Green brownies and a surprise!

Hey peeps

I hope everyone had a fab week- I am glad that the weekend is finally here.

Earlier in the week I was sent some cake mixes and ingredients to try out, and so I decided to make the walnut brownies to take to work. On the packet there was an option to make them lower in fat, by using apple sauce instead of oil. It was so easy to make them- put apple sauce and egg in a bowl (and a little almond milk to thin because it seemed quite thick) and then pour on the dry ingredients.

Super easy.

I reduced the baking time by about 10 mins because it seemed long compared to most brownies that I make, but I suppose every oven is different.

At work we were having an Eco-day, so I decided that minty green icing was the way to go.

I used the recipe from the mint slices in Sweet vegan, which is pure spread, icing sugar and mint extract. I added the green colouring when I was beating the spread up, before I added in the icing sugar.

You can see the lovely chunks of walnuts in them.

And then sliced them up and put them into coloured cases to match 🙂

All ready for work- and they disappeared pretty quickly (and I was worried that the green colour would put people off).

A bit of running talk:

On Wednesday I went to Sweatshop for a run- it was fantastic! For the last few weeks I have been running with another girl as we seem to have a similar pace. We tend to be near the back, but not last, but we generally can’t see the people at the front by the time we get back. Anyway, this time we managed to keep up- about half a mile in there is a road crossing and we caught them up while they were waiting for the lights to change. We pushed the pace pretty hard (being encouraged by the guys who work there- two of them came on the run and took turns being at the front and back)- and we managed to do the whole route (just over 3 miles) in about 30 minutes- that is so fast, especially for me recently, and we kept the leaders in sight the whole time. I jogged home and luckily got in just before the rain got really hard, but my hamstrings were very sore the next day- a sign I had pushed it I suppose (but in a good way).

What a perfect post-run evening snack of a peanut butter pretzel mojo bar (what a lot of lovely words) and some chocolate almond milk.

It made body pump tough on Thursday! Friday morning I got up early to go on a short run before work- I find this helps me to stop being stiff after body pump, and I could not go after work because we were going into London to see The Sunshine Boys with Danny Devito. I think he is so funny (I love It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and I was not disappointed, although you could tell we got the £10 tickets because we were in the very top/back row- it was a long way down!

This morning I decided to not set the alarm, as the last 2 weekends we have had to set it, and I like to wake up naturally (plus we had a late night). I got up at 9am, had half a clif bar and then headed out on a run. The plan was 8 miles, so I had to check on the computer first because I have not done those long routes for ages, but I ended up doing one of my favourite routes- I think the last time I did that was the weekend before I went into hospital so that was a bit strange. Anyway, it was only raining lightly when I left, but after about 4 miles (typical- when I am half way and no chance of cutting it short!) it started to rain very heavily. Luckily I had chosen to wear my tennis visor which helps a little bit (especially with my glasses). I was running along quite a straight road, and as I turned to check before I crossed a side road, I could see another runner coming along behind me. When I stopped to cross the next side road, they had caught up, and stopped beside me at the same time. I did wonder why they were not overtaking me, and had a moment of panic- then I looked and saw that it was Andy! Phew! It was such a surprise because on Friday when we got back we checked the weather, and it is not meant to rain on Sunday, so he was going to go out then (he is a fair-weather runner!) so I was not expecting him to be out in it! I thought he would run on as he is faster, but he stayed with me for the last 3 miles (well at some points he would run on ahead, and then run back a bit to meet me)- it was really nice to have someone to chat to, although because the rain was hard I did keep telling him to go on and meet me at home. A nice surprise anyway 🙂

I was soaked through when I got home, but I managed the 8 miles in 1 hour 35, so not too bad. I got an email from the GNR saying 9 weeks this weekend- crazy!  I was also so cold, but a hot shower, breakfast and a cup of tea has helped. I should not complain because I find running easier when the weather is cooler.

Right, well as it is a rainy Saturday I have some indoor plans- popping to the shops (urgh, I have to go shoe shopping for a wedding next Friday) and then making a cheesecake with the blackcurrants from my garden- we have had a bumper harvest this year!

Have a lovely weekend 🙂