Skeptical? You’re adventurous, you’re looking to be healthier, you want gorgeous hair – so why not give it a try? These brownies aren’t your standard brownie and they’re not going to taste exactly like the sugar and calorie bombs you’re used to. But they are really amazing, and we promise that if you give them a try, you’re going to be delightfully surprised.

Why do you want to replace good, old-fashioned brownies with something different? Well, the real reason is you want a delicious, healthy treat that supports your hair goals. That’s exactly what this recipe does.

Your hair is going to get pretty excited about the inclusion of black beans. It may have the rest of you questioning this inclusion, but once you taste it, you’ll be excited too.

The low-calorie black bean is a nutritional powerhouse with protein, vitamins B and C, zinc and other minerals that are great for your hair, scalp, and skin. A key to great hair is getting a healthy disbursement of nutrients to the scalp. To do this you need to boost your diet with foods, like the black beans, that are packed with nutritional goodies.

The banana side dish adds sweet and cool properties that are reminiscent of ice cream. They also contain vitamin C and magnesium, both of which are very important in maintaining the health of your skin and hair. 

While we often think of vitamin C as a vitamin in citrus, it’s very abundant in black beans. Vitamin C is known as a safeguard against the common cold, but it does more than that on a regular basis.

Vitamin C is responsible for the growth, development, and repair of your body’s tissues, including the cells that make up hair. It’s also key in the formation of collagen, a vital protein that feeds your skin and hair.

Ready to give it a try? It’s well worth the effort and you’ll be happy you’ve found a new, healthy sweet treat.

Fudgy black bean brownies
and banana treat

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black beans or canned (if you used canned black beans, look for no-salt-added or low-sodium black beans and drain them)

10 Medjool dates

2 tablespoons raw almond butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup natural, non-alkalized cocoa powder

1 tablespoon ground chia seeds

Optional topping:

Raspberries or other berries for topping

Banana treat ingredients:

2 frozen bananas

Handful of blueberries

A few walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200-degrees F. 

Blend the black beans, dates, almond butter and vanilla in a food processor or high-powered blender until it achieves a smooth consistency. Add cocoa powder and chia seeds and blend again. Pour into a very lightly oiled 8x8 inch baking pan and bake for 1 ½ hours. Cool completely before cutting into small squares. 

You can top with raspberries or other berries to add another level of flavor and healthy excitement.

To make the banana treat; blend the bananas, blueberries, and walnuts in a high-speed blender. Top the brownies with this or try this sweet snack on its own.