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Recently, I got back into weight training. And when I say recently, I mean that I still can’t move from my workout two days ago. Is it too soon to talk about getting back into something when it’s been less than a week? That’s debatable, I suppose. Really, the pain is not that bad, but it’s definitely a reminder of how long it’s been since I lifted weights consistently. My triceps are alive and kicking! Yeow.
After I tore the meniscus in my knee last year (a result of lifting a heavy box during a move), my workouts have been all over the map. I had months of relentless, nagging pain and then short periods without much pain. Totally unpredictable, incredibly frustrating. My love for running races was sidelined indefinitely, which was the hardest part to come to terms with. Meniscus injuries are notorious for slow healing and often, the knee is never quite the same after injury. There is a new definition of normal, I guess. Needless to say, I’ve walked on eggshells – fitness-wise – for the past year and a half, scared to push my knee too hard.
Thankfully though, my injury seems to have turned a corner since earlier this year (knock on wood), thanks in part to the knee strengthening exercises I’ve stuck with. I no longer have pain from daily walking and regular cardio workouts have been fine too. Squatting on the floor or sitting on my knees is still bothersome (as are twisting movements), but it could always be worse.
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So, it’s time to get inspired about new fitness challenges again. Weight training is a good place to start; not only is it a muscle builder, but it’s a confidence builder too. I’ve never been overly excited about weight training, but it’s amazing how much of a positive impact it has on my body, mind, and spirit when I do it. My goal is to do a few strength training sessions per week. I’ll have to modify some of the exercises in workout DVDs (plyometrics, like jumping squats, need to be avoided), but I’ll be able to do pretty much everything else. My mantra is to focus on what I can do instead of what I can’t do. It’s similar to enjoying a vegan diet – focus on all the incredible foods you can eat rather than the ones that you want to avoid. Before long, you’ve created a “new normal” for yourself.
All of this brings me to the million dollar question – which workout DVD to use? If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them below!
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In other celebratory news, can we give three cheers for peaches and other stone fruits this month? Can’t. get. enough.
Traditional crisp recipes are usually loaded with sugar and butter, but they don’t have to be. The natural sweetness of seasonal fruit should take centre stage. This recipe I’m sharing today does just that; in fact, it’s healthy enough for breakfast which is how we enjoyed it this past weekend. It would also be lovely with a scoop of ice cream or coconut whipped cream for dessert. It yields 3-4 small servings so if you want something to serve a small crowd I suggest doubling the recipe.
![Summer Stone Fruit Crisp](https://ohsheglows.com/gs_images/2020/05/065A8190-768x768.jpg)
Summer Stone Fruit Crisp
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Yield
3-4 servings
Prep time
Rest time
5 minutes
Cook time
Total time
Peaches, plums, and cherries make up this stone fruit filling. It’s versatile though, so play around with the fruit. Apricots and nectarines would be nice too. I added a light dusting of coconut sugar, cinnamon, arrowroot powder, and chia seeds (the latter two absorbing water) into the filling. The topping is made up of almond flour (or almond meal, if you’d rather), rolled oats, oat flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, and sea salt. It tastes like a cross between an oatmeal cookie and granola without being sickly sweet! I love serving it with Coconut Whipped Cream or vegan ice cream.
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 3 peaches, peeled, pitted, and diced
- 2 plums, peeled, pitted, and diced
- 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or other granulated sugar)
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup almond flour (or almond meal)
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- pinch of salt, to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a small 1 litre (4 cup) casserole dish.
- Combine the filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir until fully incorporated.
- In another medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, oat flour, rolled oats, and cinnamon. Add in the maple syrup and coconut oil and mash with a fork (or beat with a hand mixer) until thoroughly combined into a dough. Add salt to taste.
