Enhance Your Brownies With These EASY Additions

So I was reading this article from Prevention.com on ways to bake healthier brownies. The suggestions are all good, however, most require something I am not willing to do: extra work. They involve pureeing or roasting, etc. Not happening.  If I can bake anything without the smoke alarm going off, it's a good day.

Enhancing the nutritional value of brownies is EASY!

I've been adding extra nutrition to brownies for more than a decade.  I do it guerrilla-style.

With two kids who are not fond of vegetables (and the Teen who won't even THINK about consuming fruit), I've been adding extra nutrition to their brownies for more than a decade.  I do it guerrilla-style. Here's how:

1. Using baby food instead of oil. Yup! I replace oil in the brownie mix with a 6 ounce jar of sweet potatoes. The fat is gone, the sweet potatoes add even more sweetness, and the kids are getting more nutrition per bite. Okay, it's probably not a lot of vitamins, but every bit helps. 
   And I love using the baby food jars for craft projects (more on that in a future post).
   
   
   
   

   

   It's amazing that we don't have a baby in the house, yet my son never questions why we have baby food.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Adding whole flax seeds. Instead of filling my brownies with walnuts (which my kids hate), I add a few tablespoons of flax seeds which are packed with protein, fiber, and minerals such as magnesium and copper. They add a nice crunchiness to the brownies which the kids love.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Flax seeds add crunch and extra nutrition to brownies.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Tofu. This alternative is listed in the Prevention article and I agree that it's a great substitute for oil. The silken tofu doesn't require any work, is undetectable to the palate and adds protein and calcium to the brownies. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Wheat germ. A few tablespoons of this folic acid-packed grain is great in brownies. You can even dust the bottom of your pan with it before adding the batter. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Don't let the kids see the word "germ" anywhere near their food.

With the above additions and substitutions, I feel that my kids are getting extra nutrition without a lot of extra effort on my part. 

Can I make completely healthy brownies that my kids will actually eat? Probably not. But making healthier brownies? THAT I can do!