After a few months of soul searching I’m back. I’ve tried to post on here several times but nothing felt right.

I’ve come to accept a few things in the past couple of months that have changed my life:

1. I now care a lot more about how I feel than how much weight I lose.

2. Going vegan has made me a kinder and more compassionate person and not just to animals but to humans as well.

3. Raw veggies/green smoothies may just save the world (haha).

I eat to fuel my body and work out to fuel my soul and to feel good. I’ve learned that if I’m cranky, I need to work out and it helps immediately. Please be patient as I work to fit my blog in with what feels right to me (including changing the name). I will start posting again starting immediately.

Have a fabulous day!

-Kate

Discussion:

Have you ever changed your blog/your blogs focus?

How are you doing today?

 

Busy Semester

Hello everyone!

I am blogging via school computer because my laptop has been having issues with blogging. Weird. Anyways, right now I am taking a break from my statistics homework because I procrastinate now, not later.

Busy Semester:

This is going to be a busy semester for me because I am taking some of the hardest classes for psychology majors-statistics, research and capstone (senior project, ahhhhhhh)-along with a few other fun classes.

For my senior project I am designing a class based on child development for the parents of toddlers. This will teach them what their child is capable and not as capable of at that early age. I don’t plan on actually teaching the class, that is just my project along with a 25 page literature review. Should be interesting.

Eating Healthy in College:

Bringing food is a must for me. I cannot think of a single food item that is vegan in our cafeteria unless you count the salad bar (and even then everything is cross-contaminated). I always pack for how long I have to stay here, especially because I work on campus. Today I am on campus from 8-5 so I brought a lunch (half a pb&j sandwich on sprouted wheat bread, a clementine and carrots) and a couple of snacks (homemade kale chips and apple slices). I don’t want to be tempted to eat junk food nor do I want to go hungry.

Discussion:

What do you bring to school as far as food goes? Do you eat in the cafeteria?

 

I’m Back!

I hope you are all doing well!

I have had trouble getting my blog to come up on my laptop for the past week or so but it seems to be working now *fingers crossed.*

I’ve just been doing my thing. I’m still vegan and am having a blast figuring out new ways to eat old comfort foods but in healthier and kinder ways. It’s an adventure that I am quite enjoying! 🙂

School has started and even though it is only Wednesday, I’m getting busy fast. There is reading to be done, lab assignments to be completed and papers to start. It’s all good though because since switching my diet, I no longer feel completely run down and tired all of the time. I actually have energy and have been able to keep in the moment and not thinking about sleep 24/7. It’s a nice change from last year. Who knew diet could make such a difference? I used to eat at the cafeteria at least 3x a week with my friends but I have traded in the school lunches (unhealthy) with lunches from home. Bean and corn burritos, hummus and veggie wraps, fruit and other delicious things have been making appearances in my lunches and I don’t even miss the burgers and fries.

Yay for healthy and mindful eating!

Discussion:

Are you in school? How are you coping with Summer being over? Any promising classes? I’m not going to lie, my course load is looking to be a lot for me but I will manage. It’s mostly the fact that the classes I am taking now are the hardest of the program. I don’t even have my senior project picked out and I need it approved very soon!

Do you tend to concentrate better when you are eating healthier?

Any good sack lunch ideas out there?

 

 

Cleansing and School

Happy Tuesday everyone!

School starts next week and I feel in no way prepared. I’ve had my schedule done since April but I have yet to purchase my books and I have no idea if my financial aid is going through. Oh college problems, welcome back. I am actually excited for school and have an awesome (and potentially very hard) schedule for the fall.

Fall 2012:

Research Methods in Psychology
Capstone Research in Psychology
Statistical Methods in Psychology (and lab)
Profiling Deviant Behavior
DECA (marketing)
Piano

Can you guess what my major is? 🙂 I was supposed to graduate this fall but there are two classes that I needed to take and they are taught at the same time so I have to graduate in the spring. Bummer.

Cleansing

Last week I won a Kaeng Raeng  3 Day vegan detox cleanse from Healthy B**** Daily and I received it yesterday, just in time for school. I decided to start today since school starts next week and I don’t want to be doing my first cleanse during school. I don’t believe in starvation diets or “master cleanses” and I want to make that clear. This is different though, it’s made from fruit and other plant foods and has protein and fiber unlike many other cleanses.

It is past 5 where I live and I am completely satisfied hunger-wise so I’m happy about that. The cleanse is three drinks a day plus all the raw fruits and veggies you want. I have had one and a half drinks plus some broccoli so far. Yum!