- Spoon fruit filling into casserole dish and level out. Crumble the topping over top of the fruit in an even layer. Bake, uncovered, at 375°F (190°C) for around 30 minutes, checking on the topping after 20 minutes. If the topping starts to brown too soon, you can remove it from the oven and cover with tin foil for the rest of the time. The crisp is ready when the fruit is fork tender and the topping is golden.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes and serve on its own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream.
Tip:
Note: Use certified gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten-free.
I’ve been using a DVD called 321 Method by Ramona Braganza for weight training and I really like it. She’s actually based out of Canada.
Love the new colors and headshot, gorgeous!
And of course, this crisp looks amazing. I love fresh cherries!
Thanks Sarah!
I’ll have to check out that DVD too. :)
I absolutely love the P90X DVDs for strength training, although after a couple weeks they can get repetitive. Still, the program has cardio, weights, body weight resistance, their version of yoga, etc, and many DVDs include more than one type of training. It’s a lot of different training in one package! (I’ve also heard great things about the barre workouts, which you can now get online!)
Anywho, I can’t wait to try this crumble! That is, if I can keep myself and my 2 year old from eating all the cherries before I make it! =)
I just completed the first month of Chalene Extreme…it’s part of the beach body series. I LOVE it!! You can either use bands or weights. I bought two adjustable 25lbs weights and my strength has improved so much in just one month!
Hi Angela,
First of all, I just wanted to tell you that you’re one of my heroes. I’ve been following your blog ever since I became a vegan in March of this year, and reading your recipes and stories has been a highlight of the experience. I love your appreciation for real food and your amazing creativity with adapting the formulas to readers with different diets. Your dedication to both living well and to your readers are almost as inspirational as your courage in starting a business in a wildly new field, and smashing it! Way to go!
This recipe looks beautiful, and it’s the perfect season for it! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you!
All the best from Switzerland!
Julienne, you are so sweet! Thank you – I so appreciate you reading. :)
ahhh i picked up and put back down a package of plumcots (plum + apricot) at the grocery store yesterday. now i’m thinking i’ll for sure have to go back and get them!
i adore jillian michaels’ “no more trouble zones.” it’s about 45 or so minutes for the whole dvd, but it’s broken up into sections if you don’t want to do the full thing. i did it religiously a couple summers ago, and my arms really shaped up.
if you’re into the barre thing, i also love core fusion dvds for that. the total body dvd is exactly like a barre class i paid $25 for. it doesn’t make you feel exhausted, but it definitely makes you feel the burn!
After a pie mishap today I’m thinking this crisp would be a wonderful idea. Easy, health-conscious and impossible to mess up. It looks so summery and colourful, I love it!
Mmm, the Mr would flip over this!
As far as exercise DVD workouts, that how I’ve lost over 200+ lbs so I’m a big advocate for them. I’ve done classic stuff like Gilad from Bodies in Motion, Tae Bo, Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds (with hand weights for a better calorie burn) to “new” classics like P90X, Supreme 90 Day Workout (like P90X but affordable…like $10-20 for 10 workouts!) and my favorite…Turbo Fire! Okay, now I have to go Turbo…time to shake da booty!
Oh boy, this looks absolutely delicious! I love summer fruit. I like the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred (and her other DVDs) and the Barre3 online videos. Good for you for getting back into it!
An enjoyable online workout (they also produced a DVD) is Buti fitness / yoga. I just discovered them recently and had a lot of fun with their sweaty sessions.
Regarding the food part: I really enjoy stone fruits – cherries and peaches are my summer favorite. Amazing that you combined both of them in a delicious breakfast recipe (I will totally have dessert for breakfast, and nice that this one is healthy too). Thank you very much!
I really like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts online. Bodyrock.tv now DailyHiit.com has plenty. AND THEY ARE FREE. Also Zuzka Light has some free ones but has recently started charging 10$ a month for her newer ones. Jackie Warner and Jillian Michaels also have good DVDs.
