Lentil Chocolate Brownies

I'm aware that lentils might not be the most appetising of ingredients for a sweet dish, but I can assure you that you would never know they were there in these chocolate brownies. The key thing I found missing on SP days was sweet options. Although you still have your syns available - you may find you want to use these for other more nutrient-rich options such as additional cheese so this could come in very handy.

I have to acknowledge that whilst this has the density of a brownie mixture, the taste of it is far more like a chocolate pudding sponge than a tea-time chocolate cake. Indeed, when I first bought this out of the oven, the smell immediately recalled what we affectionately called 'Chocolate Bricks' - the sturdy chocolate sponge dished out at our school cafeteria. The coconut flour gives this body, but also a nice nutty, sweet edge, despite the minimal use of sweetener. I don't like using sweetener in my food, preferring normally to use natural sources of sugar. However, in this case I have allowed it as it will be a minimal amount in each portion and it doesn't work properly with honey or maple syrup. 

Whilst the lentils might seem like a strange addition, they add bulk and texture to this dish as well as bringing with them a good deal of protein. They aren't detectable in the final mixture, but they will need careful draining and drying as per the method to prevent them bringing too much liquid to the mixture. 

This works out at 7 reasonably sized portions at just 1 syn a portion, which is significantly less than many more conventional cakes or chocolates, and this is much more filling too. It is tasty hot or cold, but I preferred it hot, with a spoon of quark and some fresh soft fruit.

It is worth noting the new rules from Slimming World which counts sweetener as 0.5 syns per tbsp - meaning that the whole of this dish would carry an additional syn (but any portion up to half of the dish wouldn't count as any syns, proportionally). Worth bearing in mind if you end up having a larger portion, though to ensure you aren't accidentally going over your syn allowance. 

As with all recipes and meal plans on the blog I have highlighted the protein sources (P foods) in red, the speed (S) foods in green, healthy extra allowances in blue and syns, with syn values in brackets in orange. 

Lentil Chocolate Brownies

Makes 7 portions - 1 syn per portion

100g red lentils

25g coconut flour - 3.5 syns

2 tbsp sweetener 

1 tbsp cocoa powder - 2.5 syns 

2 eggs

Boil the red lentils in plenty of water for 25 minutes - until they are very soft and beginning to break down. 

Once they are cooked, drain them in a sieve over the sink, pressing down with the back of a spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. 

Leave it there to drain and for the steam to escape. They will need 10 - 15 minutes to cool down properly.

Put an oven on to pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees fan / 200 degrees electric / Gas Mark 6.

In a bowl, beat the eggs together and mix in the sweetener to allow it to dissolve.

Add the lentils to the mixture once cool and beat together. 

Sift in the coconut flour and cocoa and mix thoroughly.

Put into a lined loaf tin and bake for 25 mins. Check and ensure when the tin is shaken, there is no wobble in the centre of the loaf. Insert a skewer into the centre and if it comes out clean, it is ready. If the mixture is still moist, put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.