When I was a kid we would travel to Alabama to visit my mom's family in Petrey. Every summer we had our family reunion at the Petrey Community Center across from the Wholesale Warehouse that the Petreys had built and every year Helen Willis would make her brownies. I can still taste them. I am sure those were real marshmallows (if there is such a thing) marbled into each chewy brownie and I am sure that each square probably had a stick of butter. Those were the days. Now if you are like me and have foresworn white sugar and just need something that tastes like a brownie, Diana Stobo (author of "Get Naked Fast: A Guide to Stripping away the Foods that Weigh You Down) has a brownie for you. She is a leader of the Raw food movement, lives in Northern California. She says she weighed 247 pounds when she decided to heal herself through food. She had a simple mantra and taped it to her refrigerator: "No sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine, no meat." She is now a poster child for fitness. But more importantly she has a brownie to die for (sorry Helen Willis!)
Walnut-Pecan Brownies
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/4 cup raw cacao powder (not cocoa powder - make sure it says cacao)
1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted and firmly packed
Directions:
Place walnuts and pecans in food processor fitted with s-blade and pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add dates and cacao and process until mixture begins to stick together. Do not overprocess or they will become gooey. Place mixture into a 4X9 loaf pan lined with parchment paper, garnish with chopped walnuts (anti-inflammatory) and slice into 6 squares. Form the brownies with your fingers pressing the mixture firmly into squares. Yum! Cacao and walnuts and dates - it is so satisfying, tastes like a brownie, you are satisfied after one square and bang! You are packing a powerful anti-oxidant punch.
