Healthy Whole Grain Chewy Brownies | Dairy-Free

These Healthy Whole Grain Chewy Brownies are definitely a healthier version of a brownie because we use whole grain flours like rye and spelt instead of the usual all-purpose white used in commercial baking. Although it’s healthy, it tastes so good, no one will suspect that it’s made with whole grains, no dairy and less sugar!

Healthy Brownies

The issue with all-purpose flour is that it contains no nutrients or fibre. Because of this, the white flour is basically like pure sugar in our blood. This can create an imbalance and give us that “sugar crash” that we are so familiar with. It’s also detrimental to our digestive tract and could slow things down, even contributing to chronic health issues and colon cancers. Our body needs fibre and nutrients. By using grains other than wheat, you also greatly reduce the gluten content, which is great for people who have a sensitivity to gluten or simply to reduce your gluten intake (easier to digest) and eat a varied diet.

By reducing the sugar amount in recipes, this kicks it up to the next step. No one needs so much sugar in anything! I recommend organic sugar, which is usually unbleached and contains a small amount of nutrients compared to plain white sugar, which has been completely stripped of all nutrients. The organic sugar is also made from cane sugar rather than GMO sugar beet.

Dairy-Free Brownies

This recipe uses olive oil, making it dairy-free. No butter is used in it, not that there’s anything wrong with a good grass-fed butter, but I use olive oil instead as it is a vegetable-based fat instead of animal, and also my husband is dairy-intolerant, so I always need to come up with creative ways to replace dairy in recipes! The olive oil makes the brownies nice and moist, and you can’t taste it. Obviously using high quality ingredients always make such a big difference, like organic and fair-trade chocolate with a high percentage of cacao.

A note about rye flour. Many mistake the taste of caraway seeds with the taste of rye because most rye breads usually have caraway seeds in them. Rye flour does not have that strong flavour attributed to these breads. If you can find a stone-milled rye flour, they are usually lighter and fluffier too. Give it a try, it will bring a wholesome flavour to your baked goods.

Enjoy!

ECP xo

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Healthy Whole Grain Chewy Brownies | Dairy-Free

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, dairy-free

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Healthy and chocolate belong together with this simple but delicious recipe to make dairy-free whole grain chewy brownies. Low sugar too!

Ingredients

• 300 g organic semi-sweet baking chocolate (56% cacao)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup organic sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 3 large free-range organic eggs at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 cup rye flour

Instructions

1. Prepare a cake pan (11" x 9" or 8” x 8” work fine) by rubbing a bit of olive oil in it. Turn oven on to 350F.

2. Melt the broken pieces of chocolate in a medium or large pot on medium-low heat (you can use a double-boiler if you have one) until completely smooth, then remove from heat. Add the olive oil and mix well using a whisk.
3. In a bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt until smooth. Slowly add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, stirring constantly with the whisk.

4. Add the flours and mix well. Pour everything in the baking dish and bake in the oven at 350F for approx. 20-25 min - Don't overcook it!

5. It has to look almost cooked but not quite, in order to be chewy. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then cut in 12 squares. Serve with fresh berries if you wish.

Recipe Notes

*For something different, you can add 1/4 cup chopped raw walnuts or dried cranberries, or 1/3 cup shredded coconut.

Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 306kcal | Fat: 23g | Saturated fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 238mg | Carbohydrates: 26g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Protein: 6g | Vitamin A: 60% | Calcium: 32% | Iron: 5.2%