Healthy Raw Brownies

My problem is, if I know it's healthy, I'll eat more than I should, because it's healthy, it's half the calories, it's all good stuff, right?  Right, two nights ago I ate half of this as dessert to accompany my healthy dinner (cheese. ridiculous amounts of cheese. And bread. Oh and some green beans).  Well, it's better than the usual chocolate ice-cream fix for when you're sad.

Healthy desserts often have a bad stigma.  After all, it is the sugar and the butter and the cream that makes everything taste so good, right?  It's the decadence.  It's the guilty pleasure that we so often crave for.  But yes, it's so good for that brief moment as you eat it but then you're faced with that guilt.  Or maybe not, maybe you have really good self control and you can restrict yourself to just one cupcake a week.  But don't you love the idea of a delicious dessert you can eat a lot of?  Ah I remember when I had my first gluten-free, vegan chocolate brownie from Cookies and Scream.  It's managed by this sweet lady who's vegan and whose husband is allergic to gluten.  So good. And since then I've been obsessed with this whole vegan, healthy dessert idea.

Here I present you with this healthy raw brownie. It's amazing.  It really is. I mean, don't expect it to replace your good old traditional brownie, they're different.  In no way can it replace your traditional brownie.  But it's a decent substitute sometimes as it's absolutely delicious.

Prep time:  15 min

Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2  cup cocoa
1 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup raisins

Method
Pulse up your walnuts, almonds, cocoa, raisins and dates in a food processor. Press down in a tray lined with baking paper and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Variations: add some honey if you don't think it's holding together very well, but don't be tempted to add too much.  Add some oats if you want.  Spices: cinnamon, maybe some chili even.  You don't have to pulse up everything finely, you can have 1/2 cup of nuts folded in to add a crunch to it.