When health food goes too far

[Jenise]

There's even a healthy frosting.



FUDGY BLACK BEAN BROWNIES
Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes (active prep time)
Ingredients:

2 cups cooked or canned no-salt-added or low-sodium black beans, drained
10 pitted medjool dates or 1 1/4 cups domestic dates
2 tablespoons raw almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup natural, non-alkalized cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground chia seed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Combine the black beans, dates, almond butter and vanilla in a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again. Spread into a very lightly oiled 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Cool completely and apply topping if desired. Cut into small squares.

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator up to one week.

Optional Topping:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup of water
4 tablespoons natural, non-alkalized unsweetened cocoa powder
5 medjool dates
splash vanilla extract

Blend topping ingredients in a high powered blender.

Trying to imply that those are "brownies" is a crime against humanity.

Humm, I suppose the frostings might be tasty and there are folks who might benefit from them. I feel sorry for folks who love sweets and have conditions that prevent them from eating what they love, and this goes for any type of food issues. Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures, and it is very hard for many to find something they can really enjoy. Whatever works!

I decided to look this recipe up and it claims to be gluten free. The pictures are beautiful. The reviews are all over the place with many saying they lacked any brownie flavor or had poor flavor, to dry. Others said they were good. Some said there was a very bitter tasted from the chocolate.

SOMETIMES things along these lines can turn out surprisingly well. I have seen avocado used to give a creamy texture to a sweet dish, and I believe that this can work beautifully. But there are too many "red flag" ingredients in THAT brownie recipe, I just can't imagine enjoying it. Black beans, chia seeds, uh uh.

On the other hand I bet there are several of us who could come up with a brownie recipe that 1) involves dates and almond butter and 2) tastes delicious and has a rich moist texture. But it would probably have gluten and violate other guidelines that the original author was trying to use.

One of my more memorable experiences along these lines was many years ago, I was trying to lose some weight and my wife got no-fat cream cheese and made some kind of diet cheesecake. The picture with the recipe looked wonderful, in fact the cheesecake she made looked wonderful. But the taste was pretty awful and it was hard to choke down even one bite. That was a lesson for us. I tend to just eat "real" cheeses these days and be very careful with the amounts instead of using dubious replacements and eating a few more bites.

[Jenise]

SOMETIMES things along these lines can turn out surprisingly well. I have seen avocado used to give a creamy texture to a sweet dish, and I believe that this can work beautifully. But there are too many "red flag" ingredients in THAT brownie recipe, I just can't imagine enjoying it. Black beans, chia seeds, uh uh.

On the other hand I bet there are several of us who could come up with a brownie recipe that 1) involves dates and almond butter and 2) tastes delicious and has a rich moist texture. But it would probably have gluten and violate other guidelines that the original author was trying to use.

Actually, black beans were less of a problem for me--think of beans as used by the Chinese in sweets--than calling the result, simply because it's brownish and sweetish and you cut it in squares, a brownie. And I'm not even a chocolate eater--if brownies left the planet, I would be the last person to notice. I've always had a hard time understanding fake/replacement foods, though watching Robin embrace of such things lately has made me a little more open-minded--at least, about why a person might be compelled to have something called a 'brownie' in one's life if one couldn't have a real brownie anymore. Maybe the Pavlovian warm buzz created by the mere word for some is a solid first step toward acceptance.

This recipe came to me courtesy of one Dr. Furhman who I bought a book from online once and as a result now frequently receive emails that include recipes oriented to his minimalist anti-cancer, anti-everything vegan lifestyle.

No, just no!

Why?