Double chocolate {beanie} brownies

What’s better than a brownie? A double chocolate brownie or a double chocolate brownie that’s good for you? This recipe has a hidden ingredient, red kidney beans. You might wonder why you would go and ruin a perfectly good brownie recipe with hidden beans but besides not altering the taste at all, it actually enhanced the chocolate flavour and made the brownies more fudgey and moist.

Kidney beans are an excellent source of fibre and cheap, dirt cheap. They are perfect for Mexican food, Italian dishes and many vegetarian dishes as they are also an excellent source of protein. Red kidney beans are also a natural source of folate, B1, phosphorous, iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium and Vitamin K. Also,

Kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Just one cup of cooked kidney beans supplies 177.0% of the daily value for molybdenum. Sulfites are a type of preservative commonly added to prepared foods like delicatessen salads and salad bars. Persons who are sensitive to sulfites in these foods may experience rapid heartbeat, headache or disorientation if sulfites are unwittingly consumed. If you have ever reacted to sulfites, it may be because your molybdenum stores are insufficient to detoxify them.

Source: whfoods.org

McKenzie’s have been my go to brand for Red kidney beans and other pulses for as long as I can remember. For just over $2 a pack, what a cheap option for a meal or a sweet dish. If you think its time consuming to prepare dried pulses, try doing 2 cups at a time and freezing what you don’t use or use any leftovers in a cake batter (or brownie like I did) or add to any mince dishes and casseroles. They make your meat options go a little further if you’re trying to cut down on your grocery bill.

Besides McKenzie’s being popular for red kidney beans, lentils, pearl barley and other pulses, they make these handy salt and pepper grinders as well.

I’ve been using McKenzie’s Bicarbonate of Soda and other baking products since I started to learn to bake over 40 years ago. 

You can’t go wrong with this little bundle of goodness, in sweet or savoury, Oh, and just don’t tell the kids. They won’t know the difference.

Double Chocolate {Beanie} Brownies

• 1.1/2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbs cocoa
• 1/2-1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup red kidney beans (soaked overnight, boiled until soft and then blitzed in a blender)
• 6 tbs oil (I used Canola)
• 1 tbs vinegar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1. Add all ingredients together and mix well by hand.
2. Pour into a pan lined with baking paper and bake for approx 20 mins at 160 deg C.
3. Allow to cool and cut into pieces and serve.
4. Can be sprinkled with icing sugar or cocoa to serve.

Disclaimer:  I was given McKenzie’s products to try. All thoughts, opinions and recipes are my own.