Recipe: Raw Chocolate Brownies

Like I explained in my Choc-Shot Review, this past year has seen a dramatic change in my eating habits, for the better. I've made a huge effort to eat less refined sugars and processed foods and to eat more raw, healthy foods. I am also trying to cut out dairy from my diet as much as possible as I don't think that milk is in agreement with my tummy and I'm wondering whether dairy foods have been the culprit of my acne for all these years. This is a difficult process because I'm in a long-term loving relationship with cheese... But I'm making baby steps and have quit milk in tea & am now eating porridge with water or soy milk!

Raw foodism is the practice of eating uncooked, unprocessed foods, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds (and in some cases meat, fish and dairy products). I won't go into too much detail here but many theories suggest that cooking foods above 48 degrees celsius "kills" the nutrients and enzymes that aid in digestion and health. Cooked foods apparently take longer to digest than uncooked foods, and in turn clog up our digestion system with partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Uncooked "live" foods however, in their raw and purest form, have more enzymes and nutrients than "dead" cooked foods and as a result are healthier. Some of the benefits of raw food as highlighted by raw foodists are:

- more energy

- healthier looking skin

- improved digestion

- weight loss

Documentaries such as Food Matters, Hungry For A Change and Food Inc (all can be found on Netflix) have opened my eyes to the reality of the food industry and the harmful effects that manufactured, processed foods can have on our bodies and health.  I've also taken to following some truly inspirational people on Instagram and Twitter (@ellenfisher, @healing_belle and @halfwaytohealthy to name but a few) who have shared the most wonderful recipes and have given me inspiration for meals, snacks, smoothies and more.

I'd seen recipes for raw brownies floating around for a while and was pretty intrigued... could a mixture of dates, cacao powder, nuts and honey really taste as good as baked chocolate brownies?! Hmmm... I was sceptical. But I can assure you, they do! Raw brownies have a gorgeous, rich, chocolatey taste to them and are beautifully gooey and sticky. Made from 100% raw ingredients with no flour, eggs or sugar these brownies are vegan and gluten free and you can fully relax in the knowledge that they're not bad for you!! You can store them in the fridge for about 5 days or pop them in the freezer and keep them for as long as required...

I made these raw brownies last night and they are so delicious I just had to share... 

 You will need:
2 cups walnuts or pecans
2 cups medjool dates, pitted
10 tablespoons raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
8 tablespoons of shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)
4 tablespoons honey
1/3 teaspoon seasalt

  
- Start by chopping up the nuts into tiny pieces, as small as you can chop them...

- Throw all the chopped nuts into a food processor and process until small and crumbly.

- Chop the dates into small pieces and then add to the nuts in and process again. (This may take a while, as the dates are so sticky and do tend to get stuck to the blades of the food processor, so you may need to intermittently scrape the dates off the blades and process again.) 

- Then add the cacao powder, seasalt and honey to the mixture and process again. The mixture should turn a dark, chocolatey, brown colour.

- When everything is mixed, transfer the mixture into a greaseproof-paper-lined baking dish or cake tin. Press the mixture down firmly using your hands.

- Refrigerate for a couple of hours (it is much easier to slice once chilled as it keeps it's shape). You can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. 


Enjoy!!

Lydia xxx