Sweet but Sugarless Brownies

Since we’re being frank in this week’s digest: fuck fake sweeteners. They are gnarly and do gnarly things to the body. Although big corporations stand by the safety of aspartame and its counterparts, just about all the independent research proves otherwise. Every time I learn more about the history of sugar, the more I feel like I’m piecing together a crime scene.  The good news is, no one is physically forcing this garbage down our throats. We have the incredible blessing and liberty of choice about what comes into our skin-suits.  Unsurprisingly, the plant kingdom once again has us covered with an alternative. Stevia, a plant in the sunflower family native to South America, is about 300 times sweeter than sugar. When I lived in Ecuador, I was fortunate enough to have access to fresh stevia leaf-- and the flavor is off the charts! It’s a ridiculously delicious alternative to sugar that’s a whole food and one that actually nourishes the body. If you haven’t tried stevia, you might be a bit thrown off by its flavor (because it’s an actual food, as opposed to aspartame). However, when used in tandem with other natural sources of sweetness-- like apples-- stevia is a home run!  | INGREDIENTS |1 cup Almond Flour½ cup Cacao Powder2 tablespoons Tocotrienols1 teaspoon Maca1 teaspoon Baking Powder½ teaspoon Sea Salt¼ cup Grass-Fed Butter¼ Cup Cashew or Almond Milk2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract⅔ Cup Unsweetened Applesauce1 Egg½ teaspoon Stevia Extract½ cup Stevia Chocolate Chips| ASSEMBLY |1 | Preheat the oven to 350° F.  2 | In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, cacao, tocotrienols, maca, baking powder, and sea salt together. If you want an extra dose of herbs, you can add in 1 teaspoon chaga powder and 1 teaspoon he-shou-wu to the mix.  3 | In a large bowl, combine the butter, nut milk, vanilla, applesauce, egg, and stevia together. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined. Stir in the sugar-free chocolate chips.  4 | Line an 8x8 baking dish with ghee or parchment paper. Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and then slice up and devour!