Chocolate-Banana Bean Bake with Carob Chips

Are you a serious choco-alcoholic? Me too. Very…very…serious.

I don’t even care about all the good nutrition in chocolate; I just go into a supremely happy-taste place when I have some.

Which is why I am absolutely delighted to be able to feed my addiction with this delicious, rich, and more chocolate-y bean bake than the Chocolate-Orange Bean Bake.

Why, you may be wondering, did I bother making two chocolate bean bakes in the first place? Good question!

And the answer is twofold:

• The Chocolate-Orange Bean Bake is lower in calories because it has only cocoa powder and oranges.
• This one is higher in calories because of the banana and the carob chips.

It’s helpful, I find, to have a choice when the chocolate urge hits hits. If it’s a good diet day, the decision will go one way; a bad day, the other.

Also, this bake also has a great texture—somewhat like a brownie.  And I do mean “great” because I am battling texture problems with a kiwi bean bake (more on that later), and I know of what I speak.

So…enjoy!

Cauliflower-Salsa Bean Bake and Dip

I used to enjoy snack foods such as nachos, cheese, crackers, and spicy salsa dip—in my pre-diet and pre-gluten intolerant state. Recently, I asked myself: Could I replicate, to some degree, those great snacks in a bean bake?

Here’s what I had on hand:

• Cooked cauliflower leftovers
• A jar of mild salsa
• Soft, creamy goat cheese that needed to be used up or else…!
• Four olives that had taken up residence in a dark corner of the fridge
• Nostalgia inspired by the jar of salsa

This cooking adventure was of the taste-and-test variety. I threw in the basic ingredients plus the cauliflower and then, ¼ cup by ¼ cup, I added the salsa from which I had drained most of the liquid. I knew from previous experimentation that too much liquid will create a pudding rather than a bake.

After using up all the contents of the salsa jar, I had a pale red batter that tasted like it was heading in the right direction. I added the cheese and, with a what-the-hell feeling, threw in the olives.

The result? A rich, salsa-flavoured bean bake with a creamy texture which suggested to me that this particular dish could be a dip as well as a bake. Hence the rice crackers in the photo.

Besides, the more a dish can multitask, the better it is, right?

Update: This recipe, along with savoury “Butternut Squash Bean Bake with Coconut,” into the “My Legume Love Affair” event, hosted by The Well-Seasoned Cook and Girlichef. Wish me luck!

Banana-Coconut Bean Bake

This bean bake is sweet, rich, much like a cake in texture, and has a lovely blend of banana and coconut flavours. Like Chocolate-Orange Bean Bake, it’s makes a great breakfast.

Now, I love coconuts but they don’t love my weight-loss program. Too many calories, alas.

Hence I used coconut extract to give it more coconut flavour, rather than adding more coconut. However, if you’re not worrying about calories…then, go for it! 

Chocolate-Orange Bean Bake

This bean bake has…

• A light chocolate flavour.
• A hint of orange.
• A cake-like texture.

It’s delicious, and I’ve been eating it for breakfast. Yes, that’s right. One of the nicest things about sweet bean bakes is that they make a first-class breakfast because they are loaded with protein. I need protein and when it comes in the guise of chocolate, I’m a happy camper!

Even the spouse, who is not fond of chocolate (how is that possible?), likes this bean bake—although he did say that it would probably be better if it were topped with whipped cream.

Well, what wouldn’t??!!

I’m a dieter, and I know very well that everything I can eat would taste much more exciting if it were fried, blended, mixed, chopped, or topped with the foods I can’t eat.

And I told him so in no uncertain terms, thank you very much!

Cauliflower-Carrot Bean Bake with Ginger and Garlic

Welcome to my first bean-bake posting!

This bean bake is a delicious, rich mix of both vegetables with a tang of ginger and a hint of garlic. For meat-eaters, it would make a great complement to a roast beef or steak.

I decided to make this bean bake my first posted recipe because, in addition to being terrific taste-wise, it’s also a lovely bright yellow-orange. Not all bean bakes are both yummy and pretty at the same time. It all depends on the vegetables or fruits that you use. Think mushroom, and you’ll see what I mean. (Update: I just posted the Mushroom Bean Bake with Sage and Olive, and now you can see what I mean.)

I sprinkled cheese on the top because I was afraid that this bean bake would be bland. But it didn’t need the additional seasoning. It was very, very good just on its own.

Bon appétit!