Anyways-this was not meant to be like an infomercial, just showing you guys what I have been up to. I am off to watch the new Pretty Little Liars-anyone else watch that show? It’s getting crazy!

Discussion:

Have you ever did a cleanse? What was your experience with it? I tried a master cleanse at the tender age of 14 and it made me very sick.

 

Are you going to school this fall? College? Are you ready?
I am

Vegucated!

Hello everyone!

I tried to post yesterday but I think there was something wrong with my internet because it would not let me post it. Anyways, here is what I ate yesterday (I have gone from vegetarian to full vegan this week, yay):

Strawberry Fields cereal with almond milk (and a side of facebook)

Giant salad with tons of different leafy greens, 1/4 an avocado, a tbsp of sunflower seeds, raspberries, chickpeas and papaya poppyseed dressing- it was seriously so delicious!

I also made zucchini chips- I used 1 zucchini, a tsp of olive oil (it goes a long way) and some garlic. I baked them at 300 degrees for about an hour. Check on them often if you do that because some do cook a lot faster than the others. Also, don’t use foil! I ate about the whole pan. Yum!

Dinner was another salad that was almost identical to my lunch but I also added some brown rice and broccoli.

Vegucated:

Last night I was thinking of things to do (like I do every summer) and I decided it was documentary Wednesday. I love watching documentaries nowadays, especially ones about health. I decided on Vegucated because it was free through my amazon prime account. I gave it a go and I was glad that I did.

(source)

This documentary follows three people that are different ages and have different backgrounds. There was a college student, a 20-something bachelor and a single mom and they all pledged to go vegan for 6 weeks. They learned about nutrition, the treatment of animals and how to eat vegan while staying sane. I found this documentary to be insightful and interesting and even a little funny and cute.

I noticed that some of the comments under the video claimed that it was too preachy but I disagree, I found it to be informative and not necessarily judgmental. I suggest this documentary for those who enjoy watching documentaries and like to learn new things.

I hope you all have a fabulous Thursday!
Questions:

How do you like your salads? I like tons of veggies and not just leafy greens-peas happen to be my favorite when it comes to salads. I also really love avocado and see it as the perfect food so whenever we have an avocado it finds its way into my salad.

Have you seen Vegucated? If so, what did you think?

Any suggestions for good documentaries? I’m always looking for new ones. I also suggest Forks Over Knives.

What Do You Eat?

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend-I know that I did.

I went to California for the weekend with my dad-about 8 hours away from where I live. We left early Friday morning (my father and I) and came back yesterday. I wish we could have stayed longer but it was nice to have a mini-vacay. Most of my extended family live in Cali and I was born there so we go there often enough and stay with my grandmother. It’s a pretty long drive so I took a couple of Larabars, some raw crackers and water for the road. I decided to bring a book but couldn’t decide which one so I just brought two-Night Circus and City of Glass (I started and finished City of Glass on the trip and it was great). I can be such a nerd. 🙂

What Do You Eat?

That is a question I’ve been getting a lot since becoming a strict vegetarian/extremely close to vegan. The answer is: tons and tons of different foods. Another popular one is “How are you getting your protein?” And the same answer is appropriate.

I eat tons of different foods-fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans/legumes and even the occasional treat (vegan cookies anyone?). I make different things like black bean burgers, sweet potato fries, cheese-less pizzas and other delicious things on a regular basis and I love that I can eat these things while still feeling great and even energized. Before when I ate meat and a lot of dairy I would feel run down and tired all of the time but this new plant based diet has proven beneficial for me.

It was a little harder on the trip because when we would stop for food or eat at my grandmother’s house I would have to ask what the ingredients were. Everyone was super nice and understanding which is a nice change from the restaurants where I live (we live in the food dark ages). I loved finding new foods that I could enjoy and spent way too much money at Trader Joe’s (we don’t have one where I live so I went to town). This trip was a foodie success!

Have a great Monday!

Highlights From the Past Few Days

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! I know that I am.

What I’ve been up to this weekend:

I went to see a play at Tuacahn called the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with my friend Amy and her mom. It was hilarious and so much fun to watch! I was lucky and got a discount through a local radio station so the tickets were only $3 instead of the normal $30. Score! I love that we have a place to see professional plays so close to where I live. I also saw Hairspray there earlier this summer and I plan on seeing Aladdin too.

