Happy, happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone’s day is off to a fantastic start! We’re currently on our way up to Kansas City to spend the holiday with our family, but I still have a couple things to share with you, pre-Thanksgiving meal.

Workout

Yesterday, I got out of work a little early and headed straight to the gym. I did a short back and biceps workout and followed it up with 25 minutes of walking at 4.0mph at an 8 incline and then my favorite stair master workout-shortened to 30 minutes + a 2 minute cool down. It was definitely solid. 🙂

This morning, I set my alarm for 5:45 and hit my own mini gym (ie- my set of dumbbells and my bosu ball) for a back/biceps/booty and abs circuit that ran me about 45 minutes.

Ya know, I’ve never been a big fan of deadlifts- but after my deadlift/weighted step up superset today I’m whistling a different tune. My legs were a-shakin when I headed back upstairs to shower!

Recipe Update

If any of you caught my post the other night about that awesome dinner recipe from Iowa Girl Eats , then you probably also caught that black bean brownie recipe I had been eyeing from this yummy blog.

Well, I finally got everything together I needed to make them last night! Doesn’t it look like I’m making regular old brownies?

…well, sort of. Have any of you guys ever had to make a flax egg before? No? Neither had I. (Just 1 T flax meal and 3 T water).

The secret ingredient! 

I ran out of cocoa powder half way through the recipe. It called for 3/4 cup- I was left with only 2/4 cup. What to do, what to do…

Chop up some baking chocolate, of course! I used semi-sweet.

And then I added the SECOND secret ingredient… PB- everything’s better with it. (I added about 1 teaspoon)

The recipe calls for raw sugar and coconut oil- I subbed regular cane sugar and regular old vegetable oil. Yes, I want a healthy brownie recipe that I can share…but let’s not get crazy. I already made the flax egg. I’ll only go so far.

I put all the ingredients into my blender and blended the batter up until it was smooth, thick but not too thick, and all beans were pulverized. Then I poured the batter into  lightly greased muffin tin.

 And into a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes they went. (After I took them out, they were still REALLY mushy in the center- I put them back in for another 7 minutes and that did the trick!)

Ta-da! 

Honestly, these are pretty delicious. Super gooey on the inside, crunchy tops and sides – very fudgy and rich. Yum. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that these don’t taste like “real” brownies. And why would they? There’s no flour, no egg, little oil and little sugar.

They are a great, delicious and healthy alternative to the real deal though, much lighter in calories and perfectly bite sized. Oh- and they pack a walloping 5g of protein.

Not bad for dessert. 😉

 I can’t wait to share these fellas today!