Chocolate-Dipped-Strawberries Breakfast Cake

Please excuse the big photo of my head....

I was conducting a workshop this week on how to make quick meals.  So the night before I quickly made a batch of my famous Mimi's bars.  In a snap, I decided to make another flavor as well that was equally as healthy.  Enter these Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Breakfast Bar.  The ingredients were all things I had lying around and the prep work was ridiculously simple.  

The real shocker was when they were nearly all eaten half way through the workshop.  They were definitely a hit!

“Word to the Wise: Oats are generally heavily sprayed with pesticides, do yourself a favor and purchase organic oats and oatbran. ”

What I love about them (in addition to how easy and delicious they are), is is that they are full of fiber.  Oat bran, which by now, you know I eat daily, is so full of really good for you fiber and protein.  It makes a wonderful on-the-go breakfast that keeps your body healthy. 

 These bars are wonderful for either breakfast or a healthy dessert.  They are also intensely moist, which I personally love!

It was a seamless process to make.  Toss in blender, then bake.  Full recipe deets below. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups raw almonds (can sub almond butter or almond flour)
• 2.5 cups oatbran 
• 2 heaping tablespoons coconut butter 
• 3 ripe bananas 
• 1 handful of pitted dates
• 1 pack frozen strawberries 
• 1-2 cups of plant based milk
• 1 pack frozen raspberries (or another pack of frozen strawberries, bur raspberries work best)
• 1 cup sugar free chocolate chips ( I used stevia sweetened Lily's brand chocolate chips)
• OPTIONAL: coconut flakes for topping

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend almonds in a high speed blender until a powder is formed. 
3. Throw everything else except the raspberries and the chocolate chips in the blender. 
4. Blend until smooth.  Adjust the amount of milk until you get desired consistency.  More milk will yield more baking time and more moisture in the bars. 
5. Toss in chocolate chips and frozen raspberries.  Mix into batter. 
6. (Optional) Top the batter with coconut flakes. 
7. Throw batter onto a parchment paper lined baking pan and into oven.  Remove from heat when the outside is perfectly cooked and the inside is cooked but still slightly moist.  (About 40 minutes). 
8. When cooled, cut into bars and eat!

As with all FastBeets Recipes, please use your very own tastebuds in measuring the amounts of each ingredient.  You can't go wrong with how much of anything you add or subtract.  

I'm so happy you're making one of my quick + healthy recipes! Please make sure you share it on Instagram and tag @FastBeets so I can see your masterpiece or leave a comment below with any questions! 

xx, SS

Super Powered Coconut Fudge Brownies (That Conquers PMS)

Time: 10 minutes to prepare + 20 minutes in the oven

Its coconut flavored fudge, but its so healthy you can legit use it a pre-workout snack.  Its allergy friendly, and everything free (dairy-free, grain-free, gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, and refined sugar-free) 

It also happens to be paleo-friendly, passover-friendly, vegan-friendly and solves PMS woes. 

Fast Tips:

The big secret in all of this are the black beans.  But they're not just any black bean brownie.  I've been scouring the internet for a black bean brownie recipe that was just as healthy as it was yummy.  Some that i've made have seriously disappointed, while others called for sugar or maple syrup.  In other news, I've broken 5, yes 5, Blendtec Blenders trying to make previous versions of black bean brownies from other sources.  (You can blend an iPhone in a Blendtec, but apparently black bean brownies are unblendable?!) These were easy peasy and the Blendtec offices did not have to be called in a for a replacement blender jar.  

What makes these brownies super-powered is their delicious ability to conquer the toughest PMS (even on passover)! The combination of beans + dates + chocolate solves nearly every PMS issue.  The chocolate part is pretty obvious.  The dates and the beans provide the much needed iron you need in the midst of your PMS. So goodbye fatigue, hello chocolate fudge.....:)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of plant based milk
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (<---secret weapon that you won't taste)
• 1/3 cup of cocoa (use the best quality you have
• 8 dates (my dates weren't that sweet so I used 8 of them.  Adjust according to your sweetness preference 
• 1/2 of a banana
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon psylium husk (or 1.5 if you like it marshmellow-like)
• Optional Toppings: Coconut Shreds, chopped nuts, chocolate chips

Method

1. Pre-heat convection oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put beans and milk in a high speed blender and blend till smooth. (will be liquidy)
3. Add all other ingredients except psylium husk. (optional: add only half of the dates to test for sweetness, blend and taste batter then adjust accordingly)
4. Add psylium husk and blend again until smooth. 
5. Place batter in an 8 inch brownie pan lined with parchment paper. Add toppings of choice.
6. Bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. When done the inside will be gooey and marshmellow like. (Its vegan, so gooey is OK!)
7. Enjoy!

Thanks for making this! I would love it see how it turns out. Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram so I can see! Any questions on it? Message me on Snapchat.  

Xx, SS