The thing about Athlete Food is that we're not all healthy, all the time. We eat plenty of kale salads and quinoa, but also have room in our lives for indulgences like cookies and milkshakes. Let's be real, who in their right mind would turn down a big slice of greasy pizza after riding a bike 85 miles? Splurges aren't a daily occurrence for us, but cake at a birthday party? A chocolate croissant from Amy's bread after a long run? Count us in!
One of my splurges last week was blogger & cookbook author David Lebovitz's gluten-free brownies. I made a batch for our older sister Leezie's birthday. Just as I was opening the oven to pull them out, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little hand reaching for the oven rack. With my quick mother's reflex (I guess I have one now!), I simultaneously dropped the pan of brownies and swooped Amy away from the hot oven. The brownie pan landed face-up in Maya's water dish, with half of the barely-set batter spilling over the edge. Amy was completely fine and had no idea what was going on. We managed to narrowly avert a baby and brownie disaster.
Although the brownies no longer looked Pinterest perfect, I was able to salvage about half of the pan. To make them look presentable, I cut out a bunch of squares from the least damaged section of the pan, then stacked them on a plate and decorated them with signs. We all agreed, these brownies were so good that we would have eaten the part that fell on the floor.
What I like about this recipe is that it's gluten-free, but it doesn't use any weird ingredients. No hard to find flours or hidden pureed vegetables. Instead, just a few of larder staples like cornstarch, eggs and cocoa powder. I did, however, make one Athlete Food substitution and used coconut oil instead of butter. I also opted out of the nuts and into David's suggestion to add 1/4 cup of toasted cacao nibs. Make sure to read all of the notes that go along with the recipe, they're really helpful.
These brownies are so easy to make which means we'll probably splurge on them again soon. What have you splurged on lately? Feel free to tell us, we won't judge.
--Bec