Have Your Cake & Eat It Too?

Ever since our first son’s 1st birthday, I have been on a mission to make guilt-free, healthy cake that actually tasted good.

So when our oldest child, Carter, was approaching the end of his first lap around the sun, I set the wheels in motion to find a recipe that did just that. After an entire pregnancy avoiding everything I was supposed to and then some, a full year of exclusively breast feeding, making all my own baby food and not giving him anything processed or artificially sweetened- I wasn’t about to ruin it with a birthday cake full of sugar, bleached flour and food dyes.

So I made him a BEAN CAKE! 😂 Well, black bean brownies to be exact… and he LOVED THEM! My husband, however, was less than enthused that I took a perfectly good opportunity to indulge in a traditional birthday cake and instead served mushed up, baked, sweetened beans. 

I continued this new tradition for our next two children and then again yesterday, for our 4th baby’s 1st birthday! Only I did the cake a little different this time because, in all honesty, the black bean brownies weren't my favourite.

Simon’s 1st birthday cake was a high-protein, sweet potato and black bean brownie. It was thick, moist, super chocolatey, delicious AND HEALTHY!!!! It was a HIT with not only my husband and kids, but my waistline as well! I am so excited about these brownies and I know for sure I will be making them again! And because I found such a great recipe, I wanted to share it with you!

Would you like to know how to make it? I think you will be pleasantly surprised at just how simple this is:

High Protein Birthday Brownies

(Gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free, high protein)

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chopped, cooked sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)

• 3 1/2 cups black beans (2 cans)

• 1 1/2 cups dates (make sure there are no pits in them)

• 4 scoops chocolate or vanilla protein powder (I use vanilla because it’s so yummy in this recipe)

• 2/3 cup cocoa powder

• 3/4 cup milk

• 2/3 cup all natural peanut butter (can use almond butter as well)

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

How-To:

• Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth.    ***IMPORTANT- make sure there are NO PITS in your dates because your blender will not process them and It is NOT FUN having to pour the batter into a bowl and pick through the half blended batter for 15 date pits! yup, been there!***

• Pour the batter into a 9X13 glass baking dish and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 

• That’s it! Let cool and serve with your favourite topping or enjoy on their own. 

The best part about these, you don’t have to wait for the next birthday as an excuse to make these! Craving something sweet? Mix up a batch of these and enjoy a healthy, high protein treat anytime! 

Now I would love to connect with you! Do you think you’d try making these? Comment below! 

And again, thanks so much for taking time out of your day to read my post! 

God bless, 

Sarah ❤️🥰❤️