Dark Chocolate Microwave Brownies

These little jewels are an after-pregnancy-I-really-gotta-lose-these-extra-25-lbs dieter's dream. If you are not a huge fan of dark chocolate, you can back off the cocoa a bit and they are still very yummy. Oh, and the best part? They are ready in less than 5 minutes! Perfect when you need a fix but are not willing to bust the whole diet plan with the real thing.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 c raw sugar
1/4 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c vanilla soy milk (or almond milk, or rice, whatever kind you drink that's low fat)
a handful of chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix wet ingredients in a bowl, except for soy milk. Then add dry ingredients, except for chocolate chips. Use soy milk to make the batter like brownie batter - it takes about 1/2 cup. Just add slowly and stir it till it looks like real brownie batter. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Spray a microwave-safe dish (I use a pyrex 8" round) with baking spray and pour the batter in. Microwave it for 4-5 minutes on high. I do closer to 4 minutes because I like 'em gooey, but if you want them to be more fully cooked, do 5 minutes. They are best when they are still warm. You'll also have to resist the temptation to cover them with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. That, folks, is a Southern tradition, but it doesn't help keep these in the "decent tasting diet dessert" category. That would automatically qualify it for the "this used to be diet, but then I went and added stuff that will make me fat" category.

I'd include a picture, but I ate them all. Does that mean they still qualify as "diet"? Not sure...but they were so delicious I couldn't resist. =)