Going Dairy-Free...and a new Brownie Recipe!

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.
Bryce unfortunately has bad eczema and baby acne (along with a mucous-y sound in his chest after feedings sometimes), so it was recommended that I cut the dairy out of my diet while breastfeeding. Apparently there's a protein in dairy products that babies are often sensitive to. While I do not think I could give up dairy for a year (although I'd probably be down to 125 lbs in no time!), I'm willing to try maybe a month to see if it makes a difference. In doing so, I have had to give up some of my favorite foods - cheese, ice cream, and baked goods. I searched for a brownie recipe using coconut oil, cocoa powder, and dairy-free dark chocolate. I found a recipe and modified it accordingly. I think this would actually make a great chocolate chip muffin recipe because of the texture. It also maintains a bit of that coconut flavor, which was quite yummy! So, if you are lactose intolerant or giving up milk-based products for your little one while breastfeeding, try this recipe.


Ingredients
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
2 large cage-free eggs
2/3 cup coconut oil
3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 oz dairy-free dark chocolate chunks (I used Dove)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use coconut oil to grease an 8" x 8" baking pan. In a mixer on low speed, cream the sugar, eggs, and coconut oil.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder into a medium bowl.

In small batches, add the sifted ingredients into the mixer to combine. Add chocolate chunks.

Pour this mixture into the greased pan. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Makes 9 brownies (as long as you don't eat all the batter with a spoon before it goes into the pan!)