Good Food Made Better: PB2 Fudgy Brownies

"Good Food Made Better"

I have really enjoyed cooking lately. After years and years of a “love-hate” relationship with food, I began my quest to modify favorite foods and recipes to yield healthier results. In the past, at times when I felt the need to drop extra pounds, I would turn to those specialty food products, guaranteed to be so disgusting you’d lose weight simply because you couldn’t stand to eat them… The alternative was to eat a deprived and boring diet – with the occasional splurge which left me feeling guilty.

I felt there had to b a better way! There must be a way to incorporate those foods I love so much into a healthy way of eating. I set about tinkering with recipes to develop healthier alternatives – lower fat, higher protein, less sugar/carbs, more fiber, etc… But without sacrificing flavor.

It has been a journey of much trial and error. Many times I’ll go through a recipe 3 or 4 times, each flop improving on the last, until I have a perfected recipe. At times, it has been more “science experiment” than anything! But I have had some great success, and I’m so happy to share.

No more “forbidden foods”, no more guilt…

Thursday, August 11, 2011

PB2 Fudgy Brownies

***See following post for PB2 Whipped Frosting

Mmmm. Doesn't that look good? Don't you wish you could eat fudgy brownies topped with rich peanut butter frosting? Doesn't fit into your macros? On a diet? Well, this brownie's for you! That's right - this rich and decadent dessert comes in at only 200 calories (150 if you skip the frosting, but why would you do that?). By substituting defatted peanut flour for the regular flour, Whey Low for the granulated sugar and heavy whipping cream for the butter, you save buckets of carbs and fat. Buckets I tell you...

Ingredients-

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (or 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa)

1 cup heavy whipping cream (instead of butter)
4 eggs
2 cups Whey Low (instead of sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup PB2 or defatted peanut flour (instead of all-purpose flour)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1.In a microwave, melt unsweetened chocolate and cream; stir until smooth. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, Whey Low and vanilla for 1-2 minutes or until light and lemon-colored. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Add PB2/peanut flour; beat just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans if desired.

2.Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan (or 8x8 if you like them thick like me;-). Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition info for 1/9th of the recipe-
Calories-150
Fat-12g
Carbs-30g (20g of these carbs are undigestable due to the magical properties of Whey Low)
Protein-7g

Good Food Made Better