Sweet Potato Brownies

We all know sweet potatoes taste great and are really nutritious. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties are just a couple of health benefits.

We also all know that brownies are delicious but traditional ones are full of sugar! That's why I prefer to make versions using natural sugars from fruits and vegetables - like these sweet potato brownies!

The potato skins aren't needed in this recipe but the skins can be enjoyed as a healthy snack. In fact, after reading an article on the internet about sweet potato skins, I learnt that the skins have more fibre than a serving of oatmeal and beta carotene found in baked skins is an antioxidant that is converted into vitamin A in the body, which in turn improves our eye sight and strengthens the immune system.

It is recommended to include some fat in a sweet potato-containing meal if the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable want to be enjoyed. 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases a person's uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes.

I originally saw this recipe for Sweet Potato Brownies on the Deliciously Ella blog. The ingredients are similar but as sweet potatoes contain a lot of natural sugar, along with the dates, I only added 1tbsp of honey. The recipe below still contains 12.6g sugar.

Sweet Potato Brownies
Makes 8

Ingredients:
- 450g / 16oz sweet potato
- 80g / 3oz dates, pitted, soaked and drained
- 20g / 1tbsp honey
- 5ml / 1tsp vanilla extract
- 80g / 3oz oat flour
- 28g / 1oz almonds, ground
- 20g / 4tbsp cocoa powder, natural unsweetened

Method:

• Bake the sweet potato in the skins, either in the oven or microwave and then scoop out the flesh. Set the skins aside (use in another recipe or eat as a snack).
• Blend the flesh in a food processor along with the dates, honey and vanilla. 
• In a bowl combine the oat flour, almonds and cocoa powder.
• Add the sweet potato date mixture and stir to combine.
• Spoon mixture into a 9x9 baking tray or loaf pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 175C / 350F.
• Cool on a wire rack and cut into 8 slices. ENJOY!

Nutritional Information: