Vegan Brownies

I am perpetually in the pursuit of a good brownie. There is something about the rich, dense chocolate fudge texture that I dream about after a good meal. It's a craving that follows me around as I mix up a batch of waffles for breakfast or it tucks me into bed with a bowl of ice cream at night. Every few months the brownie bug bites and I find myself in the kitchen with batter up to my elbows trying to create the next great brownie.

Sometimes I succeed and the results are beautiful.

Sometimes I don't succeed. I often keep those moments to myself, a private moment to mourn as I take a fork after the brownies that didn't live up to my expectations. Earlier this month, I had lofty goals of making a delicious vegan brownie to share with you. Brownies often use a substantial amount of butter for flavor and eggs to set the brownies into the classic texture we know and love. There would be a challenge, but after a little research into vegan substitutions and comparing vegan recipes side-by-side, I was certain I would succeed.

After an hour of interrogating the internet for information, I set off to make what I was certain to be the next great vegan brownie.

Hot from the oven, the smell filled the house with a fantastic aroma. I dug in with a fork before allowing the brownies to cool to a palatable temperature. The first bite made me crinkle my nose in disgust. After all of my hard work, it seems I had managed to create the world's worst brownie. It was thick, cake-like, and stuck to the roof of my mouth like paste. I gave up on vegan brownies, believing them impossible to create.

Even so, my craving for a good brownie didn't falter. A few weeks later I found myself back at the kitchen counter with a wild idea. Remembering these chocolate avocado cupcakes, I channeled the idea, using ripe avocados with a few other healthy ingredients (and tossing in a few chocolate chunks for good measure). When I pulled these out of the oven, my avocado-hating, box-mix-brownie-loving sister and I managed to finish off half a pan of the brownies before they could even cool off.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that sometimes you need to throw research out the window and trust your own baker's intuition instead. Or, maybe it's that vegan brownies can actually be delicious and you should give them a try to taste them for yourself. I think I like the second one better.

These vegan brownies are rich and dense like chocolate fudge. A surprising mix of good-for-you ingredients, including whole wheat flour, olive oil, and avocados, come together to create a relatively healthy brownie that makes you believe dreams can and do come true. Don't be wary of the avocado; it may be an unusual addition, but the flavor is completely masked by the cocoa and chocolate chunks.

Please do not over-bake these brownies or they will end with a texture similar to cake. In fact, I urge you to under-bake the brownies just so the middle sets and the batter is no longer runny. There is nothing in these brownies you couldn't eat raw (in fact, much of the batter disappeared before the pan made it to the oven) so don't be frightened to take the brownies out of the oven before a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean.

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Thoughts on Going Vegan: Week 3

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 4 | Meal Ideas & Afterthoughts

I've successfully completed the third week in my month long vegan challenge. The hills and valleys of the second week have been ironed out and the third week was nothing but smooth sailing. Vegan eating feels almost natural to me now. I have a few mainstay recipes in rotation, which keeps meal time interesting and varied. Here are a few personal observations about my third week*:

• I started eating Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa in the morning every day this week and my protein deficiency headaches have completely disappeared (thank goodness). Starting off the day with a protein rich meal seems to be the trick to keeping my body in good health.


• I've also noticed when I reach for snacks, I end up munching on sunflower seeds or spoonfuls of peanut butter (both relatively protein rich). My body still craves protein in large amounts, but eating these small snacks staves off hunger and keeps my body in check.


• Grocery shopping has become a breeze. I can walk in and out of the store in about ten minutes and get a week's worth of groceries at the same time. This is definitely a perk. I'm amazed at how much of the grocery store I can simply ignore.


• Vegan eating has become quite natural for me. When I'm making food for myself at home, I no longer wonder what vegan food I should eat, but rather what food I should eat. It's a small distinction, perhaps completely unnoticeable to most people, but it's a huge step for me. It no longer feels like I'm forcing myself to eat a particular diet. I'm just eating.


• Today I tried northern white beans boiled in salt water (one of my very first bean adventures). The beans tasted exactly like bacon and I proceeded to eat half a cup straight from the pot. My mother says it's my imagination, blaming "vegan brain" for the perceived taste, but I swear I'm not making this flavor up. Maybe I do have a case of vegan brain, but I'd gladly eat these beans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


• This weekend will be my first real challenge since I've gone vegan. I'm visiting home for a few days, where my non-vegan family will be making many of my favorite cheesy and meat filled dishes, and I will have to use up my willpower not to sneak a taste. My mother is trying to be accommodating, researching vegan alternatives and picking up a few vegan staples (which I greatly appreciate), but this is the first time I will be constantly surrounded by food I simply cannot eat, both in the pantry and on the kitchen table. I'm curious to see how this will play out.


• Should I let you in a little secret? I'm afraid for this challenge to end and I'm nervous about going back to regular food. I honestly don't know where this fear is coming from (I'm not morally opposed to eating meat), but it lingers in the back of my mind and I wonder if I'll continue to eat vegan on July 1st or go out for a dairy and egg filled Sunday brunch to celebrate successfully completing the challenge (no meat just yet—I don't want to shock my system and get sick).

After the third week, I feel pretty comfortable with eating vegan. I've figured out most of the "tricks" and I'm becoming more in tune to my body and what my cravings may mean. Eating vegan this week was surprisingly easy and didn't take too much work or thought on my part. Here's to the fourth and final week of the challenge!

*I mean no offense to those who have gone vegan for moral beliefs and obligations (in fact, you have my utmost respect). This is just a record of my personal experience with the lifestyle.

Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

In the early morning hours, when the sun is low in the sky and my eyes aren't quite ready to open and let the light into my world, a good breakfast wraps itself around me like a blanket and softly whispers that it's time to face the day. Breakfast is a comfort in a tired, caffeine driven world. It's a simple routine that fills an empty stomach and brings warmth and energy into a sleepy frame.

I've found an appreciation for breakfast.

There was a period in my life when I didn't appreciate breakfast. After entering university for the first time, with the nearest microwave fifty feet down the hall and an alarm clock that went off fifteen minutes before class, breakfast seemed a trivial part of the morning. I was born on the foundation of hot breakfasts. I like my breakfasts steaming from the stove top, with a sprinkling of sugar, and a splash of milk. If I couldn't have a piping hot bowl in front of me, I wanted nothing at all. For four years, I snubbed my nose at breakfast, welcoming lunch as my first meal of the day.

I was a fool.

Amid the hustle and bustle of stepping into clothes, fixing hair, and rushing to gather belongings before running out the door, breakfast is the calm in the storm of morning. A quiet reminder to take a moment to sit down and introduce myself to the aromas and flavors of a new day. I revel in the feeling of breakfast. It's a fresh start; a chance to replace yesterday with a new today. Some mornings I wake up early just so I can hold a steaming bowl of cereal in my hands and welcome the day in my own way.

I sincerely hope you've discovered the joy hidden in the depths of your cupboards. There is so much to love in that cereal box.

I've more or less eaten the same breakfast for the last twenty years. However, after trying out a bowl of this Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa, I may have discovered a replacement. Every morning this the past week, I've sat down to this sweet, nutty breakfast and I can't get enough. The quinoa cooks up in milk and absorbs the creamy flavor deep within its seeds. With a splash of milk and a handful of almonds and blueberries, I feel at home. The texture of the quinoa is such an interesting contrast to the warm, bursting juice of the blueberries—it's a texture of which I could never grow tired.

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