Grain Free Brownies...with a hidden mom approved ingredient :)

Last weekend Little A requested brownies.  Since we are trying very hard to reduce the amount of gluten in his diet, I began searching the web for a gluten free brownie.  Combine this search with the need to use 2 beautiful zucchinis that came in our produce box this week and this delicious recipe was born!  Knowing there was so much nutrition hidden in these babies helped me feel a lot less mom guilt when Little A ate 3 :)

I left the skin on my zucchini, but it is really up to you.  The zucchini blends in beautifully in this recipe, it practically melts into the chocolate.  I also used crunchy peanut butter but creamy is great as well.  I preferred the crunchy for texture as these are very fudgy brownies, but I will caution that the nut pieces are really noticeable so if you don't like nuts in your brownies use creamy.
 
This recipe was inspired by this beautiful recipe from Elana's Pantry and this scrumptious recipe from For the Love of Nutritiousness and then tweaked to fit personal preferences (and of course Little A's!)

Grain Free Brownies with Zucchini

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini shredded fine 
1c natural peanut butter (make sure there is no added sugar)
1/3c cocoa powder
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1egg
1/4c honey
pinch salt
1/2c chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl (I used my mixer but you can get by with a spoon I'm sure)
4. Pour into prepared baking dish.
5. Bake for ~30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes on clean.
6. Let brownies coll before serving.  They are very fudgy and hard to remove from the pan if they don't cool at least some before serving.  I put mine in the fridge so I could eat them faster :)

Store these in the refrigerator to extend their shelf life.  The moisture from the zucchini will make them counter top stable for only 3-4 days, but in the fridge mine lasted 1 week (would have lasted longer ut we ate them all!)

Hope you love these as much as we do!  I can't wait to make them again!

Happy Eating! :)

Linked Up On:
MopItUpMonday 
VegetarianMama 
MakeBakeCreate

Meal Planning Monday April 8, 2013

Hello all!!  It is finally starting to feel like Spring and I am so happy!  I can't wait to plant my garden and herbs and start making delicious fresh foods.  I am trying to pay a lot more attention to where my food comes from and growing it myself seems the safest.  Now to solve the dilemma of finding safe meat and poultry without going broke!  That being said, I am really excited about this week's Kid Friendly Korner recipe: gluten free chicken tenders from Perdue!  Will let you all know what Little A thinks of them :)

Here is this week's meal plan:

Monday: Bruschetta Garlic Shrimp Pasta (5P+) This one was inspired by a recipe I saw on Mommy Hates Cooking.  You should really check out her site, she is amazing!

Tuesday: Ginger Soy Salmon (5P+) with broccoli and brown rice

Wednesday: Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops (5-6 P+ depending on chop size)

Thursday: Burgers on the grill with corn tortilla "buns" (6 P+)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken with Pears and Portabella Mushrooms (4P+)

Breakfast: Garden Veggie Egg White Omelet (2P+)

Lunch: Spinach and Kale Salad with raspberries, blackberries, oranges, almonds and tuna (5 p+)

Dessert: Fudgy Zucchini Brownies Grain Free (I am using crunchy nut butter for texture)

Kid Friendly Korner: Perdue Simply Smart Gluten Free Chicken Tenders

Happy Eating! :)