High protein, high fibre and low fodmap brownie stuffed chocolate
I was so proud of myself when I thought up this recipe, then I googled it and it turns out it was a viral trend a few years back. I really need to get on TikTok so I can keep up!
This recipe tastes like pure decadence but is secretly great for the gut microbiome, inflammation levels, blood sugar and hormones. It reminds me of something you would get in M&S, just without all the sugar, and with a whole lot of good ingredients.
This bar is so good that I honestly think I should package it up and sell it. I hope you love it just as much as I do!
This high protein, high fibre and low FODMAP brownie stuffed chocolate bar is…
Supercharged with powerful antioxidants to help lower oxidative stress and inflammation.
Dark chocolate, black beans, nuts and dates are all significant sources of antioxidants.
Antioxidants are types of plant compounds that fight oxidative stress - in the simplest terms, oxidative stress is a chemical reaction in the body that when high, causes inflammation and significant damage. People with endo have been found to have lower levels and lower intake of certain antioxidants, with higher levels of circulating oxidative stress and oxidative stress markers in the peritoneal fluid (fluid in the pelvic area). In fact, oxidative stress is a key player in endometriosis development and progression, but the good news is, research has shown we can actually modulate these inflammatory markers and pathways through nutrition and food. To learn more about oxidative stress, listen to (or read) this episode.
Blood sugar balancing to stabilise hormones, reduce PMS and lower oxidative stress.
Whilst a thick chocolate bar or brownie (or in this case, both!) Are for many of us, go-to luteal or menstrual phase comfort foods, the typical ingredients, like sugar and refined flours, are some of the biggest blood sugar spikers, which can pose a problem for us endo peeps.
Blood sugar spiking foods such as high sugar foods and processed foods can potentially contribute to more PMS, menstrual pain and endo pain. Blood sugar spikes increase oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms. In fact, oxidative stress is higher in people with endo, and it’s a key driver of endo growth.
To avoid these issues, yet also deliver a decadently thick and chunky chocolate bar stuffed with brownie dough, I have focused on the presence of healthy fats (from the nut butter), fibre (beans, nut butter and dates) and protein (beans and nut butter), which have all been shown to help stabilise blood sugar levels and slow down the uptake of glucose/starch from our food (dates, and the chocolate, in this case) to our blood stream, preventing blood sugar spikes. In fact, just 1/4 of this bar offers 10g protein and 8g of fibre.
One of the easiest ways for us to support our blood sugar is to opt for whole food carbohydrates, such as dates, instead of sugar or maple syrup, as I have done here. Whole foods still contain their fibre, which helps slow down digestion and the resulting absorption of glucose to the blood stream, creating a steady drip rather than a flood.
Another great way to support blood sugar is with lower glycemic index foods, and every ingredient in this recipe, even the dark chocolate (because we are opting for a high percentage and low sugar version) is low to moderate on the glycemic index scale. The glycemic index is a tool that looks at foods and the impact they can have on your blood sugar, on a scale of 0-100. A high GI index would be 70 and above, a medium GI is 56-69 and a low GI index is 55 or less. High GI foods are very likely to spike your blood sugar levels and do so quickly, foods with a medium GI rating tend to cause a moderate rise and low GI foods tend to keep blood sugar levels stable and steady over time with a gentle rise. This is because low GI foods break down slowly in the gut because they are rich in fibre and slow release carbohydrates, this means that the release of glucose to the blood stream is slow and gradual.
A quick word about dates: Dates have a low to moderate glycemic index, which means they shouldn’t cause a dramatic or quick rise in blood sugar. However, research has shown that individual blood sugar responses vary from person to person, and if you eat a lot of even a low glycemic index food, it may have a greater impact on your blood sugar levels because you’re eating more in one sitting. You can learn about this here. Therefore, I’ve kept the amounts of dates low and have deliberately ensured there was support from fat, fibre and protein, to further reduce the blood sugar impact.
