Delicious, fudgy, gluten free, high protein, high fiber brownies? For real! These brownies have been called pure heaven. There is a secret ingredient which gives us this wonderful fudgy texture and keeps them from crumbling to pieces like other gluten free brownies tend to do. Not only does it make these brownies heavenly, it packs a nutritional punch. This ingredient will surprise you. Are you dying to know what it is yet?

AVOCADO!

Totally serious. Will people know? Nope. What about those who don’t like avocado? My dad is NOT an avocado fan and he has no clue I use avocado in them. Pretty awesome right? Avocado is an amazing food! Helps raise our good cholesterol and lower the bad, full of folate (that stuff we need for healthy babies), fiber (a full 7g of fiber per serving!), vitamin C, B5, potassium and B6. (If you’re thinking about getting pregnant, you want a lot of B6 as that is what helps keep the morning sickness at bay.) The avocado is a fantastic binder in this recipe. It’s also gives it a fudgey texture that melts in your mouth. A word of caution; if someone has a latex allergy, they cannot eat avocado. Use 1/2 cup room temperature butter instead.

What makes them lower on the glycemix index? Coconut palm sugar. A sweetener made from coconuts that is sweet without spiking our blood sugar. That also means we get to avoid that sugar crash that leaves us feeling crappy and reaching for more sugar to feel better. So that means we can enjoy the brownie in the proper portions and feel satisfied (esp with all the fiber from the avocado and the next ingredient.)

Where does the protein come from? Almond flour (also known as almond meal) and eggs. Nuts are a wonderful source of protein that are also full of fiber and is nutrient rich. Eggs are a wonderful whole food as well. A complete protein, wonderful source of nutrients and a great binder for holding our gluten free brownies together.

Ready for the recipe so you can head to the grocery store yet? Alright, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Here it is!

• 3/4 cup almond meal (I bought mine from the bulk section at Whole Foods)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder (non dutched)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free if you can)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (or cane sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup ripe avocado (or salted butter)
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I use the Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a medium sized mixing bowl add the almond meal, salt, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix together and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, palm sugar, avocado and vanilla.

In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil until completely melted then slowly add to the egg mixture. Mix together completely then add to the dry ingredients. Mix completely then pour into a glass 9×11 baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. They’ll be ready when you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.

Enjoy guilt free!