Gluten-free chocolate black bean zucchini muffins

Oh, man, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Good thing I didn’t go with the original title of this recipe: “Easy gluten-free Vitamix chocolate black brown zucchini muffins.”

This recipe is an evolution of my black bean brownies, and a staple of the 30-day eating program I have been doing over and over since last summer that’s helped me lose 35 pounds, in concert with my Orangetheory Fitness workouts. (Email me if you want to learn more about the program and the next group session I’m leading on the nutrition front!)

These are super healthy and oh-so-moist and stay fresh for more than a week if you keep them in the fridge in an air-tight container. My version uses nuts but you can use chocolate chips and marshmallows for your kids if you like. Or nothing at all — because they’re that good. I make this all in one shot in my Vitamix; if you have another super-powerful blender, that’ll work too.

Prep time is about 5-10 minutes, and another 20 for baking. We’re talking pantry to mouth in less than an hour.

And since I hate finding a recipe on Google and reading a preamble that amounts to 1,200 storybook words before I even get to the ingredient list, let’s dive right in, shall we?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 tbsp melted organic coconut oil
• 3 free-range eggs
• 5-6 tbsp of raw cacao powder
• 1 tbsp real vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of Xyla
• 1 tsp organic baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup of grated/shredded zucchini (make sure you squeeze out most of the water and then re-measure); you can even use up to 1.5 cups if you have a little extra
• Chopped nuts of your choice (I’ve tried almonds, pecans, walnuts and macadamia nuts — you can’t go wrong here)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F on a convection setting; 375°F if you don’t have convection.
2. Put all of the ingredients EXCEPT zucchini and nuts into the Vitamix on low. You’ll probably have to use your tamper to mix it all up.
3. Add the zucchini and pulse it a couple of times to mix it in without pureeing it.
4. Be sure the consistency is thicker like frosting rather than runny like cake batter.
5. Use silicone cupcake liners with a cupcake tin for best results (and spray them with coconut oil if you have it), and spoon batter into each of the cups about halfway, then add some chopped nuts and spoon the remaining mixture on top filling the cups completely. Don’t worry, they don’t really rise very much. This should make 12 muffins.
6. Put it in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Check doneness with a toothpick.
7. Let cool for 15-30 minutes before indulging.

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Enjoy!