Secret Recipe Club: Black Bean Brownies

I don't like today.

It's pouring, it's humid...and it's Monday.

I hardly ever feel happy about Monday and all of this other stuff is making it...well, just not so much.

One thing I am happy about today? It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day!

To be honest, I have been feeling a little uninspired both in the kitchen and on the blog lately. I'm not sure if it's a funk or what, but SRC came along at the perfect time. I really love being a part of this series because it introduces me to new blogs, I've made new blog friends, and it's always so exciting to see who had my blog on a given month and which recipe they chose to make. Each month, The Secret Recipe Club, founded by the lovely Amanda, pairs a blogger with another blog. The blogger then chooses one recipe to cook or bake and reveals it as a surprise on a designated day. I like. A special thanks also to Angie @ Big Bear's Wife for playing hostess in Group C!

This month, I was given A Vegan Obsession as my blog from which to choose a recipe. To be honest, I am not really familiar at all with vegan cooking. I do own Peas & Thank You, but I haven't even tried many recipes from that book yet either. India-leigh is so beautiful and I adore her blog. It's happy, bright and filled with delicious-looking recipes!

I was excited to search around a new (to me) blog and find a great recipe to replicate! I actually found a bunch that I wanted to try (and will at some point!) but settled on her Fudgey, Sinless Black Bean Brownies.

I had seen black bean brownies around the blogosphere in the past and had been wanted to try them for some time. This seemed like the perfect opportunity!

Overall, I thought these turned out nicely for a seriously lightened up treat. I did make some modifications based on what I had on hand and added whipped cream, which I suppose takes all of the veganness out of them...but without the whipped cream, these are still vegan and ready to go! 

I do wish I had added a bit more sugar because I like my treats to be sweet. However, as I'm doing Weight Watchers and Physique 57 like it's my job, I was very happy to find a treat that is healthy and filling - thanks black beans!

Black Bean Brownies
*Adapted from A Vegan Obsession
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 ripe banana
½ C unsweetened applesauce
¼ C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp espresso powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ C sugar (or more for sweeter brownies)
1/3 C maple syrup
1 C quick oats
Cooking spray
Whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl with an immersion blender ready or in a blender, combine the beans, banana, applesauce, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, vanilla, sugar and syrup. Blend like it's your job until super smooth and silky. This took about a minute and a half or so.

Fold in the oats. Pour into an 8x8 baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes or until completely set. Let cool, cut into squares and serve. Top with whipped cream if ya like. 

I like.

Thanks to India-leigh for this great, easy recipe! I can't wait to try it again with a little more sweetness and possibly some mix-ins as you suggest!

For some previous SRC posts of mine, check out:

Individual Lemon Berry Trifles

Mexican Layer Bake

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chocolate Quesadillas

NY Giants & Jet Popcorn Party Mix

To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!

Bananas Foster Bread   Nutella Cookie Sandwiches   Portobello Mushroom   Pork Tenderloin with Sazón   Thai Coconut Chicken   Almond Pound Cake   kettle corn with caramelized cashews   Slow Cooked Carnitas   Bacon, Date and Goat Cheese Filo Rolls   Skillet Granola   Pesto Hummus   Lemon Garlic Linguine with Mascarpone and Prawns   Black Bean Brownies   Dancing Veggies   Penne Alla Salsiccia   Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Salad   Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake~   Banana cake   Biscoff White Chocolate Chip Blondies   Blue Cheese Gougeres   Creamy Spring Green Risotto   Bechamel Sauce   Asian Chicken Meatballs   Creme Brulee   Millionaire's Nuggets   Spciy Noodle Bowl-We Heart Vegan   Jam Squares   * Zucchini Muffins *   Chocolate Oatmeal cookies   Thai Chicken Pizza   Chocolate Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars   Caramel Apple Marshmallow Dip   Pickled Carrots and Radishes   Strawberry Cheesecake Cups   SALTED CARAMEL PARADISE   Cantaloupe Sorbet   Sopaipillas con pebre y pasadas   Creamy Noodles   Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce   Tzatziki - Yogurt and Cucumber Dip   Skillet Granola: Vegan & Gluten Free   Feta and Basil Turkey Burger   Baked Spaghetti   mini grilled cheese sandwiches   Apple, Raisin and Celery Seed Slaw   Sesame Ginger Chicken   Cake Batter Ice Cream   French Butter Cookies   Pineapple Roasted Vegetables   Brown Butter Peanut Butter Chip Cookies   Cheezy Cauliflower Popcorn   Vegan Cranberry & Lemon Bread   Berries and avocado smoothie   Delicious Dessert Breakfast Sangies   Tomato Jam + Appetizer Ideas   Butterfinger Bites   Bananas Foster Souffle   Chicken and Pineapple Skewers w/Kecap Manis Sauce   Monster Cookies   Boston Cream Cake   Raspberry Jam with Ginger and Chili

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{More Than} Five Things Friday

Hi there.

