What to do when tornadoes might come? Bake brownies!

Hi, friends! Happy Tornado Day! 
Well, I should clarify: it might not be a "tornado day," but it could possibly be a day of tornadoes. According to many news sources, severe weather is hitting Oklahoma and Kansas today, and this weather can include hail and multiple tornadoes. When I moved to Kansas, I was surprised to find out that when the tornado sirens went off and I would head to shelter, many people would head out into the streets to watch the clouds. However, I tend to wonder if today will be a little crazier. The Oklahoma City schools are closing early, and two other school districts in the OKC metro actually cancelled classes today. So, I'm thinking that today's anticipated storms may actually be a big deal. What am I doing about all of it? 
Baking brownies. 

I had told myself that I would eat sooo healthily today, because I've been enjoying the season of Easter with much chocolate and dessert. But...another woman in my "due date group" posted a recipe for brownies today, and I knew I had to make them. Plus, since these are flourless black bean brownies, it's just a lot of protein coated in chocolate-totally healthy, right? ;)   After I had thrown together a bunch of the ingredients, I realized that I am completely out of cocoa powder, so I just threw in some melted chocolate chips and called it a day. I'm eating a couple of them right now, and I think they're pretty tasty.

As I've buzzed about the kitchen today, I realized that baking black bean brownies is actually a quite splendid way to spend the pre-tornado hours for a few different reasons: 

Brownies can be a bribe for shelter.
In case we need to bang on the door of a person in the apartments below us to hide from the tornado, I am ready with my chocolate-filled pan. What kind person wouldn't want to shelter us in his or her kitchen or bathroom when I come bearing brownies? 

Protein! Sustenance! With a homemade flair!
If we're hiding from tornadoes and severe weather, we're gonna need food. Yes, we have cans of vegetables and tuna, and we bought some emergency carb-loaded meal bars from the store's camping section that reminded me of lembas (one package supposedly provides you with one day's worth of calories), but eating canned and prepackaged food is nowhere near as awesome as eating homemade food. And it's protein-loaded, due to the eggs and beans in the recipe. Such a winning situation :) 

It adds to the festivity of the day! 
Instead of doing housework and catching up on writing projects and thinking about the coming storm, I've been able to make this day a bit more special, because...BROWNIES. Things are just a lot more lighthearted around here when the kitchen smells of freshly baked squares of chocolatey, bean-y goodness. 

Baking brownies is productive and helpful, which is great when I don't feel like being productive. 
The weather is all eerie outside, I'm still in a super-chill mode from yesterday (one of my friends came over and we spent literally the entire day knitting and drinking mate), my husband is coming home early today, and I really just don't feel like getting a lot of work done. So, instead of sitting on the couch and waiting for storm pictures to hit the internet, I can be semi-accomplished and make survival food. 

For those of you living in the areas affected by storms, I hope that you have a safe, enjoyable Tornado/Storm Day! Bake some brownies, find some shelter, and live long & prosper!