Recipe and training plan

I have been craving chocolate like CRAZY. I try very hard to not eat sugar. Sugar is my kryptonite. If I eat a wee bit of sugar then suddenly I am eating cake for breakfast, 2nd breakfast, 1st lunch, 2nd lunch, afternoon snack, etc. If I stay away from it, I do much better. Now, me not eating sugar also means I do not do maple syrup, honey, agave, or any other sweetener that is still filled with calories. I do not do sugar alcohols either as they mess with my tummy in a very gross and stinky sort of way. I do, however, consume a lot of Splenda. More than I should. You have been forewarned that this recipe contains Splenda. If you want to make it and use something else to sweeten it, go for it! :)

I found a brownie recipe that seemed decently healthy! It uses Splenda, but it also uses primarily black beans and eggs. Here is where I found the original:
http://www.ohtastensee.com/2012/09/27/low-fat-sugar-free-black-bean-brownies/

I plugged their nutrition information in and there is NO way that is correct. Sorry. I was getting about 3x the number of calories when I plugged their ingredients in.


Now, here is how I adjusted it to fit my needs:
2 eggs
1/2 cup of egg whites or EggBeaters (to reduce from 4 eggs to 2)
1 TBSP of coconut oil
1 TBSP of unsweetened applesauce (this took place of 1/2 the oil)
1 can of black beans, rinsed (I also chose the lowest sodium I could find)
1 TBSP vanilla
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking powder
sprinkle of sea salt
1 cup of Splenda

Then over the top I sprinkled PB2, which is a powdered peanut butter that ROCKS. It has WAY less fat/calories but a good peanut flavor.

I baked at 350 for 25 minutes.

When I did nutrition calculations on my above recipe using MyFitnessPal.com I got (for 1/16 of the recipe):
52 calories, 6 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 2 grams fat, 4 grams protein

Not too shabby! Certainly better then eating a real brownie for those trying to watch their calories. The carbs are coming from the beans and we could all use more beans in our lives.

So, the verdict on these: Eh. They are ok. The texture is very different from a brownie. It is more custard-y, bread pudding-ish. They are a little too sweet with not enough chocolate flavor. The flavor of the coconut really comes through, which is nice. I think next time I will also add some coffee since coffee tends to bring out the richness of chocolate. They won't go to waste. I will likely eat all of them while trying to convince myself that this is what brownies taste like.


And now for the exercise portion of my post:

I am working out my training plan currently for running.

I would like to try to fit in 4 runs a week. This will include 1 long run of hopefully 1 1/2 hours or more.  When the weather gets nice enough outside for me to switch to running outdoors then I will likely track distance again, but for now I am still focusing on time only. I also should be cross training 1-2 times a week. My goal is to get at least 5 hours of physical activity in per week, which really is not very much. We will see how this works with family and work and all those normal obligations that can make things difficult.

This last week I managed to run for 4 hours and 2 minutes and walked for 1 hour. I got 4 runs in with my longest run being for 1 hour and 37 minutes. I feel like this is all rather respectable. I am sure most people can figure out what this "training" is for, but I don't want to jinx myself by saying it out loud this early.

I also found some running shoes that I am in love with:
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Lontra-Womens.htm

I currently run in Bikilas, but the shoes above look so much warmer for this cold and snow! However, like most people, I don't have $150 just laying around for new shoes everytime the weather changes.