Pumpkin Blondies with Salted Maple Pecans

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been MIA this month. As many of you know, I teach, tutor, blog and am currently doing my holistic nutrition certification. I always try and post at least once a week but these days, real life has gotten in the way! If you are one of my Instagram followers (now 10k followers wow!) you know I also visited my sister in NYC last weekend which was so much fun but SO exhausting. If you want to see some of my favourite food spots, you can check out my Instagram posts on the right side of my homepage! Just click on any picture and you can read the caption.

In all this busy-ness I have tried to make sure I get enough sleep and eat well. I still managed to get myself seriously sick this past weekend where I was left literally bed ridden. What I realized is that even if you plan out your time and do everything ‘you are supposed to do’ it is SO important to UNPLUG. What I mean is to emotionally, physically and electronically detach from all the busy-ness that makes up your day. My day consists of waking up at 7:45, making breakfast, heading to work until 4:15, tutoring until 5, 6 or even 7 pm, go to the gym, get home shower, make dinner, laundry etc.. In between I am making sure my Clean Eating Goddess social media areas are covered, thinking up recipe ideas and planning blog posts. By 10 pm I feel accomplished but truly exhausted and I basically just restart the next day. I realized that my sickness was really just pure mental exhaustion and stress! Even if you love what you do everyday, trying to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities will eventually equal stress at some point and thats ok… It just important to take time for yourself, away from your phone, tv, thoughts, etc… and truly detach from daily life! Go for a walk, have dinner with loved ones, have a drink (or two, or three), paint a mug, just change up the scenery or just do NOTHING!

I can’t imagine adding children to this picture… scary!

In any case..even if I was sick I needed to get back on my blog game. Thank god for Zach who helped me prep everything so I could muster up energy to do some baking/cooking. I have had this recipe stored in my notepad on my phone for weeks! When I think of something that might be delicious, I jot it down anywhere and at a later date start to configure the measurements. Then I put it together, cross my fingers and hope for the best!

These pumpkin blondies are made with…beans! I have seen recipes all over the health food blogs about bean brownies, cookies etc.. The result always looks amazing, so I had to try it myself. Trust me… just like you I had the same reaction. EW. Beans in dessert. But I have to stay these are INCREDIBLE. They are so incredibly moist from the pumpkin and cannellini beans that lend a delicate fudge-like texture that melts in your mouth. The salted maple pecans add a much needed crunch, that frankly I can eat by the handful on my own.

What’s best is that these have no added oil, grain or egg! So vegans, celiacs, health fanatics and foodies alike can enjoy this sweet treat all season long. Whats best is that you can make the entire recipe in the bowl of your food processor. Just pulse, pour, bake and enjoy. Your kids will never know they are gluten, dairy and refined sugar free + packed with protein and fibre! Happy Halloween and Bon appetit!

Blondie Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups canellini beans or 1 can well rinsed
• 1/2 cup smooth almond butter
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, pure pumpkin)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I used an amber no 2, the darker the syrup the more flavour!)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 4 heaped tbsp coconut flour

Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole pecans
• 2 heaped tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• good pinch sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 by 9-inch square baking pan. (I used a cookie sheet because that was all that was on hand, use what ya got!)
2. In a bowl of a food processor pulse beans until smooth. Add almond butter, pumpkin, vanilla, maple syrup, baking powder, pumpkin pie seasoning, cinnamon, salt. Pulse until creamy and smooth. Add coconut flour. If the batter looks really wet and runny then add more coconut flour until it is slightly thicker and holds together.
3. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool COMPLETELY.
4. For the topping: On medium heat, toast pecans in a dry saucepan for 5-7 minutes. Once toasted, add maple syrup and toss pecans to coat. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until most of the syrup is dissolved. Add sea salt and allow to cool on parchment or cutting board. Roughly chop.
5. Sprinkle topping on blondies and dig in! The blondies can be quite delicate, fork and knife might be required for some. I went with the hands of course… Enjoy<3