This is the food processor I used to make these yummy brownies. It belongs in a museum as the oldest food processor still in use. I couldn't find the plunger, which was fine, because my veggies kept getting crammed into the corner and "mushing." Notice the carrot and zucchini confetti around the counter - yeah, that's what happens when your food processor is not enclosed and you have to just aim for the bowl. Needless to say, after this experience, a food processor is on my wish list, underlined and in bold.
So, I currently live with my grandparents, due to being a poor post-grad student, which is sometimes a downside. One of the downsides is they think I'm a freak. I exercise all day long (according to them), constantly dashing off to the next tri training session. Or, I'm constantly buying groceries and cooking things. Not really constantly because my Nana runs her kitchen with an iron fist, and gets antsy when I'm in there. Also, my grandpa comes in and hovers and watches and makes comments, which just makes me nervous. SO, since they're out of town watching my brother swim, I'm going on a crazy cooking spree! Thus the sweet potato burritos yesterday, and a bunch of other things that I will blog about in the future.

First up for blogging about are YUMMY VEGGIE BROWNIES!!!!! I know, I know, they sound super bizarre. I got the inspiration for these brownies from various vegetarian and health food blogs. They're a little bit healthier than normal brownies because of the veggies and whole wheat flour.

Now, they were a bit of a challenge, because I used unsweetened apple sauce and cocoa, when the recipe I started from called for sweetened. So I added some sugar. I still think I could tweak this recipe to make these brownies more satisfying and healthy, but they're delicious now.

I recommend everyone try these brownies! They're thick and fudgey, chocolatey and moist, with an original texture. Plus, the added bonus of having veggies, apple sauce and whole wheat flour.
Ta Da!! They turned out well. And they look delicious.
Where are the veggies? I can't see them...
This picture was taken before I remembered my digital macro setting. You can see the top picture for a prettier picture, where I used the macro setting. Much better!

Yummy in my tummy veggie brownies!
1 large carrot
2 medium zucchinis
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350, grease up a 9"x13" pan
2. Stick the carrot and zucchini in a food processor and process until you get a finely grated salad of veggies. Use 2 c. of this in the brownies.
3. Dump it all in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
4. Bake for 25-30 min (I did 25)
5. Cut into 24 squares. Eat 'em up!!

Nutrition Data - from nutritiondata.com
(serving size 1/24 of recipe)
139 calories (not bad for a good sized brownie!!
3 g fat
1 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
9 mg cholesterol
9 mg sodium Vitamin A 11%
28 g carbs Vitamin C 5%
2 g fiber Calcium 2%
18 g sugar Iron 6%
3 g protein

These are some darn tasty and pretty healthy brownies!