By Andrea Bodkin

I love to bake, and I love to feed people, so naturally I am a good fit at Health Nexus. One of my favourite healthy baked goods recipe comes from the Nutrition Resource Centre’s Bake It Up! cookbook, which includes over 20 recipes for healthier baked goods that comply with the Ministry of Education’s School Food and Beverage Policy. The Double Chocolate Brownies are made with apple sauce and black beans, so they are sinfully moist, rich and feel good in your body.  

This week is potluck week at my French class. As there are several vegans in the class I decided to forgo my black bean brownies and search the internet for a recipe for vegan baked goods. I found a really interesting blog called The Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen, which has an absolute wealth of low-fat/no-fat recipes from salads to desserts and everything in between. I’ve never baked vegan before, so I did take time to select a recipe that sounded delicious. When I saw this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Balsamic Drops I had to try it (note – I tried the first version). The recipe uses margarine and soy yogurt, balsamic vinegar and your standard dry ingredients. The dough tasted good (a good sign) – and the baked cookies do as well. They are very moist and chewy, thought the balsamic taste isn’t as strong as I’d like). And they were a hit at the office – and we Health Nexusers do have discerning taste buds. I hope you’ll give both of these recipes a try – and let us know how you like them!