Those grain free vegan paleo brownies are perfect, if you’re looking for a moist and gooey kid-approved recipe that is ready in under an hour.

How to sprout lentils for those vegan paleo brownies

Honestly, there’s no effort involved in sprouting the lentils. Furthermore, you won’t even need any special jars or other customised equipment. Instead, a bowl, sieve and clean kitchen cloth work wonders.

1. First, soak lentils for about 8 hours. Add about 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to your soaking water. This will aid in the development of phytase, the enzyme needed to break down the phytic acid found in grains, nuts, beans, and seeds.
2. Then, place them in a sieve and rinse well.
3. Now, place the sieve over a bigger bowl and cover with clean kitchen cloth. You’ll already see tiny sprouts in the morning (if you put them to sprout the evening before). You can always let the sprouts grow a bit taller if you have time. However, keep them about 3mm or less.

As you can see sprouting is more about planning rather than hard and complicated work.

Vegan Paleo Brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (260g, 9.2oz) boiled black (Beluga) lentils
• 25g (0.9oz) nut or seed butter (without additives)
• 200g (7.05oz) of oat milk
• 4 tbsps. (30g, 1.06oz) coconut flour
• 1 tbsp. (9g, 0.3oz) mesquite flour (see sub info under tips)
• 2 tbsps. (15g, 0.5oz) carob powder
• 2 tbsps. (15g, 0.5oz) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1½ tsp. (5g, 0.2oz) psyllium powder
• 3 tbsps. (40g, 1.4oz) birch xylitol or stevia to taste
• ¼ tsp. Himalayan salt
• 2 tsps. (8g, 0.3oz) dark chocolate chips (add later)
• 1 tsp. (3g, 0.1oz) cocoa nibs (add later)

Instructions

1. Start with soaking Beluga lentils for 8 hours.
   Then rinse, drain and boil the lentils. 2 cups of boiled lentils is
   about 115g (4.06oz) dry lentils. Or buy enough of canned lentils. Make
   sure to rinse and drain those as well.
2. Next, add all the ingredients (except chocolate chips and cocoa
   nibs) into food processor and process until you have homogeneous and
   smooth batter. You’ll need to scrape the sides every now and then.
3. Then, transfer the batter onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it out into about 17x17cm (6.8 inch) square.
4. Finally, sprinkle on some chocolate chips and cocoa nibs, press them
   down and bake the brownies at 175°C (350°F) for 35 minutes. Let cool
   before slicing.

Tips on my vegan paleo brownies:

• Take it one step further and sprout the lentils before cooking. Nothing fancy or complicated – just leave soaked and rinsed lentils into sieve over a bigger bowl and cover with clean kitchen cloth. You’ll see small sprouts in the morning and can boil them, as you’d do with soaked lentils. This extra effort reduces the glycemic load of lentils even further. The same weight (260 grams, 9.2 ounces) of sprouted and cooked lentils is about 2 cups.
• Use any plant milk instead of oat milk. Just remember that if you choose an unsweetened, but naturally NOT sweet milk, you might need to add a bit more of sweetener.
• Mesquite flour can be substituted with lucuma, yakon or even by adding more carob.
• Use any nut protein powder/flour instead of coconut flour. I suggest going for protein powder that had reduced fat content. Simply put, ground nuts and seeds are very high in fat and absorb less liquid.

Let me know if you make those brownies or if you have any questions! Just comment below!