Healthy Dessert Recipe: Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Protein Brownies

After last week's Bourbon Butter Brownies, we wanted to post a healthy brownie alternative. Guest Post by Erin Elberson Lyon, physical therapist and celiac who writes the blog, Gluten Free Fitness.

Ingredients:

• 1 very ripe banana mashed
• 1/4 cacao or cocoa powder
• 2 TBSP almond flour
• 35 g or 1/2 c gluten free oatmeal
• 1/4 cup gluten free oat bran
• 1/2 c. sugar or stevia equivalent
• 3 scoops of protein powder (mine had 23 g of protein per scoop)
• 2 3.5 oz containers of prune and apple baby food (or 7 ounces of pumpkin puree or applesauce)
• 3 TBSP almond milk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 F and spray 8x8 pan with nonstick stuff. In a perfect world you combine all dry ingredients, all wet ingredients, then add wet to dry. Usually I get excited and forget to do this dumping everything in together and it comes out just fine. So don't stress! Cook for 23-30 minutes (my convection oven was 23 minutes to perfection) Nutrition Breakdown: (Yours may be slightly different depending on your protein powder, what sweetener you use, and the fruit puree. I used stevia.) Per 1/8 of recipe: 146 calories | 4 grams fat | 15 grams carbohydrates(3.5 are fiber) | 11.5 grams protein These make great packable snacks. It can easily be made dairy free by using a rice, hemp, or pea protein powder. Don’t be afraid to taste your batter and adjust the amount of sweetener, or add some vanilla extract or extra cocoa powder. The exact taste will vary along with the ingredients you choose, so make a taste you like! About the Author: Erin Elberson Lyon is a physical therapist and celiac who writes the blog Gluten Free Fitness. Check out Gluten Free and Fit 101 for tips on getting started!