Hello everyone,
It is L here. I hope everyone is having a wonderful hump day. Mine is going well. I got up early again this morning to bake some chocolate chips cookies and brownies topped with coconut, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts! Of course it is all gluten free and vegan! My second oldest sister, Jen, wanted me to make some treats for a friend of hers that she works with who is going through some tough times. Her husband just had some serious surgery and where they are does not have much for them to eat especially since they have to eat gluten free. So, my sister asked me to do a favor and bake some of Twin Cakes sweet treats to send to them in Florida. I said of course! (Even though my to-do list was already long with other orders and work)
gluten free vegan Brownie topped with coconut, chocolate chips, and walnuts
gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies
I was so glad that I was able to do this favor for my sister. Because these are the types of things I like to do!! I like to surprise people when they need it the most. 
When they need something to cheer them up! And who doesn’t want chocolate chip cookies?? It is so rewarding for me to bake for people who suffer from strict food allergies like I do. That is one of the main reasons my sister and I started our bakery. We wanted to help as many people as possible!
To get my morning started I had my lemon water followed by my green smoothie! I get so excited for these now it is crazy!
Smoothie filled with apples, kale, lime, lime zest, stevia, turmeric, and cayenne
Few hours later it was gym time so I had my typical pre-workout snack:
This is a new recipe of our prework bar, this one I added chili powder, cinnamon, and cacao nibs
I didn’t have any real plans for the gym today till I spoke with the sis in the morning before she went into school. She said she ran a good 6 miles. Now she thinks there is something wrong with the local gym treadmills there in Oklahoma because she says she is running faster than she normally does. So she wants me to experiment with my time and distance today on the newer treadmills at our local gym. She told me what she did exactly and wants me to do the same to see if I run the same mileage in the same time as she did. Therefore, when I thought I did not have a plan for my run today… now I do! Time to test the treadmill experiment.
My workout:
- 6.0 mph for .25 miles
- 6.1 mph for .25 miles
- 6.2 mph for .25
- 6.3 mph for .25 miles
- 6.4 mph for .25 miles
- 6.5 mph for .25 miles
- 6.6 mph for .25 miles
- 6.7 mph for .25 miles
- 6.8 mph for .25 miles
- 6.9 mph for .50 miles
- 7.0 mph for .25 miles
Here I reached 3 miles in 27:30 minutes! Pretty good for me. This sure was a hard but good sprint for me today!Boy did I get the heart racing!!
Next I walked till I reached 30 minutes. Than went into more sprint work doing a 3:1.
- 6.6 mph for 3 minutes
- 5.5 mph for 1 minute
- 6.6 mph for 3 minutes
- 4.1 mph for 1 minute
- 6.7 mph for 3 minutes
- 5.5 mph for 1 minute
- 6.7 mph for 3 minutes
- 4.1 mph for 1 minute
- 6.8 mph for 3 minutes
- 5.5 mph for 1 minute
- 6.8 for 3 minutes
- 5.5 mph for 1 minute
- 6.8 mph for 1 minute
Here I hit 6 miles at 57 minutes!!! First best for me! Than started my cool-down.
- 6.2 for 1 minute
- 6.0 for 1 minute
- 5.5 for 1 minute
4.0 mph incline 4.0% for 2 minutes. And we down in speed from there every 2 minutes. Till I hit 10 minutes.
Total time: 70 minutes
Wow, this was a very intense workout for me today. I felt overall alright, not great. Some parts for the run I felt like I could run forever than other times I could not wait for it to be over. Do you ever have runs like that? Thank goodness I had Lady Gaga and some good techno music to keep me going. And it was so nice to cool down with some “Twilight” music! Oh Edward!
To conclude the experiment I think Michelle ran her 6 miles in 57 minutes too. I might have beat her by a few seconds. Therefore, my conclusion is that the treadmills that she is running on though they might be older than the ones I run on it is still pretty close.
My run today sure did give me a big appetite but first when I got home I made a quick simple shake filled with vega chocolate protein, spirulina, stevia, and coconut water. YUM!
Than about 45 minutes later I was hungry! So I made myself a huge smoothie. I was double fisting for sure with this one. I pretty much threw everything in but the kitchen sink! It was pretty tasty – a little sweet and sour action going on.
2 cups water, frozen raspberries, lemon zest, parsley, maca, sun is shining, yacon syrup, cacao powder, bee pollen, cinnamon. And half of a vanilla bean. I told it was everything but the kitchen sink.
I drank both of them within 30 minutes! I was hungry starving. Hey what can I say running does that to me! Now I have a happy and full tummy. Time to get back to work!
Random Question: Do you have a story of surprising someone with something that they were not expecting? Do you like giving surprises to others? Are you a person who likes or hates being surprised?
I am a little bit of both. I like being surprised to a point! I don’t like huge surprises just the same little ones!
Till next time from my running shoes to yours,
Lori
Pure2raw twin
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Those brownies look so awesome. I’ve GF and vegan and so they’re right up my alley. They’re probably not vegan but they sure look ah may zing!
And to your sis, Michelle, I made the kale chips and blogged about em. They turned out great, coulda left em in the dehydr a little longer but cest la vie, they are really good anyway! Thank you so much for you tips!!!!!!!!
Everything we make in our bakery is always gluten free and vegan!!! Great to hear about the kale chips, we will check it out!
aww your treats look delicious and i love that part of starting your bakery was to help as many people as possible–what a great philosophy! i love all surprises, big or small!
I’m curious to know what brand of stevia you use. I use SweetLeaf stevia because it is the only truly 100% natural stevia since it is the only brand wherein only pure water touches the leaves during extraction. Most brands use chemicals during extraction, which alters the taste of the leaf. This is why so many brands have an aftertaste, or just don’t taste good. So, if I were you, I would mention what brand I used because it make or break a recipe! I love SweetLeaf Stevia Plus in smoothies and I plan on using it more often in other things too!
Yes we use SweetLeaf Stevia as well. It is our favorite!
Mmmm this is making me want a brownie! lol.
I like surprising others and getting surprised.
While elaborate surprise parties and such are fun, sometimes I think it’s more fun to surprise someone with something small and see their face. 
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