For heart-healthy foods for Valentine’s Day and beyond, consider pairing soyfoods with dark chocolate. Chocolate is a natural choice for romantic sweets to celebrate the day, thanks to its reputation as an aphrodisiac food and a good mood food. Like soyfoods, chocolate and cocoa also can contribute to heart health. The Soyfoods Council offers the following recipe suggestions that pair two anti- inflammatory foods—soy and dark chocolate—to result in luxurious and better-for-you Valentine’s Day desserts you’ll love.
Guilt Free Brownies
Makes 16 brownies
Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) can black soy beans
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
¼ cup soy flour
¼ cup soy oil
3 T cocoa powder
2 T brewed coffee
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, if you wish
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a colander or strainer set in the sink, drain and then rinse the soy beans.
- Spray an 8 x 8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- Turn the beans into a food processor or blender and process for several seconds. Beans should look coarse not smooth.
- Add all remaining ingredients except confectioners’ sugar. Blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- Cool pan on rack, then cut brownies into fourths each way to make 16 brownies.
- Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if you wish.
If you wish, stir in ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips and/or ¼ cup chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds before spreading batter in pan.
Serving Suggestion:
Serve brownies warm with vanilla soy ice cream