I love that you used coconut oil in this topping Ange! Even thought I’m a fruit a holic (and I’ll give you FOUR cheers for stone fruits!) the crumbly bit is where it’s at when it comes to crisps. Congrats on getting back into strength training! Since you’re loving cherries so much, try tart cherries or tart cherry juice – they calm inflammation and help to reduce muscle soreness, as does ginger! I don’t do a ton of workout DVDs, but I incorporate TurboFire into my workouts once per week, and there are always low options that you can do in place of the plyos. I’d say it’s more cardio than strength, but your muscles do still get a good workout from the punches!
This post was perfectly timed! I just went peach and plum picking and am totally overwhelmed with fresh fruits! I cant wait to go home and make it. I just made the chocolate fudge that you posted the other day.
I love workout DVDs. I cant find the motivation to strength train without them (im a big runner and cardio freak). I am hooked on Jillian Michaels. No more trouble zones doesnt have too many plyos, and I love 6 week 6 pack and super shred and shed! Her yoga meltdown is also an easy workout and a good stretch (and I hear she has a new yoga DVD coming out in Sept!)
As usual..perfect timing! I have a couple of boxes of peaches in my fridge just waiting to be made into something! I’ll mix this up tomorrow for dessert! YUM.
Hooray for stone fruits! I love that this is low in added sugar and really lets the fruit shine through.
As far as workouts go – I highly highly recommend fitnessglo.com (and yogaglo.com!) – fitnessglo has workouts of every length, style, intensity, etc. and it’s pretty cheap too! My favorites are their Barre workouts – so much fun!
I do like the Tone it Up Beach babe dvds too though! I return to those again and again.
I’m glad you asked that question about workout DVDs because I’m on the hunt for some too. I’m starting my dietetic internship in the fall and I’m not sure if I’m going to have time to make it to the gym, so I want to start doing DVDs instead.
Also this crisp looks wonderful! Fruit crisps are my favourite thing to make with summer fruits. I always use butter in mine, but I’ve been meaning to try making one with coconut oil. This recipe will definitely be made soon!
Check out www.fitnessglo.com. I’m in love with the website…and it’s awesome for those of us with crazy schedules but want variety, and a good workout.
You northern hemisphere bloggers are making me so jealous with all your summer fruit recipes… I might have to try this with pears or apples :)
As a fellow southern-hemisphere dweller I would have to agree, I sorely miss fresh peaches, but maybe the fruit & vege store will import some summer gems soon……
Thank you!! I’ve been looking for an alternative to the traditional crisps and I’ve got fresh peaches waiting for this recipe. :) Fruit crisps are my absolute favorite and I can’t wait to make this one!
I just posted a berry crisp as well! I’ve been loving it warmed in the microwave and topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream. It’s HEAVEN. I love the combo of fruits you chose and the addition of chia seeds! Coconut oil works so perfectly as a sub for butter in crisps. Gorgeous!
I am so excited to try this. Thanks for the recipe.
I only workout at home and I always come back to Cathe Friedrich. Go to Cathe.com. She has every kind of workout and they are so great and she is not annoying like some. Good luck.
I second Raquel’s recommendation. Cathe has a wide range of workouts, but I love her low impact step DVDs; I feel more like I’m doing athletic choreography than working out! Plus, she’s funny!
And I will THIRD the recommendation for Cathe! :D She is THE. BEST! Check her out! Cathe.com
I’m glad that you’ve listened to your body..I think that’s a huge and important thing to do.
First, that looks divine. We’ve got cherries right now from the states, the ONLY fruit I’ll eat that’s imported, and man are they worth the money. Love me some cherries!
As far as DVDs…I love ‘The Firm’. BUT…I’m SO sold right now on the website: www.fitnessglo.com. It’s amazing! It’s all levels, types, lengths etc. The Level 3 are killer workouts and I’m obsessed with the Barre workouts. I was dripping sweat and it was so good as it’s just mostly you’re own weight and resistance and strength. It’s 12/month for unlimited access..you can’t really beat that…and there are hundreds of videos and new stuff all the time.