Black Bean Brownies.

Hello, have you been having fun lately?

Last night I saw The Blind Side with a good friend of mine, whilst still fulfilling the goal of not spending. I thought it was perfect that it was at a Navel Base because the movies that are screened are FREE!

Before we went, we ran into my friends parents at Starbucks and had a nice chat. I told his dad that we were watching The Blind Side and that "I have a feeling I am going to cry" and he told me no because it's more of a heart lifting movie. I stepped my foot down and said "No...I AM going to cry" :o)

Well that proved right because I BAWLED my eyes out! and it wasn't even at the saddest moments, just random parts. Maybe I over-thought things through and tried to analyze how Michael Oher (main character) felt and connected my emotions to his emotions.

Streams of tears poured down and I am not exaggerating. After the movie and the lights came on, people were walking past us and I had to sit for a while to pick up my composure, while still wiping my tears on a tissue. I think I repeated too many times during the car ride home how much I wanted to buy that movie, how good that movie was, and how I am going to watch it again.


Sandra Bullock is a great actress, I think I love her now. That movie is really inspiring and heart touching, I recommend watching it with loved ones and friends. If you're a big cry baby like me, you can watch it alone :o)

Yesterday I found a can of Black Beans hiding in the pantry, this called for Black Bean Brownies. I searched all over the interweb for recipes and found good ones, but unfortunately some recipes called for things that I didn't have. Some recipes called for butter and whole eggs, I did not want to use butter or whole eggs, yet I knew there were also ways to substitute those ingredients.

I just didn't want to deal with experimenting because I didn't want to risk it coming out the way I didn't want it, plus, I only had ONE can of Black Beans and a limited amount of Agave. But I found a recipe from Dr. Oz's website, and it was perfect!
Ingredients:

- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
-½ cup agave syrup (I only had 1/4 cup, so I used 4 packets of Stevia)
-½ cup self-rising flour (grinded old fashion oats in the magic bullet to make oat flour)
-½ cup egg whites
-¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
-2 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp baking powder
-6 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips (used TJ's crunchy PB

( I added 4 Tbsn of Flax Seed)

( I added 1 tsp of instant coffee)

I remember Ina Garten said that coffee and vanilla brings out the flavors of chocolate, making it more intense.

Directions
In a food processor, mix all brownie ingredients (except chips) together. Chop on high, until smooth. Clean off sides and blend for another 20 seconds. Add the chips in and stir well. Spread into the 8x8 baking dish. Cook for 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 1 hour in dish at room temperature.

Oat Flour!

Blend everything together

and pour into a squared pan

Voila!

At first I didn't think it was sweet enough, but as I took a few more bites bang! it hit me. It was too chocolatey...suprisingly.

For the topping:

- 3-4 oz tofutti cream cheese (I needed to get rid of the tub, I have no bread, and plus it's not that great tasting as I remembered)

- 35 g of Pumpkin

- 2 packets of Splenda

- Cinnamon

RESULTS: I enjoyed the topping, I think it made my brownie much enjoyable, the creaminess helped with the intense chocolately taste.

I ran out of Stevia, so when I went to Starbucks I grabbed a handful of Splenda just to keep me sane. I haven't had Splenda in forever since I've been using Stevia. I've been getting light-headed as a result of Splenda, in the past this occured as well. So when I realized I HAD to use splenda, I was a bit worried. I need to say bye to Splenda! and stick to Stevia.


On Saturday, I've been having problems with things going on in my body, after going to urgent care, they rejected me because of my insurance. Since my doctor's office was closed, I had to resort to the ER. I drove there and just told them I needed to see a Doc, and described my symptoms. I thought it was going to be quick, see the doctor, get a diagnoses, get a prescription, and GO HOME!

Unforch, they led me to a room, told me to strip down naay-ked and put on a gown. I thought what the heck is going on? they took my vitals, strapped plugs onto my chest, and took my blood and urine to the lab! I didn't know what to do or if I should call my dad. But things ended up being okay and my lab results were good :o)

It was just really unexpected that I ended in the ER room for what I thought was going to be a quick visit. As a kid I always loved going to to hospital (weird) because I love the smell (weirder) and I always felt safe and the atmosphere was always calming for me as a kid (whilst visiting my grandma there all the time).

This time, I still felt that same way. The smell brought me back to my childhood, it's funny because usually pretty things like flowers or brownies :o) to that for others. I felt safe and I'm not going to lie, but I almost wanted to sleep there. I watched the Food Network there.

I dare you to pronounce my last name

I was really stressed out before, so instead of going to the doctors earlier, I went to the gym...and it helped A LOT!


To enter in the Purely Elizabeth give away sweepstakes click here. She will be giving away a copy of one of her favorite nutrition tools- The Integrative Nutrition Journal by Joshua Rosenthal, a guide to a happier, healthier life and a purely elizabeth gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar free healthy pancake mix to make your Sunday a little more perfect.

What are the the things that bring you back to your childhood?

Are you having fun?