Surprise Brownies! (Chocolate Zucchini "Bread", sugar-free, grain-free, vegan )

Have picky eaters and an abundance of zucchini? Try this amazing recipe. (Although, I guess it’s less of a bread and more like a fuggy brownie) It’s chocolaty, nutty and tastes unbelievably decadent. It’s also vegan, grain-free and sugar-free but you’d never know. Another great thing is that is a great way to get some vegetables into the diets of even the pickiest eaters. They’ll really never detect the veggie if you don’t tell them. True story: this morning I asked my dad if he wanted to take any chocolate zucchini bread to work and he said, “you mean the brownie from last night? Those had zucchini in them? Sure!”.  I also gave some cold ones to my grandmother and she couldn’t believe they had zucchini, no flour and no sugar in them.

As long as you have a food processor this recipe is super easy. Just dump everything in the base except the zucchini and turn it on as you shred the zucchini in. If you don’t have a food processor you’ll have to mash the plantain and shred the zucchini by hand but that’s about it. It’s really not that much work though, and the results are well worth it. I wish you luck as you embark to discover yet another amazing way to use plantains.

Ingredients:

-1 ripe plantain, the blacker the better

-3/4 cup cocoa powder

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-dash of nutmeg

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-2 tbps nut butter (I’ve found doing half almond butter and half peanut butter makes it so you can’t taste either and it also make it a complete protein source)

-3 tbsps olive oil

-1 medium zucchini (~3/4 cup shredded) chopped to fit your food processor

-1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Optional add-ins: cocoa nibs, raisins, almonds or honey

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 baking pan.

2. In a food processor add everything listed above the zucchini. Make sure the shredder blade is on and add the zucchini as you turn the machine on. Blend until everything is well incorporated. (If you don’t have a processor, finely shred the zucchini into a bowl, mash the plantain and stir everything together)

3. Taste the batter (don’t worry it’s egg-free) and try not to eat it all. Add honey or date syrup (or whatever else you think it needs) depending on the ripeness of your plantain.

4. Stir in any other add-ins and pour into the pan. Bake for twenty minutes, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 more minutes (until a knife comes out clean). The center probably won’t ever get done. Eat it warm as a molten brownie or let it cool and eat it as fudge. Enjoy!(pairs excellently with a glass of milk)