Once a rare indulgence, brownies now deserve to be a regular treat!

While the exact numbers vary, a traditional brownie serving contains nearly 400 calories, half of which comes from fat. The recipe usually calls for butter, unsweetened chocolate, white sugar, eggs, and all-purpose flour, all of which add no nutritional value. This recipe is a sugar-free, vegan alternative to traditional brownies, using whole-wheat and maple syrup as the base. It’s a delicious and guilt-free way to get the dense chocolate taste you crave!

The sugar, dairy, and egg-free benefits of this recipe aside, these brownies contain one of the healthiest nuts – walnuts! Walnuts contain healthy omega-3s, which protect arteries and improve brain function. The nut also prevents gallstones, is a rich source of melatonin, which helps you sleep, contributes to bone health, stops weight gain, and helps treat diabetes.

Vegan Brownies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients (but only 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts) in a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. The mixture will be thick.

Spread into an ungreased 8×8 glass pan, top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-25 minutes. To check if it’s ready, push down on the center with your index finger. If you sense resistance, it’s done.

Serve and enjoy some guilt-free chocolate decadence!

Bon Appetit!

Images: Jeffry W.,  Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: A Vegan Revamp on the Classic Brownie Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

You can still have your chocolate and peanut butter and eat it too.

I’m not alone when I say that Reese’s Peanut Butter cups are among my favorite dessert snacks. They’re just delicious – end of story. However, when it comes to watching your waistline, the last thing you should do is reach for the packaged variation. Instead, take 10 minutes and create your own refined-sugar-free version of this American favorite.

In one serving of Reese’s Peanut Cups, we’re looking at 210 calories, 110 of which come from fat. The 2-piece serving also carries with it 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 5 grams of protein, and 5 milligrams of cholesterol. Considering that one serving fulfills 20% of your daily allowance of fat and a whopping 21 grams of simple sugar, the treat is artery-clogging and contributes to spikes in blood sugar levels.

Ingredients include the likes of peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, stabilizer tertiary butyl hydroquinone, cocoa butter, chocolate, non-fat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin and PGPR. I can’t quite pronounce tertiary butyl hydroquinone, but it sure packs a toxic punch. The chemical preservative is rendered to be deadly when 5 grams or more are consumed. The overly processed milk used in Reese’s negatively affects digestion, hormones, and acne.

The wonderful part about Reese’s is that it is easy to change without compromising taste. This recipe revamp uses all-natural, unsalted peanut butter, low-glycemic maple syrup, and coconut butter. Not all fats are the same, and coconut butter brings with it 3 grams of dietary fiber in just 1 tablespoon. And no simple sugars here! Cocoa powder is paired with maple syrup to give you the sweetness without the sugar rush. Enjoy!

Homemade Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Makes 6

Ingredients:

Chocolate Shell:

1/2 cup coconut butter, mixed well

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Dash of sea salt

Filling:

3 heaping teaspoons unsalted peanut butter

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Dash of sea salt

Directions:

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut butter and mix in the remainder of the chocolate shell ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined and remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and mix until smooth.

Line 6 muffin tins with baking cups.

On the bottom of each cup, place about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture. Spread so it evenly covers the base. In the center of the chocolate foundation, add 1/2 teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture.

Conceal the peanut butter layer with another teaspoon of the chocolate mixture. Spread so the top is flat.

After you’ve done all six, pop into the freezer and allow the peanut butter cups to harden. Remove the paper baking cups and enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Revamping a Reese’s appeared first on EcoSalon.

Since its introduction in 1912, NaBisCo’s Oreo cookie has becoming the best selling cookie of the 20th century in the U.S. This classic snack – crème smeared between two chocolate discs – is a childhood classic. But despite its popularity in numbers – more than 362 billion Oreos have been sold since 1912 – the cookie isn’t winning friends among health enthusiasts.

The first listed ingredient in Oreos is sugar. Other offenders include enriched flour, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring. One serving of Oreos equates to three cookies, which together contain 7 grams of fat, 2 of which are saturated, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein, 160 milligrams of sodium, and traces of calcium and iron.

Overall, the cookie is devoid of any significant nutrition and packed with empty calories and low-quality carbohydrates that only spike blood-sugar levels rather than add digestion-friendly fiber. The solution is to get as simple and pure as possible. The following recipe is an almost-raw, vegan version of Oreos, without the sugar and flour. Coconut butter is a rich and decadent alternative to the vanilla crème, while a walnut and date mixture become the ultimate power couple for the discs. The result is a denser, more satisfying treat that fills you up with enzymes, nutrients, and taste!

Pair with a glass of warm vanilla almond milk if you’re feeling the occasion!

Vegan Oreo Cookies

Makes 10-15 cookies

Ingredients:

For the chocolate wafers

• 1 cup walnuts
• 8 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• Dash of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the vanilla crème filling

• 1/2 cup coconut butter

Directions:

For the filling, process all ingredients until the mixture forms a ball.

Roll out the walnut mixture so that it is about 1/2-inch thick. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until hardened and easier to work with.

Use a 2-inch diameter cookie cutter to form discs.

Place 1 teaspoon of coconut butter between two discs and press both sides of the cookie together so the cream flattens and resembles an Oreo.

Enjoy the healthy fats of the walnuts and coconut butter as well as the fiber and potassium founds in the dates. This is a much healthier and more satisfying alternative to the virtually nutritionally-devoid Oreo cookie.

Store these in a refrigerator to prevent the coconut cream from getting too soft or melting.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photograph source: So Good Blog

The post Nutritional Breakdown: The Oreo Goes Gluten-Free appeared first on EcoSalon.

The frappuccino gets a major health revamp.

While it is high in calories, sodium, and cholesterol, it’s really the sugar content that blows one of Starbucks’s beloved beverages out of the water. Starbucks’s Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino Blended Smoothie contains 310 calories per 16-ounce serving, in addition to 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, and 67 grams of sugar.

Sugar will go straight to your head, give you a short-term high, and then leave you lethargic and glum. It spikes your blood sugar levels, leads to weight gain, is nutritionally empty, contributes to candida, and, to put simply, is actively bad for you. If you are going to consume sugar, get it from something a bit more decadent and lasting than a down-in-a-hot-second drink, regardless of how delicious it may be!

My version of a vanilla Frappuccino smoothie is sugar-free, save for the optional chocolate syrup glaze and whipped cream, using a few drops of zero-calorie, low-glycemic stevia instead. The recipe also goes a step further by replacing cow’s milk with almond milk. Almond milk is a mere 40 calories per 8-ounce serving and avoids the common issues that arise when ingesting dairy, such as hard-to-digest proteins, hormones, depletion of enzymes and vitamins through pasteurization, saturated fat, synthetic chemicals, and a boo-ing cow.

Cutting corners in so many other ways, it’s up to you whether you want to indulge with a topping of whipped cream and chocolate syrup. You can find vegan variations of both in your local health food store.

Enjoy!

Sugar-Free Vegan Vanilla Frappuccino

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coffee cooled
• 1 cup almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, or skim milk.
• 1 banana
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 handfuls of ice
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 4 drops of liquid stevia, or 2 packets of powdered stevia
• Whipped Cream (optional)
• Chocolate Syrup (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a Vitamix and blend until smooth.

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Image: Starbucks

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Vanilla Frappuccino appeared first on EcoSalon.