Lately, so many social media posts feature “healthy” alternatives to our beloved favorites, ie brownies! As I watched the videos, the recipes looked easy, few ingredients and final product looked delicious. I felt compelled to give it a try. We’re all trying to find healthier alternatives to old recipes, right?!
Drum roll please…
Have you ever thought of making brownies with three ingredients, ie no eggs, no flour, no oil or butter, just bananas, almond or peanut butter and cocoa powder? I would never have thought this possible. You can see from the end result, they “look” delicious and like normal brownies. So, visually, they are appealing.
Now, for the taste. HUM…
No question about it, they were definitely extremely chocolatey. I liked that.
However, the texture was a bit strange. As there is no flour, they were a bit gooey. I know, you can argue that there are normal brownies with a gooey texture, but these just seemed different.
I needed some outside food critics. My daughters were happy to be taste testers. The brownies looked good, why wouldn’t they try them! You KNOW it’s not perfect, when they say, “ W E L L… they have a very strong banana taste and the texture is different.”
Of course, at first I defended my brownies as perfect, selling them on how chocolatey they were. At some point, I had to concede. YES, they had a strong banana taste, nothing wrong with that if you like bananas. However, we were expecting the old fashioned “brownie” taste in a healthy form.
So, would I make them again? I don’t think so. I’d rather make the real deal and plan for those extra calories.
A brownie should be ENJOYED, not re-invented! Laughing…
Brilliant Viewpoint 
Mmmmm brownies. Maybe if you called them something different like choc full of bananas and skipped the brownie reference. Chocolate, banana and any nut seem to go well together, but brownies seem to need flower for the brownie texture. Cheers. Allan
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I’ve made regular brownies with ground almonds for my gluten intolerant friends and we all liked them. I think I would like the peanut or almond butter as a nice addition.
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Like the idea of ground almond or hazelnut, like a torta caprese.
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In this recipe, I didn’t even taste the almond butter, mainly the bananas.
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Your honesty gets “brownie points”! This recipe is probably the worst version of a brownie I can possibly imagine, since I have never EVER been a fan of bananas. More importantly though (and you alluded to it), when you know what the ingredients are (did your daughters know?) it’s almost impossible to give an impartial opinion. The gooey texture sounds like any recipe where the flour has been removed. At the end of the day I’m in your camp. If you’re going to make a dessert make it the best it can be, indulge, and then go back to healthier eating later 🙂
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100%! And fellow not-a-fan-of-banana 🙂
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Agree, bananas have never been my go to fruit, but they seem to be used as a sweetener in all of these healthy recipes.
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Absolutely!
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I agree with Dave. A dessert should be enjoyed to its fullest. That said, I think if you add the ground almond, as Darlene mentioned, or ground hazelnuts, and like an Italian torta caprese, it will be delicious.
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Yes, I would have to look that idea up.
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Maybe instead of Brownies call them something else to change expectations?
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True, maybe those people could have called it “Chocolate Banana Brownies.”
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Sometimes it is quite acceptable to live dangerously and eat a real brownie. Enjoy two if you must:)
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Absolutely, Sunday is Mother’s Day, I’m going to enjoy myself! Thank you!! 🌺
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