I watched the last 2 Harry Potter movies with Amy (7 and 7.2) and we made a better version of Butterbeer (it’s non-alcoholic, no worries).  We made the butterbeer with Zevia this time to lower the sugar content. I enjoy Zevia as an occasional treat because I used to drink soda a lot and I miss it sometimes. Zevia is sweetened with Stevia instead of sugar or aspartame. We also had a blast playing Harry Potter Scene It and watching Phantom of the Opera.

I’m also working on teaching myself how to make my own (vegan) recipes and am working on perfecting them. My microwave is broken right now and I’m finding that as somewhat of a blessing because I am really cooking/baking instead of just heating things up. Today I made delicious banana peanut butter pancakes and they turned out delicious. I want to try recreating them before sharing the recipe though.

I have also been reading a lot. Right now I have been working on the Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices series. I’m on Clockwork Angel right now and I think I am enjoying it more than City of Bones. We’ll see how it ends up. I also purchased The Night Circus today so that I can read it this weekend on my trip to California.

Let me know how your weekend is going. Anything fun and exciting? Any delicious recipes you have come across recently?

Have a great evening!

 

 

There’s a New Vegetarian in Town

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a fantastic Thursday!

I’m taking the plunge and becoming a vegetarian (mostly vegan). I went shopping and got some vegan staples like several types of beans, fruits, vegetables and some whole grains. I have spent some time experimenting in the kitchen and I can’t wait to share some delicious vegan recipes with all of you lovely people. My ultimate goal is to become a vegan which is what I personally see as ideal as far as diets go.

Well, back to the kitchen, I hope you all have a fabulous day!

Here is some eye candy 🙂

(Source)

Just Keep Running

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a fantastic Tuesday (I know I am).

This morning I had my alarm set for 5:30 so I could go for a walk/jog/run. I did the same thing yesterday and I don’t think I stretched enough after because my legs, hips and even shoulders are all killing me. You should see me trying to get down the stairs, it’s pretty hilarious if I do say so myself. I ended up walking way too much but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I was out for about an hour and got over 3.5 miles in so that was a nice workout no matter how much walking I ended up doing.

Before my run I ate a breakfast consisting of half an apple and a carrot because I’ve learned the hard way that when I get up early and walk/jog/run I can’t stomach much more than a little fresh produce. Running tends to take away my appetite for a while so when I started getting hungry at around 12 I wanted something frozen and delicious. Since I had to go to the store anyways I picked up a peanut butter acai bowl from Truberry. It was delicious and really hit the spot.

I also prepared myself some peanut butter and banana deliciousness and spread it on crackers at around three. I took a tbsp of peanut butter, about a fourth of a banana and mixed them together and then put them on two whole grain crackers. It was so good! I also put 2 small squares of 85% organic chocolate on the plate for good measure-and dipped the chocolate into the peanut butter&banana goodness.

I love extra dark chocolate, especially with peanut butter. I don’t eat a lot of chocolate but when I crave it I let myself have some because I always seem to have dark chocolate on hand-either I make it myself  or I buy a fair-trade organic super dark chocolate bar.

Anyways I’d better get to stretching my poor muscles while watching Pretty Little Liars (anyone else addicted to that show?). I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Discussion:

How dark do you like your chocolate?

If you work out early do you eat breakfast before or after?

 

How I Keep Myself Accountable

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

Today has been a great day, I got up and did a small workout in the privacy of my own home because the car I’ve been using has been overheating recently and I worry about it. I ate nice and healthy today and I feel great (lots of veggies, a couple fruits, some whole grains, nuts and beans). After work I went for a run (9 pm) and it was still freaking hot outside. I do not do well in the heat but I made it through and I feel great right now.

How I Keep Myself Accountable

I don’t work out with a partner, nobody I know is a health freak (around where I live) and I am not much of a cook (I do the best that I can). So how do I keep myself eating healthy and working out? Its easy, I do it for myself.

I am not in any way ashamed of my overweight body. I believe that I am beautiful and strong and I didn’t believe that until I started working out and eating healthy. I know how much my body can do and how great I can feel and that really helps keep me going. When I think of getting fast food or buying junk food, I reflect and decide that I will feel much better if I eat something healthy, delicious and satisfying instead. I highly suggest learning to listen to your body, listening to mine has changed my life. I now try to eat things that are close to nature because that is what my body craves.

I am off to read some more Clockwork Angel. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

What are you currently reading and how are you liking it so far? I am currently reading 3 books-Catcher in the Rye, Clockwork Angel and I am rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows because I haven’t read it since it came out. They are all good so far.

Have you ever had trouble with your self-image? I know that it can be hard to love your body for what it does when we are constantly told to judge it based on how it looks. This is something that I am personally trying to overcome.