I’m always in search of a healthier, SCD friendly summer dessert recipe (thanks to my massive sweet tooth) and I think this one might be one of my new favorites!
A Blondie Recipe for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD, for short) is near and dear to my heart for many reasons: it helped out my ulcerative colitis symptoms in remission and gave me a newfound appreciation for how food really is our medicine. That being said, the SCD was daunting at first. No gluten, grain, dairy, sugar, soy, and most beans… like what was I supposed to eat?! Meat and veggies? With nuts on the side?
Since I’m probably one of the biggest dessert fans out there, I had to get creative when it same to my old favorite dessert recipes!
Over the past year since being diagnosed with IBD, I’ve spent an ungodly amount of time in my kitchen trying to make these recipes with SCD legal alternatives. I have a whole page with a few of my ingredient staples so I’ll throw the link below:
Besides being gut-healthy and easy to digest, these blondies pack in the protein, healthy fats, and fiber we all could probably use more of! The protein and fiber come mostly from the navy beans, and the healthy fats and moist texture come from watermelon seed butter.
In recipes where I don’t really want a strong nutty flavor, watermelon seed butter is my go-to. Watermelon seed butter also has 9 grams of protein per serving, lots of antioxidants, and it’s a rich source of several essential minerals.
Link: “Benefits of Watermelon Seed Butter”
If you don’t have any watermelon seed butter on hand, feel free to use creamy cashew or almond butter instead!
Navy Beans VS Chickpeas?
To be honest, I had no idea what navy beans were until I started following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. There are sooo many chickpea-based recipes & desserts online, so I always just stuck with those every time I needed a relatively neutral-flavored bean. But alas, they were on the “Illegal” list on the SCD *insert crying emoji*.
Even though chickpeas are considered to be a generally healthy food, they tend to be irritating to most people with IBD. This is because chickpeas contain long-chain carbohydrates (aka polysaccharides), which is what is we are trying to eliminate on the SCD!
Navy beans are actually considered to be a legume, and are a-ok if you ensure that they are fully cooked. Fully cooking legumes ensures that all of the hard-to-digest polymers are broken down so that they are easier to digest. But if you happen to be lazy like me, I definitely recommend just getting them canned! They are fully cooked and ready to go without spending an hour babysitting legumes on your stove. That’s a win in my book.
In comparison to chickpeas, navy beans have a very similar texture and flavor. The added bonus with navy beans are that they don’t have that annoying thin skin that chickpeas do, so I’ve even come to love navy beans more! I also think it’s really fun that you can throw them into both sweet and savory recipes. For savory options, I like throwing them on top of salads, blending them into a dip, or making veggie burgers with them.
Link: SCD Indian Spiced Veggie Burgers
How to Make Blueberry Pie Navy Bean Blondies:
Step 1: Combine the drained and rinsed navy beans, egg, watermelon seed butter, monk fruit sweetener, cinnamon, salt, and (optional) ashwagandha powder. Blend in a food processor until creamy. Add in 2 tbsp. of water to blend better if needed.
Step 2: Mix the almond flour, vanilla extract, baking powder, and baking soda into the navy bean mixture. Fold in 1/3 cup unsweetened freeze-dried blueberries.
Step 3: Transfer the blondie batter into a lightly greased 9×9″ pan and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
I recommend storing these blueberry blondies in the refrigerator or freezer so that they stay fresher for longer! Enjoy!
More of My Fav Navy Bean Recipes:
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SCD Blueberry Pie Navy Bean Blondies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 16 blondies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A gut-healthy SCD blondie recipe with the sweet and summery blueberry pie flavor I absolutely adore! Grain-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free, Refined-sugar-free, High-Protein, High-Fiber, SCD.
Ingredients
- 1 (16oz) can of navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup unsweetened watermelon seed butter
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp. monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened freeze-fried blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9×9″ baking tray with coconut oil.
- In a food processor, combine the navy beans, watermelon seed butter, egg, monk fruit, and cinnamon. Blend until a smooth, creamy mixture forms. Add in 2 tbsp. water to help blend if needed.
- Transfer the navy bean mixture into a mixing bowl and add the almond flour, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until a smooth blondie batter forms.
- Lightly crush the freeze-dried blueberries with the back of a spoon and fold them into the batter.
- Transfer the mixture into the lightly greased pan, spreading the mixture out evenly.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Notes
After the blondies have completely cooled, I like to store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer so that they stay fresh longer.
- Category: something sweet
- Method: bake
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 blondie
- Calories: 95
- Sugar: 0
- Fat: 5
- Carbohydrates: 6
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 5
Keywords: navy beans, healthy recipes, specific carbohydrate diet, gluten-free, grain-free, low sugar desserts, blueberry pie, refined sugar free, SCD, gut health
