class of compounds in particular, anthocyanins, were the most active antioxidants in the beans. Based on a previously published study of the anthocyanin content of black beans, Beninger found that the levels of anthocyanins per 100 gm serving size of black beans was about 10 times the amount of overall antioxidants in an equivalent serving size of oranges and similar to the amount found in an equivalent serving size of grapes, apples and cranberries.