WELL. Hello there. It’s been a little while since my last recipe guys – but never fear, I’ve got a gorgeous protein brownie recipe to share with you today – aren’t you lucky! So, as you may know if you follow me on Instagram (@theirishbalance), I am honouring National Vegetarian Week this week by going meat-free for 7 whole days! And I’m enjoying it so much! I am a major vegetable-addict in any case, but I definitely eat a lot of animal protein too. Mostly sources like white meat (chicken or turkey), eggs, and I LOVE fish. I do eat lean red meat maybe once a week or so too. And no, I’m not converting to being a full-time vegetarian OR vegan. I AM enjoying challenging myself over these 7 days to get more creative with my meals, AND to learn how to avoid structuring them AROUND meat. I’m also curious how my meal satiety will differ this week using just plant protein (with the exception of my yoghurts!) I’m going to write a blog post about this whole experience, so more on that then!

I have been doing my best to eat meat-free 2 days a week as a 2017 resolution, for TWO reasons. One is that its clear by now that there are so many health benefits to eating a plant-based diet, as well as huge benefits for the environment too, even with small changes that we make, like having a ‘Meat-Free Monday’, for example. I won’t go into either of those points right now (we have BROWNIES to make people!), but suffice it to say it’s an area I’m self-educating on, and I hope to share some of what I learn with you on this blog in due course.

SO! Let’s get to the recipe. I decided this week was a good opportunity to try a new protein bar/brownie recipe – I recently ordered a Chocolate Vegan Blend Protein Powder from Bulk Powders, and was keen to try it out! You can easily sub any vegan protein powder in this recipe – hemp, brown rice, pea, whatever you want. I can’t say how using whey powder would change the texture as I haven’t tried – BUT give it a go if you want! You may need to alter the liquid amount a little. Now, time to bake!

Recipe (Makes 8-10 bars)

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp nut butter (I used Mani Life Crunchy Peanut Butter)
• 100g cooked sweet potato
• 100g Chocolate Vegan Protein Powder (I used Bulk Powder’s Complete Vegan Blend)
• 150ml Nut Milk (I used Dairy Free Dream Cashew)
• 50ml water (or use extra milk)
• Toppings: I topped these bars with Good 4 U Nutrition Goji Berries/Dried Coconut/Seeds
• Required: Power Blender/Nutribullet/Food Processor

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan oven) and grease a baking tin with a little of the melted coconut oil, or line with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine your dry ingredients in a large bowl – protein powder, cacao powder, baking powder and cinnamon.
3. Add your wet ingredients to your food processor/blender cup – cooked sweet potato, milk, coconut oil, nut butter and water.
4. Add the dry ingredients on top, and screw on the lid of your blender.
5. Get mixing! I used my Nutribullet for this recipe, and it took about 5-7 minutes to get it fully blended.
6. Add the mixture to the baking tin, and ensure its evenly spread throughout using the back of a spoon.
7. Sprinkle your toppings of choice on top, then bake in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes – a toothpick inserted at this stage should come out mostly clean!
8. ALLOW TO COOL. I mean it guys! Give the brownies at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy guys! These brownie bars worked out so well for me for Vegetarian Week this week, and they’re definitely a snack I’ll make again! Tag me if you try them out – @theirishbalance on Instagram or Twitter!

Ciara 🙂 x