Steph here –
You know how protein bars usually come in some kind of chocolate flavor? I’m sure there are multiple reasons why companies chose that flavor to wrap around their new health food product. However, I don’t think I’m the only one who will reach for – and even enjoy – that chocolate protein bar for one main reason. There is such a beautiful, guilty satisfaction in eating chocolate and believing that some kind of nutrition is going into your body at the same time.
Although I’m a bit of a health nut and enjoy these bars, I haven’t researched the health benefits of protein supplements. So at this point I’ll usually choose to invest in traditional health food over an expensive man-made supplement… especially if it’s also covered in chocolate.
And now thanks to Sarah’s recipe, we can. 
When you think of recipes with beans, I’m sure chocolate is not something that springs to mind, let alone a chocolate sweet bread! Awhile back I read a blog post about baking with pureed beans. Adding pureed beans adds a bit of protein and fiber to your recipe and allows you to cut back some of the other wet ingredients, like melted butter! While I’ve become quick to add in the pureed fruits and veggies to my baked goods, it never dawned on me to do the same with bean puree – but hey, I’m always up for an experiment.
When I found this recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread, my first thought was “YUM!” immediately followed by “how can I cut back the sugar and oil?” I thought I’d try the black beans. I have to say, it was a great success. Unless you share your secret, nobody will know that this recipe has been healthified. If I hadn’t made it I wouldn’t have guessed it had zucchini, let alone black beans!
This is a very versatile recipe as it makes a nice muffin or breakfast bread. You can dust it with powdered sugar and garnish with summer berries and serve as a pretty dessert. It is very moist, and is great warm with a tall glass of milk!
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ cup Sugar
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- 2/3 cup Oil
- 2 cups Grated zucchini
- ¾ cup Black bean puree
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 cup White Whole Wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup Chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS
- Combine sugars and eggs.
- Add cocoa powder, oil, and black bean puree and mix thoroughly
- Add in zucchini and blend
- Add all remaining dry ingredients (combine in a separate bowl if that’s your style).
- Mix them up
- Fold in chocolate chips and nuts
- Pour batter into two greased loaf pans or into prepared muffin tins
- Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes for muffins and 40-50 minutes for loaves
Enjoy!
Sara Tyler is the owner of Charity Candles & Crafts and is a cancer survivor who has learned what it means to not only survive, but to thrive. Besides loving on her husband and daughter and running her business, Sarah also blogs about frugality and homemaking at Thriving Mama.
Steph here – A note about storing bean puree: If your family loves this recipe, but you don’t want to break out the blender or food processor every time you bake it, simply store 3/4 C. amounts of puree in the the freezer – you can use little freezer bags or do the whole ice-cube tray trick. I also buy zucchini on sale (or for free at the produce stand), then grate it and store it in bags that lie flat in the freezer. It’s easy to break off a chunk whenever I want to use them.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Have you ever tried using veggie or bean purees to healthify a guilty pleasure? Did it work or did it bomb?
Thanks to some fantastic inspiration from The Sneaky Chef, I’ve successfully “snuck” (Chris knows I do it. He just doesn’t want me to tell him when) carrot and sweet potato puree in pizza sauce, and all sorts of veggies in our homemade hamburgers and other casserole-type dishes.
Once, I didn’t use a small enough grater for the carrot going in the hamburger (yes, it can be done – and enjoyed). Chris asked me why it looked like a veggie burger.
Ummm… because it kind of is? *guilty look*
Of course he’s awesome, and he ate it anyway.
How did your puree-recipe turn out?
Cheers
6 comments
2 pings
Anne
10/13/2010 at 5:57 AM (UTC -6)
I’ve learned never to ever again try to hide pureed winter squash in my husband’s homemade mac n cheese. LOL. He’s pretty flexible when it comes to his mac n cheese: as long as it has noodles and cheese in it, he’s good. But add pureed squash? No way! Oh well, I just put it in other things (like mashed potatoes, now that’s delicious!).
susiebee at eatlittleeatbig
10/13/2010 at 12:30 PM (UTC -6)
I’ve used pureed black beans to make brownies. Turned out between OK and Good. More like a cake brownie than a fudgy one.
Love zucchini bread so will have to give this a try!
Great series on beans (and rice) Steph.
Iris
10/13/2010 at 12:49 PM (UTC -6)
No, but I will start! Though I do throw some ground flaxseed in when I’m baking cookies or brownies, so they don’t feel like such a nutritional wasteland
Rebecca Burgener
10/13/2010 at 5:26 PM (UTC -6)
This is such an excellent idea. You could cook up a large batch on the weekend, and then enjoy it all week long.
Katrina
05/15/2011 at 5:59 PM (UTC -6)
I tried this recipe and everyone loved it. Thank you very much. I think I am going to use this recipe as a base for vanilla, cinnamon sugar, or white chocolate muffins by omitting the cocoa, replacing the black beans with white beans, replacing the zucchini with applesauce, and tailoring the rest of the recipe to the muffins mentioned above. Maybe you can make a recipe like this and present it here. Love this blog, it is changing my life for the better.
Bonnie Nicholls
12/14/2011 at 8:31 PM (UTC -6)
Can’t wait to try this. I make some amazing fudgy brownies using black beans (you would never even guess it had pureed black beans in them. Thanks for this recipe
The Cheapskate Cook » Say Goodbye to the Beans
10/18/2010 at 12:17 PM (UTC -6)
[...] Chocolate (Veggie & Bean) Bread [...]
The Cheapskate Cook » Picky to Healthy: 5 Tips for Reluctant Eaters
10/25/2010 at 7:18 AM (UTC -6)
[...] if you struggle with extremely picky eaters you can “sneak” pureed fruit, vegetables, beans, etc., into their food – hopefully without a taste [...]