A guest blog by Talia Fuhrman

Warning: These ooey gooey brownies are incredibly easy to eat and one bite may result in more bites and even more until you’ve taken more bites than initially intended.

This recipe is not only fantastic because these brownies are creamy and ooey gooey good, but because there is avocado in this recipe! Talk about one tasty source of healthy fats.  This recipe is actually a super tasty way to get your daily dose of healthy fats because it contains avocados and flaxseeds. Flaxseeds contain important omega-3 fatty acids that your brain requires to function properly, so eat these brownies and your brain will thank you. And rest assure, your taste buds will be satisfied too!

Ingredients (makes 12-16 ooey gooey brownies):

1 (15 oz) can black beans (I use Eden brand because cans are BPA free)
2 ripe bananas + 1 more to create banana chunks (3rd banana optional)
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup distilled water
1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
small handful vegan dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Place black beans, avocado, 2 bananas, pitted dates, flaxseeds, cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a high power blender or vita-mix and blend until smooth. Make sure you’ve got a sturdy high-powered blender on your side, because a little wimpy blender is not going to cooperate with you and you will get angry and frustrated with your wimpy blender.

2) Place this thoroughly blended mixture into a large bowl and set aside. You may be tempted to eat spoonfuls of your blended vita-mix mixture and this may be unavoidable. I can speak from experience. As long as you only eat a few spoonfuls, this should not affect the final product.

3) In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Combine both mixtures and mix thoroughly. Cut up the third banana in small pieces and add the banana pieces into the mixture as to create chunks of banana in the final brownies (this is optional). Add chocolate chips and stir until they are mixed into the batter completely.

Spread onto a lightly-greased or parchment-lined glass baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the brownies comes out clean.

*I used whole-wheat flour to make these brownies, but oat flour or another gluten-free flour should work just as well for those who avoid gluten.

Talia Fuhrman, the oldest daughter of Dr. Fuhrman, has a degree in nutritional sciences from Cornell University and is currently working on a manuscript of her own health and wellness book for young women. She is on a mission to help people of all ages understand that eating healthfully can be fun, delicious, and easy. A lover of cooking and writing, she understands that disease prevention must be made positively delicious! Talia has her own website with psychological musing, nutrition tips and recipes. In addition to her posts on Disease Proof, you can find her at TaliaFuhrman.com.