The Perfect Valentine’s Day gift [recipe & fun video!]

Valentine’s Day – yet another holiday filled with sweet but not-so-good-for-you treats. What’s a girl to do when she’s showered with all that tasty “chocolate” (and I use quotes here because the commercial stuff is usually loaded with sugar, corn syrup and emulsifiers! Not the real chocolate goodness!)?

The Your Healthiest You Answer – Upgrade!

This week Veria Living Live launched, and on Monday’s episode I shared a super-tasty brownie recipe made with all good-for-you ingredients (and one special ingredient in particular!). I took a typical indulgent dessert, swapped the ingredients for way better options and voila! We turned brownies into a YHY approved totally healthy snack.

I’m so excited to be a part of a LIVE talk show! Just this week alone I created the aforementioned brownie make-over, cooked with celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, and got a serious mini-trampoline lesson. It’s been an absolute blast. It feels amazing to share my love of healthy food and cooking with a live studio audience.

Check out the brownie clip from the show and be sure to grab the recipe!

Brownie Recipe (Share the recipe!)

Makes 9 Brownies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup oat flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pureed prunes (you can use organic baby food)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon chia seeds, ground (either grind them yourself or get chia seed powder)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 tablespoons milk alternative (almond, coconut, or soy)
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the maple syrup, vanilla, pureed prunes, coconut oil and milk. Stir in the ground chia seeds and let the batter thicken for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix together oat flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and coconut sugar.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Stir in dark chocolate chips.

Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper and pour the batter into the dish. Bake the brownies for 18-22 minutes until slightly firm on top. Let cool and enjoy!

Make these yummy chocolate treats and share them with a loved one, a friend, a complete stranger, it doesn’t matter, they’ll love you for it!

Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day recipe that’s been “upgraded”?  Share it below!