Period-Loving Birthday Vegan Beetroot Brownies

So, it was my husband’s birthday this weekend.

It was monumentally bad timing in terms of my cycle as it fell on day 2 when I all I usually want to do is retreat into my period cave and ignore the world outside.

I got a bit stressed initially as I didn’t know how I was going to strike the balance between making sure he was having a lovely birthday and looking after my needs.

Luckily, having a birthday in lockdown helped as it meant I could focus on making nourishing foods and lavishing lovely presents on him rather than have to worry about having to arrange big party (definitely not Day 2 friendly!!)

That’s when I came up with this Vegan Beetroot Brownie recipe - they’re delicious enough to be a birthday treat but also full of period-loving ingredients like beetroot, dark chocolate AND loads of fibre to keep blood sugar nice and stable at this time.

So I managed to create a double whammy - the birthday boy loved them AND they were the perfect food for this time in my cycle!

I also made time yesterday for a lovely nap mid-afternoon which made my womb sing with joy. I might not have managed a full period cave retreat this month but I do have loads of left over brownies which isn’t a bad trade off!

I’m very excited to share this recipe with you beauties - these brownies really are the perfect period treat and a pretty healthy way to nail your loved one’s birthday (or both!)

In case you’re wondering…the missing corner was for quality control testing :)

Inner Winter is when we bleed. All hormones are at their lowest and our energy can be quite low too.

This is the time for nourishing foods that bring us joy. Low oestrogen means low serotonin (our feel-good neurotransmitter) so we’re naturally going to be seeking out foods that make us happy (hello chocolate!)

It’s also the time for iron-rich foods to replace the iron we’re loosing in our blood (hello beetroot!)

I personally always love making a period treat. This is some sort of decadent food that I can eat mindfully during this time that will help me slow down and reconnect with my body and my senses.

I LOVE the way a period treat helps me ritualise and celebrate my period. It’s one of the first things I started doing when I began working more closely with my cycle and I highly recommend you give it a go!

Don’t the candles match the colour of the sky perfectly?

These brownies make the perfect period treat: they’re delicious, decadent AND packed with period-loving goodness!

I recommend making a batch 2-3 days before your period starts so you have them ready to go - after all, no one wants to be spending time in the kitchen on the first few days of their bleed!

The other thing I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make.

The ingredients can be easily divided into two groups: wet and dry. You blend all the wet ingredients together, then mix the dry ones together and whisk them all up and you’re done!!!

Ok so let’s start with the wet ingredients:

First up we have dark chocolate: I used 70% cocoa (mainly because I didn’t want the brownies to be too bitter for my husband) BUT if you want to be more hardcore and lower the sugar content go for an 80-90% cocoa variety.

(In case you’re wondering, the chocolate gets melted which is why this counts a a wet ingredient).

Like I said earlier, cocoa stimulates the release of serotonin, which makes us feel happy…and I don’t know about you but I always welcome a bit of happiness in my Inner Winter!

Cocoa is also high in magnesium which can be very helpful during this time - magnesium is a muscle relaxant and can help to soothe any period cramps plus it’s an all over hormone hero so can help to make you feel a bit more balanced at this time too..

Can you see now why so many women have chocolate cravings at this time? They’re just our body’s way of communicating with us…so please don’t fight the urge for chocolate!

Just make sure you go for the best quality chocolate possible instead.

Look at that beautiful deep red!!

Next up we have beetroot.

This isn’t the first time I’ve included beetroot in one of my cycle-loving recipes (check out my Beetroot Latte for PMS cravings that I posted a few weeks ago for more beetroot inspiration).

Beetroot is such a good baking ingredient because it’s a wonderful way to sweeten food whilst adding fibre, which means the sugar is released MUCH more slowly into our bodies. This is sooo good for Inner Winter when we’re needing that hit of sweetness but when our bodies could do without a massive blood sugar hike! I could tell that these brownies were gentle on my blood sugar because I didn’t feel jittery or on edge after eating them (which is always a sign that I’ve spiked my blood sugar too high too quickly).

Beetroot is also a pretty good source of iron, which again, is perfect for this time!

Then we have almond milk (or any other plant milk of your choice).

The milk here is needed to add to the moisture of the brownies and to blend all the other wet ingredients together.

And if you’ve ever read any other of my recipe blogs you know what I’m going to say next…make sure that whatever milk you use is unsweetened!

Speaking of unsweetened…the next ingredient is maple syrup (yes, the irony isn’t lost on me!)

I used two tablespoons of maple syrup in this recipe but you could try reducing it to one and playing around with how the brownies taste. If I was making the brownies just for me I probably would have reduced the maple syrup but I did have to think of my poor husband too!

As far a sweeteners go, I like using maple syrup because it contains some minerals (note, this is not an excuse to go mad on it!)

Ok so that’s it for the wet ingredients. Next up, the dry ingredients:

First up cocoa powder: I’ve already gone on about why we should be eating plenty of cacao during our periods so you already know all the reasons why (although I’m always happy to repeat them!) The extra cocoa powder helps to give the brownies that extra chocolatey taste…and who doesn’t like their brownies to taste extra chocolatey?

Next up: ground almonds. These are a great flour alternative: they’re a good protein and fibre boost which will also help to keep that blood sugar stable. They also give the brownies a nice texture. Yum!

Next we have the flour. I used green banana flour because I’m currently on a mission to boost my gut health and this flour is an INCREDIBLE source of gut-loving prebiotics. It is expensive though so don’t feel like you need to use it. Any plain flour will do.

And finally…one of the star ingredients: raspberries. These give the brownies a lovely tanginess. They’re packed with anitoxidants and a brilliant way to sweeten the brownies in a nutritious way.

I love eating red foods when I have my period as I think it’s a lovely way to honour my bleed so the raspberries are perfect here :)

Like I said this recipe is SUPER easy to prepare - just blend all the wet ingredients together, mix the dry ones on another bowl and then whisk them all together, place the mixture in a baking tray, bake for around 30 mins and you’re done!

(Don’t worry, the proper recipe is down below…I just got over excited with how easy the recipe is!)

Here’s the actual recipe:

BIRTHDAY VEGAN BEETROOT BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

190g melted dark chocolate (70%-90% cacao - the darker the lower the sugar content)

180g cooked beetroot in natural juices (make sure you don’t pick up the ones in vinegar as these would make some VERY strange brownies!)

280ml dairy-free milk of choice (unsweetened please!)

2 tablespoons (30ml) maple syrup ( try reducing to 1 tablespoon if you want slightly lower sugar brownies)

35g cacao powder

150g plain flour(or green banana flour if you fancy giving your gut bacteria a boost!)

50g ground almonds

100g raspberries

METHOD:

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 180c and lining or greasing a square or rectangular baking tin.

2. Chop the beetroots. into chunks and place them in a blender along with the melted dark chocolate, nut milk and maple syrup, . Blend until smooth and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Next, mix the flour, cacao powder and ground almonds together in a separate bowl.

4) Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.

5) Pour the mixture into the baking tin and flatten down into the corners. Push the raspberries gently on top and then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

6) Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin and cutting into slices. Enjoy!

As you can see, they came out lovely!!!

So pleased I managed to find a recipe that honoured my hormones AND that was the perfect birthday treat.

They got the doggy stamp of approval too: )

As always I’m VERY excited for you to try this recipe - like I said, make it a few days before your period and then curl under the duvet when you start bleeding and ENJOY!!

Don’t forget to let me know how you get on and make sure you tag me @hormones_in_harmony in any photos you post so I can send you some beetroot brownie love :)

Giulietta x