Healthy Brownies

I have had several requests for the recipe to those brownies with carrot and spinach puree I had mentioned last week. I took these brownies to my yoga class on Wednesday night, and they turned out to be a hit! Pretty tasty and healthy. So here is the recipe. This recipe is from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. There are a lot of great recipes in this book that help pack your everyday foods with more nutrients and goodness. Pureed veggies in brownies may sound kookie - but you will be pleasantly surprised by how good they taste and how healthy they are for your little guys to eat! This book also has great tips for pureed foods and how to store them. Check it out here .

Brownies
3 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TB. margarine
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour, or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a non-stick cooking spray to coat an 8x8 pan.

2. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate.

3. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 - 40 min. Cool.

*** These brownies are not very sweet, which I love, but to help them be a little more appealing, I do like to top them with sprinkled powdered sugar. My children always eat them right up, and I am ok with that. The spinach and carrots add some great calcium, vitamin A, and two other powerful anti-oxidants which help maintain the health of our eyes.