Brownies—from a box and super gooey, underbaked and yet crispy on the top—are my favorite. It is really hard to reproduce that flavor in a paleo diet.
The Mayo Clinic defines a paleo diet as “a dietary plan based on foods similar to what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era, which dates from approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. A paleo diet typically includes lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds—foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering. A paleo diet limits foods that became common when farming emerged about 10,000 years ago. These foods include dairy products, legumes, and grains. Other names for a paleo diet include Paleolithic diet, Stone Age diet, hunter-gatherer diet, and caveman diet.”
This does not include processed chocolate. SO, I still want brownies in my life, even with a kinda-cavewoman type diet. When I found a recipe similar to this one, mid-bite from brownies made for us by a friend, I wanted to reproduce it. After lots of trial and error (how all my recipes are birthed), I used zucchini to make the recipe full of moisture and grated them in the food processor, then added raw almonds and ground them in the processor too. It was easy to add all of these for a “one-pot” dessert that did end up being chewy on the inside and crispy on the top. Such a good dessert (especially warm and straight out of the oven).
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Almost Paleo Zucchini Brownies
Serves 9
1 cup almonds
1 ½ cups grated zucchini (spiralized frozen zucchini also works well)
¼ cups honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, whirl the almonds until they form a crunchy paste (about two minutes).
Add the grated or frozen spiralized zucchini, honey, egg, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and chocolate chips. Pulse for 2 more minutes and then transfer to an oiled 9” x 9” pan and bake for 25 minutes.
Eat when they are fresh out of the oven or chill in the refrigerator (they are great that way too!).
Find more great food recipes in my second book, Lark Parties! #livinglark
