Made with quinoa, chocolate and nut butter, this gluten free & vegan brownie is packed with protein, healthy fats and chocolate. A healthy treat made sinful, these Vegan Double Chocolate Quinoa Brownies are ones you can’t resist!
Hello! Hello! How’s your week? I know it’s only Monday but I’m already wishing it were Friday. I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately. Running around to many doctors and therapists during the week I feel like I’m in a circus relay. Does that even exist? By the time Friday rolls around, I’m exhausted. Lately I’ve been feeling defeated by everything. I feel like I can’t doing anything right except maybe cooking and this blog. I’m sure others don’t see me that way but I’m such a darn perfectionist and hold myself to such high standards, if not impractical ones at times. I’ve finally surrendered to it all. I can’t do anything any better right now so why fight it. I’m one person and I can only do so much.
I need to focus my energy on recovering and getting my strength back from these injuries which by the way, recovering from injury is a million times harder than being injured. It’s made working out really hard. It’s physically painful strengthening weak areas making my workouts mentally challenging. Talking yourself into doing it something that hurts isn’t easy. You have to remind yourself why you’re doing it and push yourself through the pain to strengthen the weak bits.
There are days I feel so angry with the cards I’ve been dealt. I’ve had many people tell me they admire my determination to never give up. If only they knew, how many times I’ve wanted to give up or wondered why I’m bothering to workout at all. Then I remember my weight loss journey and realize I’m starting over.
My journey with weight loss didn’t start with food, calorie counting or a fad diet. It began with fitness. It started with a simple walk on the beach every night. Doctors told me many years ago I couldn’t and shouldn’t do high impact activity because it might cause more damage to my femur. For years I lived in fear of what they told me and did no activity because of it.
Looking back, I regret living my life that way. Doctors are often mistaken especially when it comes to will power and determination and I have a lot of both. So I walked. I walked every single night. As time went on, I fell in love with walking – the fresh air, the physical movement and those moments alone with my thoughts when nothing else was competing for them. Over time, I got stronger. I went faster. I went farther. Soon I was walking 10-12-14 miles. From there, my fitness bloomed. I did all the things my body was meant to do. It was not planned or expected. Look at how thick these brownies are.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about that time when I started walking. Part of me’s been wanting to give up, surrender to the pain and hard work and everything else life’s been throwing at me too. But then I realized, I’m not weak or incapable of being the fitness super star I once was. I’m just starting over. When I started walking, it wasn’t easy. It was the exact opposite. It hurt. It was hard.
My leg had to learn how to move with my body again, it needed time to strengthen in areas that hadn’t moved in years, gain range of motion and breakdown scar tissue. It took months of fighting through that before I built my fitness foundation to a level where I was comfortable, it didn’t hurt and was able to take it to the next level.
As I thought about this the other day, I realized the key is accepting that I’m starting over. That’s hard for me to do because it makes me feel weak. I have to be ok with where I am right now and accept that I’m not going to be anywhere near where I was a year ago. Someday I will, just not right this second.
I think this applies to so many people out there who want to be healthier, lose weight and get into fitness. It can be overwhelming to the point you don’t even try or you give up because it’s not going the way you want it to go. You shouldn’t give up. You should accept where you are right now, compare yourself only to where you are and let go of any expectations of where you think you should be.
I’m going to remind myself to read this post every time I want to give up. It’ll give me an excuse to drool over these brownies and dream about making them again. But seriously. Don’t give up. Once you’ve met your goal, treat yourself to some brownies. You guys really need to try them. I’m not a brownie lover. I’m a muffin girl, but I swear these brownies transformed my life. I’ll be making brownies forever with quinoa. They’re thick, gooey and crazy chocolaty. They’re incentive enough for me to stick with my goals. I’m not giving up so don’t give up on yours. Take that Monday!
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- 1½ cups cooked quinoa
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp golden flax meal
- ¼ cup organic coconut oil
- ¾ cup almond butter
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp almond extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup dairy free mini chocolate chips
- Prepare flax egg by combining flax meal with 6 tbsp water. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lightly spraying with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl or standing mixer, combine all ingredients and mix well. Do not over mix.
- Transfer batter to baking dish.
- Bake 35-45 minutes until a toothpick can be removed cleanly.
- Allow to cool in the pan 30 minutes before cutting.
- Cut with a plastic knife for a clean cut.
What I Used To Make The Recipe
yummy!
ooooh megan!!! I have always wanted to try and bake with quinoa, and you keep whipping out these tempting recipes, it may be time to try! This sounds fantastic, and so good for you too! I love that we can use nuttzo, I am LOVING mine! Thanks so much for sharing! AS for expectations, I am working on that too, its really hard!!!!
I’ll trade you soup for brownies? Seriously your soup sounds divine. I have to make it.
Love your story here and these brownies look DIVINE! So delicious…thank you for bringing some chocolate to my Monday. 🙂 And kudos to you…never ever ever give up. 🙂
Aww thanks Meg! Hope you get a chance to enjoy the brownies.
i LOVE the ingredients list on this recipe!
I know it can be hard to accept things as they are, but it always helps to focus on what you CAN do about it given the circumstances! Happy Monday!
