Cardamom Butterbean Brownies — The Healing Root

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to another recipe. These are just oh-so-yum. They are fudgy, dense, soothing, delicious and really gut-friendly. I am always wary of saying that any one type of food is “gut-friendly” because in fact the general health of our gut and digestive tract is so individual – and depends largely on stress levels, if there is an existing digestive disorder, how one copes with emotional turmoil and various other factors (one major one of those being lifestyle factors). Did you know that we literally process our stress through our intestinal and digestive tracts?

As a result of this high variability in causes and expressions of digestive issues, what works for one person may trigger another person’s tummy issues. So, it really is about finding out for yourself what works for you and what doesn’t. However, these fudgy beauties were a real game changer for me.

For anyone out there suffering from SIBO like I was (or if eating large amounts of fiber triggers your tummy discomfort or dis-ease) these help me so much by giving me that soothing, easy-to-digest, dense, nourishing goodness. Essentially, I found that eating things that were very Vata-balancing (think along the lines of: soothing, soft, “creamy”, moist, higher in fat etc.) really good and healing for my tummy.

Besides being really helpful for tummy issues, these are also just plain yum. They tick all of the brownie boxes in my opinion. I don’t like light, fluffy brownies. No. Ain’t got no time for that. I like my brownies dense, moist, fudgy, hearty and robust. These are those kinds of brownies. AND, you can literally eat them for breakfast and know that you are getting some healthy grains, legumes, healthy fats and carbohydrates in at the start of the day. ALL in one delicious brownie square. Below the recipe, I give some of my favorite “pro-tips” for how I like to eat these beauties!

Ingredients:

· 1 tin of butterbeans, drained and washed

· ¾ cup of dry quick cooking oats

· 3/4 packed cup of chopped dates (soak dates in 1 cup of boiling water)

· 3/4 cup of cocoa powder (high quality)

· ¼ cup of sweet molasses/honey/maple (make sure to use the sweet molasses not the bitter molasses otherwise it will be super bitter!)

· ¼ cup of natural peanut butter (or almond butter)

· ¾ cup of the date water

· ¼ cup of soy milk

· ½ big banana or 1 small one

· 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

· 3 teaspoon of liquid stevia (this is important for the recipe because it adds the necessary sweetness without having to add so much sugar so avoid intense blood sugar spikes - ensures no compromising on taste; so do try to get your hands on this – you can get it from just about any health food store or even sometimes the regular grocery store like Pick ‘n Pay or in the health food section of Checkers)

· ½ teaspoon salt

· For topping: 5 cardamom pods - open them, take out the seeds and crush finely and then top on the brownies before going into the oven then add some walnuts/peanuts/coconut flakes/chopped dates/chocolate chips, and some coconut sugar (whatever toppings you’d like, really).

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a small baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a high speed blender, like a nutri-bullet, place the oats and grind until it resembles a flour like consistency.

3. In a small bowl, add the chopped dates and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let sit and soak for 5 minutes.

4. In a food processor place the washed and drained butter beans, the oat flour, cocoa powder, nut butter, soy milk, dates and the 3/4 cup of date-soaking water, banana, cinnamon, stevia, salt and molasses/honey and blend on high until a smooth cake-like batter forms.

5. Place the batter into the lined baking tray and then top with the cardamom and your favorite toppings. I topped mine with: coconut sugar, chopped walnuts, dates, chocolate and some extra oats.

6. Place into the oven and as you do, turn the heat down to 180 degrees and bake for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes turn the heat off and let the brownies continue baking with the residual heat until the oven is cool. Then take them out, slice into 12-16 pieces and …

7. ENJOY!

NOTE 1: if you’d like the brownies to be extra decadent and delish, melt some dark chocolate and drizzle the dark chocolate over the brownies as a “ganache”-like topping. Personally, I do this when I want them to be a dessert. If they are for everyday munching like for a breakfast on-the-go option, I keep them as is. They are amazing just as is – OR if you are like me and like to spruce things up, I eat mine with sliced banana, an extra drizzle or nut butter and some brazil nuts (this also makes it more of a sustaining breakfast).

NOTE No.2: If you’re like me and you like all things dessert, a pro tip is to warm them up and serve with some more toasted walnuts or flaked almonds and with a dollop of your favorite plant based ice-cream! SO delicious! The combination of warm and dense with the cooling, soft texture from the ice-cream, the crunchy nuttiness from the toasted nuts is just magic. If you don’t have ice-cream on hand you can also chop frozen bananas on top of the brownie squares and drizzle with some of your favorite nut butter (mine being almond butter!).