Nuts about brownies

I'm in the last few weeks of training for Grandma's Marathon. My long run days have stretched into 17 and 18 miles, and the mileage will keep going up until the big day (26.2 miles!) in mid June. My metabolism is kicking into high gear, and I can feel it! I get crazy, strong cravings, and they are mostly for sweet, naughty treats.

So in my quest for satisfying my body while not filling it with trash, I stumbled upon an e-book from Angela Elliot, a woman who makes "raw" food. If you are new to the raw food world, it basically means that food is eaten in it's most natural state. It is fresh, it comes from a plant, and it isn't heated above 105 degrees, which leaves all of the food's enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients intact. The goal of eating this way is to get the most "bang for your buck" from the food you eat.

These brownies are a delicious way to eat something completely decadent without adding any processed foods such as flours, sugars, or other things into your diet. Also, you will be swapping out the "bad" (animal) fats that have been linked with heart disease, etc. with "good" (plant) fats that have been shown to aid in ridding the body of these same maladies (when taken in moderation, of course). Since they are made mostly of nuts, they have a lot of calories, so even though these babies are nutrient-dense, too much can lead to weight gain. The whole point is to have a tasty treat that also gives your body some wonderful nourishment.

Before starting this recipe, you will need to put your cashews and dates in separate bowls and cover them completely with water for at least one hour. This will get them to the proper consistency for the recipe. You also need to have a food dehydrator and food processor. If you don't have these, you might want to think about getting them. The Cuisinart has saved me tons of time, and the value of having power packed food makes the dehydrator totally worth it. The purpose for dehydrating these dishes (instead of just baking it) is they are kept below the heat level that destroys the good stuff.

The actual "making/doing" of these scrumptious bits of chocolaty goodness is quite easy and fast. So don't let the new parts overwhelm you. Give it a go! You won't be sorry.


Ingredients:
3 cups walnuts
2 Tablespoons seed or nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)
6 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup Cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

And for the frosting
1 cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup water


Directions:
Process the walnuts into a fine flour in your processor.
Add the rest of the ingredients (including the date soaking water) and process until smooth.
Scrape into an 8X8 cake pan
Place in your dehydrator for 24 hours, at its lowest temperature.

Once the brownies are ready, process the drained cashews, cinnamon, dates (with soaking water) and 1/4 cup additional water until smooth.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes to thicken it up. Spread over brownies.


Notes:
If your dehydrator is the traditional round kind that you can't get a pan into, no worries! Cover the bottom with parchment paper, and scoop out spoonfuls, and shape into whatever shape you wish your brownies to take. They won't expand or grow, so you can put them pretty close together.

I love to top these with fruit! Last night we had some strawberries that I threw in the blender and poured that over the brownies. Can you say yum? This is also sensational with my banana ice cream. Here's that recipe: http://cookingwithrebecca.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-scream-you-scream-ice-cream.html