Brownies!! Made with pear sauce

I love brownies!! And no matter how healthy I eat I crave chocolate and will never give up baking. So I am always on the search for healthy foods... I have found the best brownie recipe and its healthy! I could have added some protein powder as well, maybe next time. I have cut up what I needed for snacks this month and froze them. I left the rest on the shelf for the family to enjoy. 

Brownies 

1/4 cup of unsweetened apple or pear sauce (apple intolerance here for myself and kids so I make up pear sauce)

1 tsp of vanilla extract

 4 egg whites

1 cup of brown sugar (you could replace this with stevia if you wished)

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips would cut down sugar as well)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8x11 pan (if you used a 8x8 pan only 12 servings and calories go up) with cooking spray

Mix sauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla well. Add in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt until no lumps remain.

Pour into pan evenly. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Cut into 15 even pieces and ENJOY! 

                                  

Two pears and a a few tablespoons of water steamed makes great and easy pear sauce.

                                 

Final product! So moist and yummy!

                                               

Here is the nutritional values! Way tastier than those 100 calorie weight watcher or fibre one bars. Also much cleaner when you make them from scratch! 

    

Weekend fun!

With my out flexed piriformis hip muscle I took it easy the last few days. Sunday mornings are my favourite times to run.. Just after I indulge a few whole wheat waffles and some coffee. My eldest twin daughter has talked a lot about running with mommy lately. Due to my injury I thought I would take it slow and take her along. We got all geared up for a 2 km run, both with our runners and lululemon headbands off we went. Trying to explain to a 4 year old that when we run we must run slow... Is not comprehensible. We got 1/4 km in and she has sprinted so hard she can barely run now .. So we try move slowly and continuously. Well my cute running partner got in 1 km with 3 water breaks before she was to tired. I loved to see her motivation and desire to kick my ass. I can't wait to keep her practising her pace because I think she will be my partner on the trail!  

I have been wanting a bike for awhile now and because I am frugal I prefer not to spend a ton of money. I would love to run a small triathlon but can't justify right now buying a road bike. So I just bought a cheap 8 speed trail bike from Walmart. I was a little rusty my first ride with the kids, but had a blast! So after,lunch today I hopped on and away I went. With all the new developments in the city trying to find a continuos trail is hard. But I pounded out 4.8 miles in 31 minutes. What a nice ride! Nothing to crazy, after all I need to purchase a helmet and get my rear prepped for this ! Great ride in the summer sun! 

  Cannot wait to throw on my biking shorts and go for a good 10 mile ride! 

I DO NOT diet!

In 9 months I have struggled to solely eat properly. I got a nutrition plan set and based on REAL eating patterns, one focus on proper intake of protein, fats and carbohydrates. I plan my meals whether it be daily, weekly and or monthly. Some months are more successful than others. The holiday season I gave into indulging more than I should... I hit a plateau scale wise for a month and a half as well. 

I track what I eat... Watch my portions and allow myself to eat and live life. 

Why am I stating this?! I went to see a massage therapist on Friday due to hip discomfort. (Due to a outflexed piriformis muscle from to many squats! ). Immediately after I told her I'm working hard to drop fat and have went from a sz 22 to a 16.. She recommends I try Ideal protein because she lost 55 lbs with it. Ugh no no no no! I will not eat high processed protein supplements, no fruit , no dairy and not one ounce of carbs. Why?! It's UNHEALTHY! She also was advised she wasn't allowed to exercise ?! Say what! 

She concluded her recommendation with this statement " after doing ideal protein For a while I had to quit... My joints were to sore" This my dear is because you are not ingesting proper nutrition. 

If you're told not to eat dairy... Fruit... Any carbs at all along with keeping your fat grams under 10g a day... You're making yourself sick! 

Join a program such as myfitnesspal for support! Social support of wellness and fitness is key! Whether you agree with someone's 1200 cal diet (not health intake if you work out ANY) or not.. You will find a lot of non judgemental support in many of the forums. As well as finding and understanding what success means and looks like to many others.

I've dropped 9.44% body weight since September. I'm not going to lose 100 lbs in 10 months... But I'm proud of the healthy life I am now leading! I also can run 7-8 kms at a time which a year ago 1 minute was a feat! 

I'm off to make some brownies to freeze for my 2x a week evening snack after weights! See you can have you're cake and eat it too... Just in moderation! 

Cheers!