------------- Sherm's Bingeing Brownies 1.1 ------------- SHOPPING LIST for 2 batches (32 brownies) Note: make one batch of almond-flavored and one peppermint flavored * Nestle's Toll House Cocoa (need 2 8oz containers) - check upper left shelf of pantry - Nob Hill has this * Ener-G rice bran (need 1 box) - check outside refrigerator - buy from Bumblebee or online at www.ener-g.com (go to "flours" and buy the 8oz boxes of rice bran) * Psyllium husk (need 1 1/2 cups) - check pantry to the right with all the tupperware - buy from Bumblebee (large bags) or Wild Oats (open stock) * Chopped hazelnuts - buy at least 70g from Nob Hill * Whole wheat flour (need 1/2 cup) * Brewer's yeast (need about 1/4 cup) - check outside fridge (OK to use, but wrong brand) - buy Solgar Brewer's Yeast only (Wild Oats) * Whey Protein powder (need 2/3 cup) - check back right of pantry (large container) - order by web from www.lef.org (see below) * Baking powder, no sodium - see lower right shelf in pantry (bottle in baggie) - buy from Bumblebee -- make sure it is loose in the bottle. If hard-packed it is no good. * Nonfat milk (3 cups) - use our normal lactose-reduced fortified milk (make sure it is the nonfat kind!) * Egg whites (12) - using store-bought egg whites is easiest - I like AllWhites from Nob Hill: one little carton is equivalent to 6 egg whites * Papaya (2 or 3 depending on size) - Nob Hill usually has these - you can substitute guava (see below for amounts) * Canned pumpkin (1 can is plenty) - Nob Hill has this as does probably any grocery store * Endive (need about 4) - Nob Hill or probably anywhere else * Whole large eggs (2) - if possible, get the DHA-boosted eggs from Wild Oats (Gold Circle Farms), but plain old eggs are fine * Canola oil - look in the refrigerator door (this stuff *must* be kept refrigerated after opening) * Almond, vanilla, peppermint extracts (2 tsp each) - the usual Schilling stuff is fine, but don't get the artificial kind * Sucralose - white powder in upper right of outside refrigerator - be careful! This stuff is really powerful. - if we are running low, let me know: it is hard to get * Calcium and zinc - get these from the vitamin shelf RECIPE for 1 batch (16 brownies) The volume measurements below are easiest to work with but approximate. The weights in grams are definitive. The number in parentheses after each item gives the number of calories that item contributes to the recipe. If you make substitutions, try to keep the calories the same. Makes 16 100-calorie brownies, 2x3x1" (5x7x2cm) each, weighing about 2.5 oz (70g). Preparation time, including cooking, is about an hour once you get the hang of it. Mixing-bowl ingredients: 1 1/2 cup 120g unsweetened cocoa powder (300) 1/2 cup 60g rice bran (230) 3/4 cup 60g psyllium husk ( 25) 1/3 cup 35g chopped hazelnuts (200) 1/4 cup 30g whole wheat flour ( 90) 1 1/2 Tbsp 23g brewer's yeast ( 65) 1 scoop 20g whey protein pwdr(1/3cup) ( 85) 1 tsp 6g baking powder (no sodium) ( 0) Blender ingredients: 1 1/2 cup 360g nonfat milk (130) 6 lrg 200g egg whites (100) 1 1/2 cup 200g papaya ( 80) 1/3 cup 80g pumpkin (canned) ( 25) 2 med 75g endive ( 15) 1 lrg 50g whole egg ( 75) 1 1/2 Tbsp 20g canola oil (180) 2 tsp 10g almond extract ( 0) 1 tsp 5g vanilla extract ( 0) 1/2 tsp 3g salt ( 0) 1 1/2 tsp 2g sucralose ( 0) 2 caps 1g (elemental) calcium ( 0) 1 cap 15mg (elemental) zinc ( 0) ------ 1600 SUBSTITUTION NOTES * 2 tsp (10g) peppermint extract instead of almond extract extract to make a mint chocolate Brownie. * 1 1/2 Tbsp (yes, TABLEspoons, about 5g) stevia (white powder) instead of Sucralose; Sucralose is three times sweeter than stevia. * 1 cup (150g) guava instead of 200g papaya (or see Ingredient Notes below) * 1 carrot instead of the pumpkin (but see Ingredient Notes) * No, you cannot substitute walnuts for hazelnuts. If you do the recipe will be short on vitamin E. Substituting almonds for hazelnuts is OK, though. * Sorry, you can't leave out the endive! Without that you'll fall short on pantothenic acid. Endive is also *very* high in vitamin K. INSTRUCTIONS The ideal pan is a non-stick, 9x13x1" brownie pan. (1" deep makes it easy to get the brownies to be a uniform thickness.) If you don't have a non-stick pan, spray the one you have with a canola-based spray oil like Pam. (Don't use an olive oil-based spray because the taste is wrong for brownies.) You can use a 9x13x2" pan, or a pair of 8x8x2" pans. I have also had very good luck using a pair of cheap disposable 6.5x9x1.5" aluminum foil brownie pans. 1. Preheat oven to 325. 