Now, it’s worth also noting that there is something call the glycemic load. The glycemic load takes into account the GI of a food and how much of it you’re eating in one serving and how many carbs are in that serving, to give a more realistic idea of how much it will affect your blood sugar levels. In short, if you were to eat a lot of a low glycemic index food, it may start to influence blood sugar if that food is delivering a lot of carbohydrates in that serving. So, that's why I’ve considered serving size, as after all, we are using about two large chocolate bars in this recipe, so I want to be considerate of serving size! If you want to learn more about the glycemic load, you can do so here.
However, if you do end up eating the whole bar (I don’t blame you!), I’ve got your back, because I've added some special ingredients to slow down any potential blood sugar spike…
Beans contain soluble fibre and resistant starch which have both been shown to help manage blood sugar levels and research has shown that combining black beans with a meal improves the glucose response and prevents blood sugar spikes from high carb foods. This recipe contains naturally occurring sugars from the dates, and some sugar from the dark chocolate (though we’re aiming for a low sugar dark chocolate) and so the black beans in this recipe can help to curb our blood sugar reaction to these sweeter ingredients. Additionally, other research has shown that black beans can help prevent insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) by beneficially changing the gut microbiome.
We then have the addition of nut butter. Nuts have been shown to have a positive effect on blood sugar, showing improvement in blood sugar responses when paired with high glycemic/high sugar foods. Almonds have been shown in the research to be one of the most beneficial nuts, and I recommend almond butter with this recipe, but you can use any nut butter you like as they’re all beneficial. One study showed that almonds significantly reduced the increase in glucose levels following a high glycemic food like white bread (high glycemic means this food tends to spike blood sugar levels, learn more here). Another study found that 28g almonds (which is about what we’re using here give or take) reduced the blood sugar spike in healthy individuals from a high glycemic meal of a bagel, juice and butter.
Constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely. Both of these imbalances can cause more PMS, heavier periods, and may also exacerbate endometriosis symptoms.
Additionally, this dessert can help us out with luteal phase or period cravings. When we’re in our luteal phase, we often experience more blood sugar swings because oestrogen, which dominates in our follicular phase, helps us to regulate our blood sugar response, but is lower in the luteal phase. As a result, we tend to get cravings for sweet foods or foods high in starch. The problem is, these foods keep us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, and raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and pain that we’re trying to avoid. This banana bread, being lower in sugar and rich in fibre, can help us get our fix without the pain and PMS triggering spikes.
Finally, blood sugar swings are linked heavily with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, so if you struggle with low moods in your luteal phase, supporting blood sugar can actually support your mental health.
Now, let’s be clear before we wrap up this section. I am not saying you have to avoid sugar or refined carbs for the rest of your life, but if like me, you enjoy a sweet treat as a snack or after dinner, it can help to make these regular goodies a bit more blood sugar balancing, so that we’re looking after ourselves on a day to day basis.
Rich in prebiotics and polyphenols to help heal the endo belly and reduce systemic inflammation.
A major study of 10,000 people found that eating 30 or more plant foods a week helps to create a healthier and more diverse microbiome. This recipe offers you 4 of your 30! For extra guidance on how to reach your 30 a week, check out this article by The Gut Health Doctor or this one by Zoe.
Thanks to the chocolate, dates, black beans and nut butter, this recipe is super high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are types of antioxidants found in certain plant foods that not only reduce inflammation levels and improve overall health, but they are also an absolute favourite food for our gut microbiome, which means they can support our good gut bugs to thrive.
Additionally, this chocolate pudding is a great source of prebiotic fibre from the beans, nut butter and dates.
Why does this matter for us endo folk?
Research is finding a strong correlation between microbiome disturbances and endometriosis development, such as reduced levels and variety of good gut bugs and higher levels of pathogenic (bad, infectious), opportunistic (in high numbers, can cause problems like inflammation) gut bugs, as well as gut bugs linked to elevated oestrogen levels. These microbiome differences have also been associated with higher IL-8 levels, a type of inflammatory cytokine shown to be involved in the development of endometriosis.
Polyphenols and prebiotic fibre are like gut bug boosters - the more we provide to our good gut bugs, the more they grow and outnumber the bad guys. This helps to bring the gut back into harmony, which can improve gut symptoms and intestinal inflammation and whilst we need to do more research, could even help us fight endo.
