Highlights of Indiana Life

secret brownie creation (recipe below)
one of my favorite indiana activities: the nap
while i like napping, luke prefers dressing up animals. this is kitty in her bandana (that rhymes with indiana...)
for Luke's brother's birthday i creatively decorated his cake with strawberries (it says HAPPY 23 B-DAY)
Luke's brother Jackson and their mom
Jackson and their dad
i'd like to reiterate the vast amounts of corn here
and we end the day with a lovely sunset over the fields

i'm really starting to get ancy! but luckily we have all the fabulous above mentioned ways to stay entertained. i'm also pretty happy to be subbing for the other yoga teacher at the gym this week, so i'm teaching 5 classes! i'm also pretty high on life still from the 3 day juice fast, and the 50% off everything at the Goodwill sale yesterday....its just so darn satisfying to not feel guilty about shopping addictions when all the clothes you by cost $1.50! so now i've got some warmer attire. i'm already saying its cold, and its like 70 degrees....
I'm also happy that its pumpkin beer time again, and bowling is 89 cents this weekend. luke and i both got our newest high scores, 180, which strangely we tied for. really, how does that happen??
today i had the urge to bake something, which for me means concocting something without a recipe. this time it got pretty creative, since post juice fast i didn't want any gluten, dairy, or processed sugar...so this is what happened. the measurements are just my guesses, i just sort of throw things in a bowl and taste it. it turned out pretty good, though i may have put too much coffee in mine, so i'm cutting it down in this recipe for you all.

Black Bean Brownies
1 can black beans
1 banana
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4-1/2 cup cup ground coffee (depends on how much you like coffee)
1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup (or agave or honey)
1 tsp vanilla extract

optional for toppings: almond butter, peanut butter, coconut flakes, chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Blend in a food processor the black beans and banana. Pour into a bowl. Mix in other ingredients.
I couldn't find a pan other than a muffin pan, so I used that, but you could put it in a normal brownie pan and bake longer if you like, although i kind of liked the muffin pan because i could put different toppings on each one. I greased the pan up, filled the cups almost all the way with batter, and then on half i topped with a spoon of peanut butter and some chocolate chips, and the other half almond butter and coconut flakes.
Bake 20 minutes.
Let cool and remove from pan. They are pretty soft, and it turns out i like them better refrigerated.
You would never even know these have beans, banana, or flax seeds in them! Taste pretty much just like a chewy brownie, but it's secretly good for you! Lots of protein and good things from the beans, and omegas and healthy fats from the olive oil and flax seeds. Plus fiber! And of course, not gluten and dairy makes me happy and healthy too! AND an extra energy boost from the coffee. I think I'm going to like these for breakfast...Go ahead, try them!