2. Combine in mixing bowl: rice bran, psyllium, cocoa, protein powder, flour, brewer's yeast, baking powder. Mix by hand until uniform and without lumps. Then add hazelnuts last (if you add them earlier you won't be able to tell when you have lumps). Set aside. 3. Put in blender: egg whites, egg, milk, oil, vanilla extract, almond (or peppermint) extract, pumpkin, endive, papaya (or guava), sucralose (or stevia), salt, calcium, zinc. Blend on high until very smooth. 4. Add liquid to dry ingredients; mix vigorously. Scrape mixing spoon to make sure there is no dry stuff hidden on it. 5. Pour batter into pan(s) and spread evenly. Wet the back of the mixing spoon with hot water (or spray a little canola oil on it) and use it to push the batter around to make it an even depth and to make a smooth, flat top. Pay special attention to the edges; it is easy to leave gaps and low spots there. Professional brownie makers cut off the edges and discard them to make all the brownies uniform; I don't discard anything! 6. Lick spoon until clean; put back in drawer if no one is watching. 7. Cook 30 minutes in the upper half of the oven. Do not attempt to use the "toothpick test" (where you cook until an inserted toothpick comes out clean). If you do, the Brownies will be overcooked. The mix will rise substantially in the oven but will shrink back somewhat during cooling. 8. When cool enough to handle (5 minutes or so) cut in 4 by 4 pattern to make 16 rectangular Brownies. (This is a little awkward if you used 8x8 pans. You have to cut those in a 2x4 pattern.) Put these *upside down* on a towel or cooling rack. This allows moisture to evaporate from the bottom and improves the texture noticeably. Cool for at least another 10 minutes. 9. Refrigerate or freeze in Tupperware. These freeze really well, although they do shrink a bit there. To eat a frozen Brownie, microwave on high for 30 seconds. That should leave the Brownie still cool but edible. --------------------------------------------------------- INGREDIENT NOTES Cocoa powder I use Nestle's Toll House cocoa from my local grocery store. Ingredients: 100% cocoa. Label shows 15 calories per Tablespoon (5g). Some other brands show somewhat higher calorie density; get the lowest you can. Incidentally, cocoa and chocolate are the same thing, processed differently. In brief, cocoa beans are pressed to extract most of the oil (cocoa butter). What's left behind is called cocoa. The extracted oil is than *added* to another batch of cocoa beans. That oil-enhanced batch is called chocolate. Using cocoa rather than chocolate allows one to replace the cocoa butter with more nutritious fats. For everything you could possibly want to know about chocolate and cocoa, see http://www.icco.org. Rice Bran You should get rice bran in sealed containers if possible, though open-bin rice bran is still better than any other grain! I can get Ener-G rice bran at a local health food store. You can easily get it by mail from their web site www.ener-g.com. Look under "flours" to find the rice bran product and buy the 8 oz (227g) size which costs less than $2. You can also order the product by telephone 1-800-331-5222. Keep it refrigerated. Psyllium husk This is fine to obtain open-bin or in packages. Make sure you get pure psyllium husk with no flavorings. No refrigeration is necessary. Hazelnuts (a.k.a. filberts) You can get hazelnuts pre-chopped in sealed bags at the grocery store. They are approximately the size and texture of chopped walnuts. Whey protein powder I use LEF's, which I think is best. The product is called Enhanced Life Extension Protein http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/item00509.html not to be confused with their inferior product Whey Designer Protein. No need to be fussy about this, though, if you have some other whey protein powder to which you are partial. You could probably also use soy protein isolate -- I already use that in Megamuffins so I don't want it in my Brownies. Baking powder I use a potassium-based baking powder I get from my local health-food store. (Watch out -- if it is caked hard it is no longer any good.) If you have to use a sodium-based baking powder, that's OK. Try to find aluminum-free baking powder if possible but there is no need to panic if you can't. Milk I use Lactaid brand lactose-reduced, vitamin D fortified skim milk (liquid!). Any nonfat milk will do, but I recommend vitamin D fortified because there is no other significant source of vitamin D in the recipe except for the one whole egg. Eggs If you can get high-omega3 eggs, use one for the whole egg. Don't use expensive omega3 eggs for the whites -- only the yolk contains the omega3 fat. I use 1 cup of commercial liquid egg whites (e.g. EggBeaters or AllWhites) in place of the six hand-separated egg whites. Papaya or Guava This is the primary source of vitamin C for the Brownie. I found it easy to get papaya, but apparently guava is seasonal. Guava has by far the highest density of vitamin C per calorie of any fruit (360mg/100cal). Strawberry, Kiwi and Papaya are roughly tied at half that density, and Orange has about one third. I couldn't get guava, rejected strawberry and orange because of their prominent roles in my muffins and kiwi because of the seeds, so that left me with papaya. Strawberries would be a good alternate to papaya if you don't already consume a lot of them like I do. Canned Pumpkin This is the primary source of vitamin A for the Brownie. Pumpkin has the same vitamin A density as carrot. However, most people eat lots of carrots and very little pumpkin, so this is a better choice from a variety point of view. Carrots also appear in the muffin recipe, so I didn't want them here. Canned pumpkin is available with all the other canned vegetables at the supermarket. Sucralose and Stevia Sucralose comes from www.splenda.com, but you can't use Splenda because it is mostly high-GI, high-calorie maltodextrin with a little Sucralose added. They will only sell pure Sucralose to industrial food preparers. But of course if you happened to have the urge to form a food company (say Doug's Dietary Doodads, Inc.) and decided to develop a recipe for possible commercial use later, they would probably be happy to send you a sample. Pure Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar so 1.5 teaspoons makes the Brownies very sweet. Probably 1 teaspoon would be enough. Alternatively, use pure stevia extract. This is a white powder (>90% stevioside) derived from the stevia plant. DON'T USE THE GREEN KIND, which is just dried-up stevia leaves, isn't nearly as sweet, and tastes awful. Purified stevia is available in the herbal section of health food stores. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Calcium and Zinc supplements If you choose to use supplements, as I did for calcium and zinc, please note that the amounts listed are *elemental*. You may need a larger amount of supplement to provide the required elemental amount. I use 2 calcium carbonate powder capsules of 1g each to get a total of 2g of elemental calcium. Without supplementing, calcium will be at 8% RDA and zinc at 9%, just short of my 10% requirement. (Yes, I'm cheating. It would be great if someone with DWIDP can figure out a modification which pushes these two items over 10%. Cocoa is actually a great source of zinc, I just couldn't squeeze in any more although I sure wouldn't mind!) NUTRITION NOTES Here's what DWIDP v1 has to say about these: Sherm's Bingeing Brownie 1.0 (one serving): Macronutrients: 43% carb (but see comment below) 23% protein 33% fat Calories 100.12__cal 5% RDA Protein 7.58__gm 14% RDA Total Fat 4.74__gm 7% RDA Sat. Fat 1.15__gm 6% RDA Mono. Fat 2.30__gm 8% RDA Poly. Fat 1.00__gm 15% RDA Carbohydrate 14.43__gm 5% RDA Fiber 6.82__gm 23% RDA Cholesterol 13.69__mg 5% ODA Vit. A 779.66__IU 16% RDA Vit. B6 0.23__mg 14% RDA Vit. B12 0.24__mcg 12% RDA Vit. C 8.27__mg 14% RDA Vit. E 1.13__mg 14% RDA Thiamine 0.16__mg 15% RDA Folacin 24.91__mcg 14% RDA Riboflavin 0.23__mg 18% RDA Niacin 1.92__mg 13% RDA Panto. Acid 0.56__mg 11% RDA Calcium 140.46__mg 12% RDA Copper 0.42__mg 21% RDA Iron 1.97__mg 13% RDA Magnesium 97.51__mg 35% RDA Manganese 0.83__mg 28% RDA Phosphorus 167.57__mg 14% RDA Potassium 431.75__mg 22% RDA Selenium 9.11__mcg 17% RDA Sodium 119.29__mg 5% RDA Zinc 2.08__mg 17% RDA Amino Acids Lysine 0.47__gm 65% RDA * Essential Phenylalanine 0.36__gm 38% RDA * Leucine 0.59__gm 61% RDA * Valine 0.47__gm 55% RDA * Methionine 0.15__gm 50% RDA * Tryptophan 0.10__gm 56% RDA * Threonine 0.33__gm 68% RDA * Isoleucine 0.38__gm 52% RDA * Tyrosine 0.31__gm 32% RDA Cystine 0.11__gm 35% RDA Macronutrients Note that DWIDP's method for calculating these is not the standard rule of thumb. I *think* this is because the USDA data properly downgrades the protein in the cocoa since it is not fully available for some reason. But I'm not sure. The rule of thumb (4cal/g protein; 9 cal/g fat) would give: 27% carbohydrate 30% protein 43% fat Vitamin D DWIDP does not deal with vitamin D. As I mentioned above, the only significant sources of vitamin D in this recipe are: 150IU from the milk and 50IU from the one whole egg, giving 12IU, or 3% RDA, per Brownie. So you have to eat the Brownie out in the sunshine to get it up to 10% RDA for vitamin D. Vitamin K DWIDP doesn't track this either. Thanks to Jeffrey Behrendt, however, I know that the 15 calories of endive *alone* contains 200 micrograms of vitamin K. That's 12 micrograms per Brownie, or 15% RDA. So that is covered easily. Essential fatty acids The recipe contains 16g of polyunsaturated fat. The canola oil provides 2g 18:3w3. The omega3 egg provides about 0.5g, the rice bran about 0.2g for a total of 2.7g w3. This gives an w6:w3 ratio of 6:1, worse than the 4:1 that I would like. This could easily be addressed by using flax oil instead of canola, which I don't think would be a problem in the interior of the mix since it is anaerobic during baking (CO2 and water vapor being the primary atmosphere inside a wet, leavened batter). However, the small amount of flax oil on the top surface would oxidize since there is oxygen there. This worries me a bit, and since the total amount of polyunsaturated fat per Brownie is quite low (1g total) I decided it would be OK as is. One thought that occurred to me is to use flax oil in the recipe but spray canola oil on top to prevent the flax oil from encountering oxygen during baking. But I'm too chicken to try this because I don't have any way to measure the actual oxidation that occurs. Your thoughts on how safely to improve the w6:w3 ratio would be most welcome. Glycemic index The digestible carbohydrates come primarily from rice bran (20), cocoa (30?), milk (32), papaya (60), and flour (70). A weighted average of these would be around 50, I think, although it is not exactly clear how that should be calculated. This would be further lowered by the very high amounts of fiber and fat in the Brownie, factors for which I do not know how to account quantitatively. But given the low total amount of carbohydrate, and the use of low-GI ingredients, I think it is safe to say the Brownies will not produce much of a glucose spike. Theobromine and caffeine The cocoa in each Brownie provides 150mg of theobromine (the chocolate love drug) and 15mg of caffeine. The theobromine level is higher than a normal brownie but lower than a large chocolate candy bar. The caffeine level is about a third that of a 12oz can of Coke (approx. 1/10 of a cup of coffee).