Joy Bauer makes chocolate treats to help lower your blood pressure

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, a condition in which your heart has to work harder but less efficiently to deliver oxygenated blood to the rest of your body. Fortunately, making changes to your diet and adopting a healthier lifestyle, including stress reduction and exercise, can make a huge difference in reducing your blood pressure numbers.

Here’s even better news: You don’t have to give up your favorite treats to accomplish this goal. These two recipes will enable you to savor the sweet things in life while helping to lower your numbers: flourless chocolate brownies and a dairy-free chocolate milkshake.

Both goodies feature two blood pressure-lowering superfoods: cocoa powder and bananas. Cocoa powder brings flavanol-rich chocolaty goodness, and creamy bananas add natural sweetness and plenty of potassium to help reduce sodium levels. Oh, and did I mention, these desserts don’t contain a single drop of added sugar? I’m on a mission to win over your (healthier) heart, and I am hoping these treats will do just that.

These treats come with major brownie points: They’re rich in protein, made without any flour and contain zero added sugar. Plus, you don’t even have to add butter or oil. It’s like baking magic. As for the taste and texture, they’re super rich, soft and fudgy with a gently sweet and chocolaty flavor. They also have subtle banana undertones, which is always a bonus in my book. This may be the easiest and healthiest homemade brownie recipe ever.

This thick and creamy shake is naturally sweet and super chocolaty — without having to add any ice cream! Plus, it requires only four simple ingredients and it’s ready in mere minutes. Simply toss everything into the blender and top with optional (but highly recommended) aerated whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder or dark chocolate shavings — you can’t mess this up. It has an impressive seven grams of fiber and all the indulgent flavor of the real deal. Now that’s sweet!