These prebiotic fibres help us to increase our production of gut friendly fats, called short chain fatty acids, which are made when good bacteria consume fibre. Research shows that people with endo may be low in short chain fatty acids, especially one called butyrate. Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid produced by our gut microbiome, and has been found to be low in people with endo. Butyrate has a range of benefits for endometriosis and gut health (so therefore, can help us tackle endo belly) such as reducing intestinal inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, preventing leaky gut, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. But here’s what I find most interesting. Butyrate inhibits our inflammatory immune response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS). LPS are toxins that come from certain bacteria, and have been shown to be heavily involved in endo pathogenesis.
Black beans have been shown to increase butyrate, and reduce circulating LPS levels! Another major win for black beans.
Rich with hormone and endo beneficial nutrients, including magnesium, zinc, folate, vit E and iron.
Research has shown magnesium to be an effective treatment in preventing dysmenorrhea (period pain) because it reduces inflammatory prostaglandins that are the drivers of both endo and period pain. One study showed that six months of magnesium treatment reduced prostaglandin F2a by over half! In fact, in recent research, magnesium is being explored as a dietary treatment for endo and a higher intake of magnesium rich foods was associated with a lower risk of endo.
Additionally, magnesium helps to regulate our sex hormones, and as result, is a recognised treatment for preventing PMS.
Low levels of zinc have been linked to endo, and research has shown it can significantly reduce period pain thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits. It additionally supports follicle development and ovulation, while deficiency has been linked to infertility.
Folate is crucial to ovarian function and ovulation, and low folate levels can cause irritability, mood swings and fatigue, and fertility problems.
A recent meta-analysis of over 589 participants, concluded that vit E supplementation can reduce period pain, pain with sex, daily pelvic pain and even improve quality of life with endometriosis patients. And a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies and over 1000 people concluded that vitamin E significantly reduced period pain and could be used as a treatment for dysmennorhea. But it’s not just supplements that help - food helps too! One study found people with endo had a 40% reduced intake of vitamin E, but levels increased after following a high antioxidant diet, and oxidation levels reduced by 20%!
Finally, iron deficiency is extremely common in general, but even more so in people with heavy menstrual bleeding and even more so in endo, with a recent major study of over 43,000 endo patients finding that we have a six-fold increased risk of iron deficiency.
Iron plays a major role in preventing fatigue, and yet many of the clients who I work with, come to me with significantly low levels. Supporting healthy iron absorption and intake is a key part of beating endo fatigue and recovering from heavy blood loss and low levels can cause brain fog, extreme tiredness, heart palpitations, dizziness, muscle weakness and depression to name a few.
Healthy iron levels are also essential for ovarian function, which is key to producing healthy amounts of sex hormones and low levels are associated with menstrual irregularities and fertility problems. Additionally, low iron levels are linked to ADHD development and can worsen ADHD symptoms, and ADHD is a condition which many people with endo struggle with.
Whilst heme iron (found in animal products and spirulina) is the easiest form of iron to absorb, we can also top up our iron levels with non-heme iron rich foods, found in plants. Chocolate, dates and beans are all great sources of non-heme iron, making this chocolate bar surprisingly high in iron. Ideally, pair with a vitamin C food like berries, to aid absorption, as non-heme iron can be difficult for our body to absorb, but vit C has been shown to aid this process.
Important notes to help you tailor this recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)
Everything you’ve said about blood sugar and processed foods, does that mean I can never have my favourite treats again?
Absolutely not. I am all for ‘worth it moments’. Enjoy our fav foods, whatever they are, in moments when we really desire them. But I am a health coach, and my goal is to minimise your symptoms and lower things like oxidative stress and inflammation that could contribute them, so I am going to encourage snacking smarter and leaning on healthier treats on a day to day basis, and that’s way these recipes are for. So you can have your cake, and eat it!
Not sweet enough?
