Healthy brownie heaven

Although there genuinely is no such thing as a healthy brownie, you can make them healthier.  Cutting out the refined sugar and gluten for starters or totally vegan and refined sugar free.  I have tried two recipes tonight, the first was using black beans, duck eggs, agave, oil and cocoa powder and the second was black beans, agave, oats, cocoa and oil.  Quite let down by the first ones, they tasted amazing but once cooked the consistency wasn't great, I'm guessing that is lack of flour as they taste amazing before being cooked. Also, the tray that I cooked them in was one of these silicone trays and it cooks so quickly that I don't think it doesn't them any favours.  I put them in for 18mins instead of 25 - 30 and they are just a little too well done for me

Second batch has just come out, so the taste test is yet to come.  These are all for the coffee morning tomorrow, but none will be going if they don't taste good enough! Not that I am a perfectionist or anything. 

I have also made my own almond milk tonight.  I left the almonds soaking from last night and they are amazing. I read a few weeks ago that you're meant to soak nuts anyway and it makes them taste better, they weren't lying! They go so plump and creamy

I learnt the hard way that my blender isn't the most liquid tight, I whizzed it all up (almonds and water) and it splurged out everywhere! Had to pour out the liquid whilst I blitzed the almonds, I dont think it's the best blender in the world as it doesn't make everything totally smooth,  not sure if it is meant to but one of the brownie recipes said that a blender is diff from a food processor, no idea! 

Anyway, found myself a jam strainer whilst at the shops so that helped as I could just leave the milk draining off.

In typical me style, I don't like to waste perfectly good ingredients, so I did some research on what to do with the left over almond meal from making the milk.  The best suggestion is to dry it out and use it in meals and smoothies.  That is currently what is happening in the cooling oven whilst I type this.  

Unfortunately, something goes a little of course when I cook, I couldn't keep a kitchen tidy if my life depended on it! And I end up with something like this:

Almond meal ready for the oven

So, the taste test for the second brownie batch has just taken place. Abasolutely amazing, the only thing i would change if i made them again, would be to get the correct size cooking tray. I had to use a bread tin, just so i didnt have to use the silicone one and i had something that kept the depth of the mix acceptable.