I am currently spending a month talking about the liver and hormone balance on my Instagram and so I’m thinking up lots of recipes that are supportive to liver and hormone health.
I thought I would highlight two of my MOST favourite foods for liver and hormone health. Chocolate and beetroot! Dark chocolate or cacao is essentially a bitter food, so it can help to increase bile flow and keep the liver running smoothly, its also the highest food based source of magnesium which is a crucial mineral needed for phase 2 liver detox of estrogen and many other things pertaining to women’s health, including supporting sleep, boosting progesterone, balancing cortisol and blood sugar and assisting the thyroid. Beetroots, contain betalain, a top nutrient for liver function which provides anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support. Beetroots are also a great blood detoxifier and blood builder and a wonderful source of plant-based iron. The combination of the cacao, beetroots and dates in these brownies makes this recipe very high in iron. This recipe is a new go to for me in the menstrual phase because of the high iron content.
Beetroots are an absolute pain to cook!! I buy the vacuum sealed ones which are pre-cooked as I simply refuse to cook my own. I tried once and that was enough for me to know I would not be trying again. You can, however, cook your own by gently boiling them in water until tender and them attempting to peel them (make sure you use gloves as you will have stained red hands for days!) You can also used canned beetroot but try find some without added sugar and vinegar as these aren’t as healthful and will affect the taste significantly.
Aside from being vegan (dairy and egg free), this recipe is also completely gluten free and grain free. It uses almond meal instead of flour and therefore also helps to make this recipe quite well balanced with protein and fat and a delicious way to get in lots of magnesium and iron. The texture to these brownies seems a little interesting at first as they are quite gritty (from the almond meal) and something that resembles more of a raw brownie, but once cooked they end up moist and delicious. I have provided a quick frosting for this recipe which is my current go-to, but you can experiment with your own frosting for this recipe. An avocado chocolate frosting would be incredible too.
| Vegan Chocolate Beetroot Brownies | Print |
- 2 small cooked beetroots (I use pre-cooked vacuum sealed beetroots)
- 2 cups pitted dates
- ¼ cup almond butter or nut/seed butter of choice
- ½ cup plant milk
- 3 cups almond meal
- ¾ cup cacao powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- FROSTING:
- ½ cup cacao powder
- ¼ cup cacao butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- In a food processor blend beetroot, dates, milk and nut butter until a thick paste forms. Transfer to a bowl.
- Mix in remaining dry ingredients until well combined.
- Transfer to a lined 20 cm square baking tin and bake at 180 C for 20 mins. Allow to cool before frosting.
- For the frosting: melt cacao butter on stove or microwave until liquid, mix in cacao powder and maple syrup until a thick paste/sauce forms. Spread over brownies, slice and enjoy.
