Healthy brownie recipe

I was inspired by this recipe when I was making the regular version. I know the basic replacements for healthier substitutions and thought I would give it a try. There is always the chance that it will not turn out very yummy because healthier doesn't always mean delicious. This happened to me today when I tried "healthy" peanut butter cookies. I have an idea what I'll do differently next time. Anyway this one really turned out and I thought I would share.

You will need the fallowing:

either and 8x8 or 8x11 casserole dish.

1 cup of low fat butter melted

1 cup of organic agave nectar

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp of vanilla

1 1/2  cup of whole wheat flour

2 tbsp of ground flax seed

1 cup of chocolate semi-sweet chocolate chips.

 Whisk butter, agave and cocoa. Add egg whites and vanilla. Fold in flour, flax seed and chocolate chips (I got the flax idea from a vegan recipe). Bake at 350 for 25 to 27 minutes. Check with a toothpick or knife by stabbing center, assure that the knife or toothpick run clean. Let cool and top with powdered sugar or serve warm with low fat vanilla ice cream. 

If you love baked goods yet still want to keep it healthy there are many things you can do to make it healthier. You can replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat or even use unbleached. You can take it a step further and buy the organic kind. As far as artificial sweeteners I like stevia and agave. Some brands are not as  healthy. I encourage research on what brands are good. Often when baking muffins or cinnamon roles I try to make it "half healthy" by only putting half the sugar and replacing the other half with either agave or stevia (keep in mind stevia is sweeter than sugar so you will not need to put as much). You can also replace half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. For example, if it calls for 1 cup of all-purpose put 1/2 cup of all-purpose and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. 

As far as being healthy goes and if your watching your weight, portion control is key and only eating sweets on occasion is important. I love my desserts but try to stay away.  At least when I put healthier ingredients in, I don't feel as bad.