Trail Mix Friend or foe?

So we've all had our moments, when no matter what we eat nothing satisfies our hunger.  Well today I had mine.  I kept mixing walnuts, almonds, raisons and chocolate chips together.  I ate it for snack but I ate it until I was full, for some reason I kept wanting more.  Trail mix is filled nutrients but its so high in calories.  Last year, when I was overweight, I ate it all the time, but then I stopped.  So I was wondering what others think about this?  Do you eat a lot of trail mix?  Do you think its high calorie count overweighs the nutrients,  or like everything else its perfectly fine in moderation?  I was so full after my "snack" that I only ate an orange for my "dinner" after I ran a mile.
On a side note I finished my biology project.  It was a plant cell, and I made it out of food.  It was a great way to get rid of food I don't eat anymore without being wasteful.  I'll post a pic later.

Good Morning World

How is everyone? Wednesdays my favorate day. I'm not quite sure why. It just appeals to me for some reason.  So I got myself out of bed at my usual 5:30 and ran.  I'm doing a program to build my stamina (I can't run a mile without stopping)  So I'm doing a stop and start method.  I walk for five minutes, then alternate running for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes.  Next week I'll go up another level in this plan, but I don't know what it is at the moment.

For breakfast I made pita pockets.  These are really easy and good if you have a little bit of time to make breakfast.  (Note: not a vegan breakfast, vegan substitutes can be used)   I scrambled up so eggbeaters with fresh spinach and vegetarian sausage by MorningStar Farms, and stuffed them into a whole grain pita pocket.  I drank soymilk and ate kiwi with it to round out all of the
food groups.

 

I have a half day at school today, but the are still required to feed us so I'm taking lunch anyway.. (I DO NOT EAT SCHOOL FOOD) The nutrition in school food is all wrong, usually they serve us processed pizza with french fries, mmm healthy.  So anyway, I packed a fruit and nut bar for my morning snack.  Its Jenniferschmoo's  recipe, and boy are they good!  I altered them slightly this week, to where I used dried apples, almonds, and craisins.  For lunch I have some pasta thats a healthy heart steamer.  They're really easy to make and carry and they are vegan. I highly recommend them for someone who wants a fast dinner or something to carry to school.  I premade mine, because I am not allowed access to a microwave at lunch.  This is the first time I've done this so I'll post later to say how it traveled. The steamer has two servings of whole grains, and one serving of vegetables in them, so I just packed a clementine to go with it.

  Update:  The pasta was extremely good cold, possibly better than when it was hot.  The only thing I don't like about these on the go meals is all the preservatives in the sauce, other than that I have no qualms. Extremely delicious, and filling meal.  

Dinner

So tonight, I made black bean burgers for the first time.  They were good.  I pretty much just dumped whatever vegetable I could grab into my food processor.  I used a can of black beans, some carrot sticks, some eggplant, some spinach, some onion (green and red) and some alfalfa sprouts.  I also had to use some bread crumbs and whole wheat flour to make the mixture firm enough to form patties.  I put them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 475 and I was constantly squishing and flipping them so they would dry out.  I steamed a bag of green beans, and made sweet potato fries with ketchup.  The black bean burger was crunchy on the outside and slightly mushy on the inside.  Just the way I like it.  And yes the fries were slightly burnt, but still delicious!  I drank water with it.  Thats usually all I drink, that and soy milk.  No juice or soda for me please.    Also, for dessert I had a small handful of chocolate chips,  I have a pretty big sweet tooth, so most likely I will always have something sweet with my meal, unless I'm too stuffed!  Well I'm off to paint, maybe I'll post a picture later.  Night!

I know I know...

There is already a vegan teen blog, but she hasn't posted in years, so I thought it would be ok. I am what I like to call a "Transitional vegan" meaning once all of the regular vegetarian food (milk products, eggs etc.) are out of my house I will never buy/eat them again. The reason why I have to go through this process of ridding my house of non vegan food is because I'm the only one who likes Amy's Mattar Paneer (Go figure), and I want to reduce waste as much as possible.
My goal for this blog is to share my story with others, let them know how/why I became vegan and give some insight on diet and exercise. Last March after months of depression I was at a weight of 165. I'm 5'6 and I did not like this number at all. I had been vegetarian for 4 years but that didn't stop me from eating some cake. :d I started dieting and exercising on my own and I've lost 40lbs, and I am now proud to say I am 125. Great right? Not really. I hadn't been eating enough (900 calories a day) and while I did feel full and satisfied with that number I knew my body needed more. I weighed myself every time I walked into the bathroom and I became so obsessive and controlling that I started to make my self throw up about once or twice a week. But, being the strong willed disciplined person I am, I told myself enough was enough. I eat more, and I have started to run every morning. I don't count calories anymore and I don't check my weight, I eat what I want as long as its healthy and I'm hungry.
I plan on posting every day to talk about my day, my progress with running (I want to run my first 5k by July), and what I'm eating. I'll post and link to some yummy recipes as well.
I know this was long winded, but its my first blog and I'm just so excited! I love to read blogs especially ones about other vegetarians, and fitness addicts (I think I'm becoming a running addict ;]) I'll be back to talk about my first meal in the blog world!