Can you blame me?

  • Being told at the airport that my suitcase weighs more than my luggage allowance
  • Burning a dress while ironing…20 minutes before I have to head out
  • Having spinach stuck in my teeth during a social situation

…all of these are situations which I try to avoid at all costs.  Another one to add to the list is serving guests ready-made, packaged foods.  I personally avoid processed food when possible, and so would naturally like to do the same for others.  In my opinion if you have invited someone over, the least you can do is make a small effort towards offering them something which you have somewhat whipped together yourself.  And that doesn’t always have to mean gourmet: a grilled cheese sandwich which you made yourself goes a long way compared to a pre-packaged sandwich that you picked up from the coffee-shop downstairs.  Would this be a bad time to admit that I kind of defied that mentality this evening?

Although a lot of love and care went into the thinking and preparation of starters and main course, I kind of thought ‘inside the box’ for dessert…and by that, I am referring to every 1950s housewife’s nemesis: a chewy fudge brownie mix.  I had been ‘saving’ this mix for God knows how long, and finally found a good reason to crack it open.

Before you raise your eyebrows, this mix wasn’t your standard ‘add eggs and oil’ mix.  All it required was one ingredient, and one ingredient only: 150g of natural yogurt.  When you put it that way, can you really blame me ;)?.  The main reason why I was keen on making it, other than my fetish for dessert, was because of its kick-ass claim to fame health: free of preservatives, artificial fat and sugar substitutes, colorings and other additives…and yet 103 calories per piece.  And as you probably know by now, I have a mild case of OCD when it comes to healthifying a recipe.  Hence I chucked in some walnuts for good measure: a dessert containing only healthy fats sounds like a dream to me!

I am gradually becoming more turned off by low-calorie varieties of desserts, but I was more than pleased with how these babies turned out…especially compared to my last attempt at making brownies.  Think a fudge-like, chewy texture which leaves you with a rich, chocolate after-taste…healthy? You could’ve fooled me!  The plan was to serve it with vanilla ice cream but it was satisfying enough solo, and the walnuts added a great crunch.  Now I just need to find some takers to donate the remaining pieces to.

Oh and just for the record: peanut butter makes excellent frosting 😀

10 thoughts on “Can you blame me?”

  1. What’s the brand name of the brownies? And if I wasn’t in Lagos, I would volunteer to take the res
    Of the pcs!!!

  2. HI,
    DOES THE MIX CONTAIN EGG?
    I M A LACTO VEGETARIAN.
    IF U HAVE ANY QUICK-FIX CAKE
    RECIPES …PLS FORWARD THEM TO ME

    1. Hi there,

      Although no fresh eggs are added, the mix does contain pasteurized egg white powder. Also to make the mix you need to add fresh yogurt but that could be substituted with soy yogurt I guess.

      Thanks!

  3. I never got around to thanking you for the lovely blog! Glad you liked the brownies and please do spread the word. Although only in the UAE at the moment, we are looking into being available in India in the next year. I hope sooner than later.

    Meanwhile if you or any of your friends are ever in the UAE, we can be picked up at almost all major supermarkets in the ‘home baking’ isle. Also we are currently on the shelves of HARVEY NICHOLS!

    Look forward to delivering some new products to your sister for you to try as soon as we launch.

    Samia

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