I wish I had a big barrel glass of this today.

Sorry I've been a little MIA yesterday and subsequently today. Lots going on and I just needed a small break :) It happens sometimes. I don't really have five things on this Friday, but instead, a hodgepodge of stuff that I want to share. Game?

I'm semi-obsessed with Physique 57. Is anyone else doing P57? Yesterday, my sisters and I did the workout on the upstairs landing in my parents house. Gotta love a portable workout that you really can do anywhere.

My jaw is still on the floor from Sunday's Game of Thrones. Did you watch? At the last scene, I turned to Shaun and screamed "NO! That's not real, right? Right?!!!" And he looked at me like I was cray. I probably am. But still.

I refuse to believe that the end is actually what they want us to believe and I might (might) stop watching if that's really what happened...but my stomach still feels all queasy and icky and all on-the-floor about it, everytime that scene enters my mind. Nothing like good TV.

 Theon, you a bad, bad boy.

Do you know what I hate? When I order breakfast and specify what I want...only to get back to the office, open the box and find out it is not.what.I.ordered. Gah!

The weather is absolute perfection today. I likes.

There's only 1 week until Memorial Day. How did that happen? Time why are you flying by like the speed of light?! There is no rush.

I finished reading Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. I definitely didn't like it as much as the first one, but overall an enjoyable, quick read. 

Today I started reading Warm Bodies. It's a zombie love story. No bigs.

I know, I've gone off the deep end with this one I think. Or I'm just in Walking Dead withdrawals. But Christine told me to read it and I always trust her reading judgement (e.g., Hunger Games, Delirium and many more). So yeah. I'll keep you posted.

This weekend I'm spending the weekend with my BFF Lindsey to celebrate her bachelorette party. I'm so excited!

And that's all I've got for today. I hope you're out enjoying the weather and have wonderful plans for the weekend! 

Inside My Lunchbox + Carrying Food to Work

With all of my prepping for the week, I fully intend to bring my lunch to work 4 out of 5 days per week. I usually allow myself a treat on Friday, like a Chipotle bowl or a big chopped salad from the local market.

To be honest, I don't have much variety in what I bring to work. I typically pack up the following for the day:

breakfast - oatmeal, a make ahead burrito, an egg sandwich or frittata

lunch - a salad, an apple with a scoop of peanut butter and a string cheese

snack - a banana, cut up with a scoop of peanut butter

Usually this gets me through the day without a problem! But it isn't much diversity admittedly.

I cart it all to the office in my trusty little Built lunchbag.

I love this thing. It's a neoprene material and that means it's sturdy and stretchy. It usually fits all of my breakfast and lunch goodies. Let's take a peek inside at yesterday's lunch:

The only thing not pictured is a tiny Tupperware with about 2 Tbsp of peanut butter inside. I think the key for me is having lots of sizes of Tupperwares. I use at least 3 per day (for salad, dressing and pb) but sometimes more if I decided to bring carrots and hummus, for example. I love having some really small ones which take up very little space in the bag.

Sure, I probably look incredibly dorky toting a lunchbox down the street. In fact, I pass by a church preschool on my walk to work and sometimes I feel like I'd fit right in :)

But in all honesty, this totally works for me. It's usually not super heavy. The handle slides over my wrist so that I can still hold onto the handrail on the train or put my hand in my pocket while walking. And for those days when I want more of a shoulder situation? I simply pack up the lunchbox and drop it into a tote bag, like my purple Burberry sweetie:

I especially use this guy when I also want to bring a pair of heels to the office (though admittedly I keep like 3 pairs of shoes at work at all times...don't tell Shaun because he already thinks my collection is out of control :)). I simply throw in the lunchbag and heels and I'm good to go. Usually I don't find it to be too heavy to carry this on one shoulder and my purse (with wallet, kindle, lipstick(s), lip balm(s) and more) on the other.

So that's how I get my daily lunch done and my tips for getting it all to the office unscathed. So far, so good!

Questions of the Day:

Do you bring lunch to work?

How do you pack it up and cart it around?