I don’t use a lot of added sugar in my recipes to keep inflammation levels and blood sugar spikes at bay, and I am very used to using lower sugar amounts and natural alternatives like dates, bananas or apple puree, so for me, my tastebuds have adjusted. If something is not sweet enough for you, give it a few bites and some time, and you may surprise yourself as your palate starts to change. However, if you do want some more sweetness, trying adding one or two more dates, or a few tsps of maple syrup, just remember that these will affect the overall sugar load and so could affect blood sugar differently from how I intended this recipe to.
Is this low FODMAP?
Essentially, yes - it’s low for FODMAP for nut butter, beans and dates, so we’re all good there.
Now, for dark chocolate, it’s a bit murkier. On the Monash University Low FODMAP app (founders of the low FODMAP diet), 85% dark chocolate is low FODMAP at 20g. A 1/4 of this bar would give you about 45g of chocolate, and there’s no information about whether above 20g would be amber (moderate) or red (high). Now, if we look at dark chocolate in general, we have more specific information: 80g would be considered moderate in FODMAPs, but only for lactose, and if you’re going for an 85% dark chocolate or higher, it’s actually unlikely that there will be much, if any dairy in the bar at all, which is what provides the lactose. It’s only when we get to servings of 125g, that fructans become high and a problem.
So, overall, yes, I think this recipe is low FODMAP, but I wanted to make you aware of the nuances.
Is this recipe suitable for SIBO?
Everyone’s triggers vary with SIBO, but this recipe is low FODMAP so can help reduce bloating and flares, though some people do find blackbeans challenging - hopefully this smaller amount makes them more tolerable.
Further resources
If you’re struggling with your endo symptoms or gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on endometriosis and SIBO.
Low FODMAP, Prebiotic & Blood sugar balancing Hazelnut crunch DUBAI Style chocolate bar
Ingredients:
For the brownie dough:
120g canned black beans, drained and rinsed well
75g 85% or higher dark chocolate
2 heaped tablespoons of nut butter (almond works well here but any will do!)
2 dates (optional, for extra sweetness)
10-15g dark chocolate for stirring through the dough
Tablespoon of chopped walnuts or nuts (optional)
For the chocolate bar:
100g 95% dark chocolate
serves: 4
prep time: 15 minutes
chill time: 2 hours + 15 mins
Method:
For the brownie dough
Gently melt the 75g of dark chocolate in a double boiler over a low-medium heat.
Add the black beans to a food processor, with the nut butter and melted chocolate and pulse and then blend until dough forms. Taste and if desired, add two dates for extra sweetness and pulse again until well combined.
Roughly chop the extra chocolate and/or nuts, and stir through. Set aside.
For the chocolate bar
Melt the 100g of chocolate in a double boiler over a low-medium heat.
Pour 1/2 into the base of a deep and thick chocolate bar mould (about the size of a medium Dubai chocolate bar, see link above in the notes for an example). Refrigerate for 15 minutes until fairly set.
Spoon in your brownie dough and press down with your fingers. Leave a tiny gap along the edges to allow the remaining chocolate to fill the sides and seal the brownie in. The brownie should come to just below the top of the mould, to allow room for the chocolate on top. If there’s some brownie dough left - eat it with a spoon!
Pour the rest of the dark chocolate over the dough, and put in the fridge to set for about two hours.
I like to pop mine in the freezer about 10-15 minutes before eating, for an extra chunky snap, but see what you prefer!
Looking for tools to help you manage endo and your hormones?
These are some of my favourite brands…
DITTO - DITTO is a clinically studied PMS and PMDD supplement with 10 ingredients that target both the mental and physical challenges that come along with the menstrual cycle, developed by a PhD Nutrition Scientist. You can use the code: ENDOBELLY (all caps) for 20% off any and all orders, now and in the future.
Mira - Mira is an at-home hormone testing device for every day use. Use this link and code 2DJESS20 to get 20% off the device and any future wand orders.
Tempdrop - Track fertility effortlessly with Tempdrop’s Wearable Sensor. Get 15% off with code: ENDOLIFE
Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?
Ways to work with me:
One to one coaching info and application
Live and Thrive with Endo 2.0 DIY online course
Endo Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one endo coaching
SIBO Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one SIBO coaching
Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief
This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook
Free resources:
This podcast!