Thanks Ruthie! So grateful for your support as always. 🙂
It’s extremely hard to give up on expectations but once you do, I at least feel much better. This recipe looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Awww thank you for sharing! 🙂 I really think that we never start over. We are starting, yes, but never from the same place. We have more knowledge, more experiences and perhaps more determination. To keep me going I just try to think that if I did it when I knew less then I can do it now that I know more. I go back to my wisdom…. Take that Monday! 😉
You are so wise Elsie. Where did you get all your wisdom from? Seriously though. You’re so right about starting from a different place. I’m training smarting and slower now because of things. It’s taking more time though and I am not patient at all. Thanks for your wisdom. I needed it today.
I can really relate to you, my friend, even though our life circumstances are quite different. I also hold myself to what I’ve realized are high standards and I’m always battling that somehow. It’s funny because I also will get angry about something I’ve been dealt, only to realize much of that anger is resentment toward the way I treat myself, which can sometimes be relentless. Accepting that you’re starting over with something is tough, I know that feeling!
On a lighter note, you are really doing everything right with your blog! These look amazing, the ingredients, the photography, all of it. You deserve to give yourself credit for all of the hard work you put into everything 🙂
You’re so right about the relentless part. I really have beaten up on my body in the past. I think it knows that and is punishing me or teaching me a lesson. And THANK YOU for your sweet comments. I’ve been working like crazy to get it going. If it hadn’t been for my injury, I’m not sure all the blog stuff would have happened as fast as it did.
These brownies look delicious! I love the crunchy look to the top, to me that’s a perfect brownie! 🙂
They really are the perfect brownie.
These look amazing! I’m totally craving a brownie at 9am 😛
oops! I posted my comment before finishing it! I wonder if the recipe would work with stevia?
I’m sure it would. I substitute with baking stevia all the time and never have had a problem.
Megan I know exactly what you mean when it comes to recovery. I am dealing with my own issues and it sucks. The bad days bring you down so much that it gets hard to get back up. You have a wonderful story of weight loss that I am glad keeps you motivated. I look forward to reading your blog because you are true to yourself and can completely relate to what you are going through.
Aww thanks Daisy! That means the world to me. I hope all is well with you and things heal much faster than me.
These brownies look so flippin amazing! I have seen a ton of baking recipes calling for quinoa flour, but never whole quinoa. YUM! Also, in my years of fitness I have been derailed so many times. I totally know how you feel! But all of those times I have bounced back, and then some. It helps me to think of that when I get frustrated with being sidelined!
Happy Monday!
Aww thanks for the positiveness. I needed that today! I fear I will never bounce back since it been over 12 months now. Feels like forever.
I love cooking with quinoa–it adds such a fun texture!
Right? It’s hard to describe, but I love it.
oh wow how creative! I love quinoa and chocolate I’m into these! Thanks for linking up!!
You know me…always looking for the sneaky stuff!
These look delicious! I’ve never used quinoa in a dessert before, so I’ll definitely have to give these a try!
Quinoa is my new favorite in baked goods. It’s thick and delicious plus all the protein!
these brownies look too good to be true! i have yet to find a GF brownie recipe that i love.
You’re gonna love this!
I haven’t seen cooked quinoa brownies yet… definitely pinned these to try soon!!
I feel defeated a lot by work. It seeps into every other aspect of my life if I let it… definitely feel the struggle you do!
Thanks Cassie! Many things can overcome us in life if we let them. The key is not letting them get the best of us. Glad you liked the brownies. Hope you give them a try!
These look delicious! I’m so sorry you’ve been going through such a hard time. Recovery takes an emotional toll for sure. Sending healing thoughts your way. 🙂
Thanks Lauren!
I am sorry to hear how frustrating things have been for you, Megan! Expectations are the cause of a lot of misery, I think. I am guilty (as much as the next gal) of placing expectations too high for myself. You’re right though, realizing how far you’ve come and why you work hard should always trump feeling defeated. Great post and those brownies, they look FAB! 🙂
Thanks, Erin! I’m trying. Day by day…
I had a hard time reading your story because my eyes kept wandering over to your brownies. They look fantastic. I’m always on the hunt for a quinoa recipe. Good luck with your goals. Your story is inspiring!
Haha…I had that problem too when I was writing it. Glad you liked the recipe!
if you get 10000 hits from Australia, its me 😉 Just organising some recipe round ups and this looks delicious.
Thanks Arman! These are ridiculously good. Now that you reminded me I’m gonna have to make them again.
these look uh-maze-ing!!! Can’t wait to try them:)
I LOVE quinoa but have not tried baking with it yet. These brownies look and sound so tasty! I’ll have to try them soon. They also look pretty simple, which I also love! If they are as good as they look, would you mind me sharing on my blog and linking back to your post? Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe and your story. Way to go. Life can be so trying at times. Kudos on pushing ahead and not giving up!
Of course! Thanks for sharing Sara!
I’m drooling, just looking at the pictures of those brownies. Must make them soon!
But, question: I’m not trying to be vegan. Can I use an egg in place of the flax meal? And what size pan did you use to bake them in?
It’s a regular 8×8 square baking dish. I haven’t tried using an egg, but I would imagine it would work. Might be a little more liquidly as flax absorbs some liquid so you may need a little less oil. If you use an egg, please respond back so I can update the recipe card for others.