Too Long!

Wow,  it has been to long since I was last on here. I know that not many read this but here is an update on our very busy life. First of all Keith is deployed at the moment, so as you can imagine my stress level has gone up immensely. I have actively started promoting my new business, Cherry's Cupcakes. I was in a car wreck a few weeks ago. Don't worry I am alright for the most part just a lot of bruising and a broken nose (which looks normal now.)  I do have a few recipes for you today.

Now I know everyone loves "Fish and Chips" well here is your healthy alternative.

The "Chips"
First have you ever had asparagus, and I don't mean wrapped in bacon or soaked in butter from a can I am the fresh stuff you buy in the produce aisle! Well go buy some, also get some olive oil if you don't have any. Now when you get home add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a hot pan. Add the asparagus, stir it around a few times add a few sprinkles of pepper and garlic salt ( to taste) and you have an amazing snack! I usually let my asparagus fry for about 10 mins or so because I like the crunch. Keith says it reminds him of french fries.

The "Fish"
OH deep fried cat fish how I love thee! But you know what I love more eating healthy and my tasty alternative. First get pick your favorite fish fillet. Now for the batter use one egg, 1/2 cup of almond flour and grind up 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds ( I used our bullet). Mix the flours together add a few of your favorite spices, I used lemon pepper  and garlic salt. Here is where you would add the egg and mix it together.  Oh I forgot to let you know to turn the oven on to 350. Ok now grease your pan with olive oil. Now instead of dipping the fish into the batter what you are gonna do is put a think coat on one side and bake for about 20 mins.



And Tada!!!!

Oh! Here is a picture of what I mixed in (except the sunflowers)

The truth is....

   So yesterday Keith and I went grocery shopping now I thought I would share our list with you. Which can be found here. This weekend we went to Earthgrown Market, filled our grocery cart to the top, started freaking out because we thought it was going to cost loads, and ended up only spending $111.19. We bought A LOT of fruits and vegetables. So funny story: At this shop the cranberries are sold by weight and yesterday I went to measure some out (about a pound.) I kept putting scoops in the bag and I would stop and weigh it out, I did this three times. Finally I got the needle to point to the one. About five minutes later I saw Keith measure out the sunflower seeds and I notice that their are two number ones. The first one in black measured a pound and the BIG red number one was a kilo. Now I know this may not be as funny to read on here but every time I look at the bag of cranberries, I cannot help but laugh and think how dumb I was to think such a big bag of cranberries only weighed a pound.
   Anyways enough of that. So Keith wanted to make sure and let you all know that we are unable to do Insanity everyday. It kinda sucks but it is true. With both of us doing physical therapy and working till 7 it is not easy to fit it in our schedule. But Keith has started to do Insanity and work and I do it any day I don't have physical therapy. I do feel like a see a difference in my appearance, I don't think it a massive change but my clothes are definitely looser which is always great.
   Oh I thought I would share a recipe with you today! I made it up and it can be changed to fit your taste buds!!!!

Nut Bars 

• 1 cup of crushed Almonds
• 1 cup of Sunflower seeds
• 1cup of Raisins
• 1 cup of Dried Cranberries
• 2-3 Table spoons of Honey

          Mix these all together and you will have a nice little mix. This can then be separated into little bars to eat as a snack or you could take a cup of the mix add some fresh cut fruit and almond milk and you have cereal for breakfast ! :) Simple, virtually no mess, and AMAZING!!!!

                                       

Things I have learned thus far....

   So there are a couple of things I have learned from Insanity so far. Number one: I have extremely weak arms. Two: I need better work out shoes. And three: While it looks very easy to do each step is in fact, very very difficult.
  This week was our first official week on Paleo and Insanity, and let me tell you it was not easy. Eating Paleo friendly was very easy at home because Keith and I made sure there was an abundance of fruit and nuts to snack on. The problem arose at work when there were more cakes, doughnuts and other goodies being passed around then I could count. Or maybe I just noticed them more because I could not eat them.... No there most certainly were more sweets then normal. Anyways this week in our food-o-sphere I decided to take a crack at making Paleo friendly bread. My attempt was not a complete success because I did manage to burn the bottom portion of the loaf, however it was still edible. Strange but edible, I think I put to much nutmeg in the mix. So here is the recipe:

- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/8 cup sliced almonds (optional)
- 1/8 cup grated orange rinds
- 11/2 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 tbsp.nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey
- 5 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond milk

Preparation:
- Preheat oven 350F degrees
- Combine wet ingredient mix well.
- Combine well mixed wet ingredient with dried ingredients. Mix well until smooth.
- Oil 4 x 8 loaf pan with virgin coconut oil
- Pour smooth ingredients in loaf pan.
- Sprinkle top with sliced almonds (optional)
- Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350F degrees


Original recipe can be found here along with 17 other Paleo friendly bread recipes. :)

Enjoy and hopefully if you make this bread it comes out better then mine :)

Cheers!

Introductions are always great :)

Aloha Everyone,


   You are reading the words of Jessica and Keith Cherry :) , but mostly Jes. We have decided to create this blog to keep track of our change to a more healthy lifestyle. The first thing we have done was change what we eat. We have started the Paleo Diet. Ever heard of it? In simple terms it is the caveman diet: only natural foods, nothing that has been processed, no grains or dairy. Pretty much only things that would have been available for cave people to eat. This means a lot of nuts, fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. For our fitness regiment we have INSANITY. Which we start tomorrow so I will talk more about it then.
   Now back to Paleo so this weekend Keith and I went grocery shopping at Sprouts and Fresh and Easy, we bought loads of nuts, fruits, veggies and some meats. Now I thought it was going to be more expensive but!!! we Only spent $140 in comparison to our normal $220 in grocery's  I think that was pretty good. Amazing how much you save when you don't buy junk food. Anyways so after we got home I cleaned out our cabinets of pasta, beans, rice, and sweets, and have started fresh with all natural foods.

Doesn't it look pretty now :)  In case you are wondering from left to right it is: almonds, sunflower seeds, almond flour, raisins, cranberries, honey, and coconut oil.


   So today was our first official day on the Paleo Diet. Now I just want to say I love bread, we have a relationship and rice oh how I love rice. But I am bound and determine to get healthier, and Keith heard of this diet or lifestyle change that will help us out. So naturally when I first heard about it I did not want to do it but I knew it was important to Keith so I decided what the heck. Anyways so going in on day one and dreading it I was very much surprised about how the day played out.
   So the caveman way cuts out cereals and oatmeals, this totally put a damper on my morning routine, but this morning I took two hard boiled eggs for breakfast and a banana. I know this does not sound like a lot but it was surprisingly filling. For my morning and afternoon snacks I took homemade nut bars (recipe to come later here) to work, and let me tell you this, everyday at work I get the munchies because all I do is sit on the computer all day. Today, no munchies. The nut bar was filling enough to get me through lunch and then through the rest of the day. Crazy right? Alright we will skip talking about lunch today (but don't ever skip out on eating lunch) and move on to dinner, which I am excited about :)
   Now no grains means no pasta which kinda makes dinner hard because pasta is my easy go to dinner. So today for dinner I made an alternative pasta with a side salad and paleo friendly dressing (also homemade).


Now it does not look like much but here it is:

  I used 2 yellow squash for the noodles, marinated them in about 2 tsp of olive oil with a few sprinkles of Italian seasoning and garlic salt. Cooked them up in a pan and served with spaghetti sauce and ground beef. I know this is not in elaborate detail but I am sleepy and want to get to bed. Alright that is all.

Cheers!