'Eat Your Heart Out' Valentine's Day Brownies

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, and whether or not you have a special someone this year, you'll want this brownie recipe! Its very delicious, moist, chocolatey, and even fruity! Perfect for impressing someone, showing your love, or drowing your feelings in this Valentine's Day!

These brownies are the perfect balance of sweet, rich, and fruity! The addition of the raspberry makes these chocolate delights something special,  not to mention festive! They are oil, dairy, and practically fat free, as well as being refined-sugar free and vegan. But, just because they are void of a few standard-brownie ingredients, doesn't mean they are any less delicious! And, because they are so healthy, you can feel free to Eat Your Heart Out of them! :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ripe Bananas
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
4 TBS Maple Syrup
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/3 cup Flour
1 TBS Baking Soda
1 cup Water ( You could also use coffee or non-dairy milk)
2 TBS White Vinegar
Jam of Choice (I used Raspberry, but Blackberry or Strawberry would be yummy too!)

First, we need to deal with the bananas. I used frozen ones, and just let them come to room-temp. before using them. Make sure they are really ripe! They riper they are, the sweeter they'll be!

Using a hand mixer, puree your bananas until smooth.

Then add in the Vanilla and Maple Syrup. Mix well together and add in the dry ingredients.

Use a spoon to fold in the dry ingredients. The cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until about half way combined. It will be dry.

 

Then mix the vinegar with the water( or liquid of choice) and add it to the batter. This will cause the batter to puff up a bit, but don't worry! Thats the point!

Mix well and then pour into the pan. I used parchment paper to line my pan, but feel free to use oil or baking spray to keep the brownies from sticking!

Make sure the batter is even, and then get out your jam. Again, I went with raspberry, but go with what every jam-flavor sounds good to you! You could even do a nut butter or nut-chocolate spread and get a whole different flavor!

Use a spoon to add dots of jam to the top of the brownie batter. You can use a knife to swirl in some of the jam too!

And now, these brownies are ready for the oven! Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes. They will smell amazing when done! :)

If you are spending Valentine's Day alone this year, you might just want to dig into the pan now. No judgement here! :)
But, if you are going to be sharing these treats, allow them to cool before cutting.

 

To serve, warm them a bit and top with your favorite toppings! I went with Almond Dream non-dairy ice cream, and my family added chocolate sauce as well! Some warm jam would also be amazing!

 

 

They were delicious! The perfect treat for any sweet tooth, and especially perfect for Valentine's Day! Whether you make these for your family, special someone, or eat the whole pan yourself, you can feel good about eating these browines! Even though they are healthier, doesn't mean they don't make for the perfect Valentine's Day( or any time really) treat!

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and family! Make sure that everyone you love has a great brownie recipe this year!

You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

I post every Friday!

Happy Valentine's Day!
H. Banana

Fire Cracker Roasted Potatoes

Happy Fourth of July! Last 4th were in New York City( The picture above is The Empire State Building at night on the 4th) and we celebrated with a baseball game,  fireworks, a great dinner out and a late night walk to the top of the Empire State Building!

This 4th, we will be road tripping through Canada! But, just because we'll be in a different country, that doesn't mean we won't still  celebrate our country's special holiday!

 

BBQ, burgers, grilled food and sides are one of America's favorite ways to celebrate any holiday, especially the 4th. My Fire Cracker Roasted Potatoes make a great side dish for BBQ, burgers, grilled meats and veggies!

Ingredients:
17 Small Red Potatoes (Or enough to feed you crowd!)
2-3 TBS Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
2 TSP Paprika
1/2 TSP Chili Powder

Wash and dice up the potatoes into cubes. The smaller they are, the faster they will cook, but don't make them too small!

Place them in a 9x13 baking dish and shake the pan to make an even layer.

 

 

Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the seasonings.

 

Stir to coat all the potato cubes and place in an oven PREHEATED TO 350 DEGREES.

Cook for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so. To check readiness, poke with a fork. If the fork goes in easily, then they're ready!

 

Yummy! They smell so good and taste even better!

 

Serve these with your favorite dipping sauce or plain with your BBQs, Burgers, Grilled meats and more! A fun, Patriotic twist would be to use a few purple potatoes in the mix as well. Then you get the full, red-white-and-blue effect!

 

 

Happy Fourth of July! I hope you have a great holiday, and if you try my Fire Cracker Potatoes, let me know what you think!

Please share by blog with a friend or family member! Follow the blog via email and GOOGLE and on Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana