Pierce, as I have said before, is a terrible eater. I can’t even fake him into trying something—he simply won’t open his mouth. I have been trying to think of ways to sneak vegetables and higher fiber into his diet besides Benefiber. I had heard that black bean brownies were really good, and I thought I might be able to get some protein and fiber in him without him knowing it. My good old standby—the Bolthouse Farms shakes have worn out their welcome with Pierce’s taste buds—that’s how I made sure to get him some greens. I have to turn my back towards him and sneakily pour them into his cup, but he has gotten wise to my tactics.
So today I tried one of the several similar black bean brownie recipes on the web. A can of black beans, eggs, sugar, Hershey’s powder, vanilla, pinch of salt, and some instant coffee is put in a blender until it’s mixed and then poured in to a lightly greased pan and topped with milk chocolate chips. I cooked for around 40 minutes. They smelled and looked delicious. How does that old cliché go? Looks can be deceiving? Yes…yes they can.
So if you are a lover of black beans, so much so that you would love them more mixed with chocolate chips, than this is right up your alley. I, however, am not a huge fan of black beans, but I LOVE a good brownie. Unfortunately, this doubly sucked for me. I truly thought that I was eating black beans with a little chocolate flavoring…ewwwww… You’d have to be a vegan with celiac disease who hasn’t had a real brownie in 10 years to find these a reasonable substitute—notice I don’t think even that person would describe them as “having died and gone to heaven”. Lily, if you’re reading this, I don’t think you’d even like them! I don’t know if you could double the sugar and cocoa and disguise the beans better, but I’m not trying again, I already threw out the whole pan, and for a girl who likes chocolate to the point of eating anything that is remotely chocolatey, that’s saying a whole lot! Don’t bother, unless you get off on martyring yourself for “healthy” alternatives. What was I thinking trying to make a brownie “healthy?” That’s not even the point of brownies, Jennifer.
Dear Oprah, meet the Donovan Boys 
I am not a vegetarian by any means, but have you tried those veggie black bean “sausage” patties? Really good. Maybe give those a whirl? Oh and they’re magical, so that’s also an incentive.
I bet they are good–I think it was the attempt at making them sweet that was their downfall in my eyes!