Baking Low-Fat Brownies with Zucchini, Applesauce AND Banana?

I found a great pin on Pinterest for 10 New Uses for Zucchini, which included a picture of  delicious looking brownies and a link to a low-fat brownie recipe on Spark Recipes (Low Fat Zucchini Brownies).  I was excited to try making brownies from scratch using zucchini, applesauce and banana, with no eggs or oil. 
I even read a lot of the comments on the recipe, which really got my hopes up, because this recipe was supposed to make amazing brownies.  With 20 reviews, this recipe has 4.2 stars! 

I was a little skeptical when I was pouring the batter into the pan... the banana aroma was standing out a little more than I expected... and I only used 1 banana, instead of the two the recipe called for... but I was still very optimistic!  Some healthy brownies sounded really good to a Momma still working off some baby weight.

When they came out of the oven, they looked pretty good for homemade brownies.  Of course, they looked nothing like the picture on the "10 New Uses..." page, but I still couldn't wait to try them!!!

When I cut out a big piece from the middle to try it, I thought it looks sooo good!  I sink my teeth into this beautiful, homemade creation, so excited for some hot, fresh, chocolate-y goodness... and I can't even bring myself to swallow the bite... it tastes THAT bad.  I'm thinking... no, that can't be right... this recipe had 4.2 stars and all those rave reviews... I made those muffins using pumpkin, I have a killer zucchini bread recipe, I've substituted oil with applesauce before... no, these have to taste good... maybe I had a conflicting flavor in my mouth from eating something else...

So, I try them again... yeah, I couldn't swallow that bite either.  They were just so sour! And kinda bitter!  It tasted like someone snuck sour cream into my batter when I wasn't looking... lots of it!  A little banana flavor popped through the chocolate flavor, which was kind of an off flavor in a brownie.  And, I'm guessing that there wasn't enough sugar in these "low-fat brownies" to compensate for the bitter cocoa powder.  I don't know.  All I know is that I was so disappointed.  When I'm in the kitchen, the mothering side of me comes out and I want to be so proud of anything I make, just like I want to be so proud of anything my children do, that I have a tendency to be extra-fond of food that I make, simply because I made it.  Plus, they looked so good in the pan...  They HAD to taste good, right?

So, I tried them again.  Nope.  Still disappointed.  Still so unpalatable that I can't even swallow it.  At this point, these deceptive brownies are so offensive, I do something that I rarely ever do... I just throw them out.  I'd already tried them 3 times, hoping against hope that they would magically taste better with time... after all, some baked goods taste their best after completely cooling... so maybe these would?  No.  Still disappointing.  Back to the drawing board... or, rather, the Pin board.