You know when you haven’t been eating badly, per se, but you might have been indulging a little more in certain things? Recently I’ve been feeling like a few weeks eating less gluten and less heavy meals might be in order – so what better time to work on my raw vegan brownie recipe?

My wonderful friend and trainer David is currently staying with us, and this man both consumes calories like they’re going out of fashion and trains one a day at least – and he lifts heavy. He also needs good fats, energy and lots of tasty things to keep him going, so I figured that a nutty, processed-sugar-free raw brownie would be fantastic for him.

This is an incredibly simple recipe, and it’s a raw recipe that doesn’t include 18 things you’ve never heard of. If you aren’t too bothered about it being raw and don’t have raw cacao, you can substitute that for cocoa and enjoy it just as much!

You’ll need:
(Makes 6-10 brownies)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup almond meal (roughly ground almonds-easily done in a food processor!)
1/4 cup raw cacao
2 tablespoons coconut butter (easily made my blending coconut flesh into a paste!)
1/2 cup dates
1/3 cup water
For the ‘frosting’
2 bananas
2 tablespoons raw cacao
1/3 cup coconut butter

Method:
Place the dates and water into a food processor and blend into a paste
Add coconut butter and blend together again
Add in the walnuts, almond meal and raw cacao, and pulse a few times to combine. It should be somewhat crumbly
Press the mixture into a lined brownie pan or small loaf pan
For the frosting:
Blend together the bananas, raw cacao and coconut butter, then spread on top of the brownies

Place the brownies into a fridge for at least an hour, then slice and enjoy!
Keep in the fridge when not eating…if they last!

This was my second batch of these in less than a week and they barely last an hour once they’re made. One of the reasons I love raw treats is that they taste so devilish but they’re actually so good for you…so you can eat more than one!!