School's Almost Over!

I just have one 4 day week of school left, and we're not really going to do any really work. Everyone has major Senioritis, so it would be pointless. And I don't have to take any of my finals because my school has this policy where you don't have to take finals in each class that you have an average of 80 or above and less than 3 absences. But my actual graduation isn't until a week after the last day of school. So I'm pretty much done with high school now, forever!

A lot has happened in the last 2 months. First of all, I know where I'm going to college-UT. I got rejected from both Stanford and UC-Berkeley, so I basically have no other choice. I was upset, but maybe it's for the best. I'll be able to come home whenever I want, and I'll be more familiar with the area. And UT's a great school too. And I'm going to live in Royal Co-op! Also, I did very well at the District and Regional UIL competitions, and made it to State in science! If you make it to state, you're eligible for hundreds of scholarships, with about a 50% chance of getting one! I won't know until July what, if anything, I will receive. I do already have $30,000 worth of scholarships from two different scholarships, but it would be great to get more.

I also finished all my AP tests about a week ago, all 6 of them- BC Calculus, Physics C Mechanics, Physics C E&M, English Literature, US Government and Macroeconomics. Calculus, Government and Macroeconomics weren't too hard at all, but both Physics exams and the Lit exam were brutal. I'm hoping to get 5's on everything except Lit, and a 4 on Lit.

Sorry that there's no pictures in this post, I having been cooking much at all lately, up until this past Wednesday, my life has been pretty hectic. After I was done with my AP tests, I had to work on this really stupid Scrapbook project that my English teacher made us do. So I had to work on that all last weekend and until Wednesday when it was due.

Last Saturday morning, I started a 10 day raw food cleanse. Not only am I eating only raw, unprocessed food, but I am also eating no high fat foods, like nuts, seeds, avocado, etc, and no dried fruits. So basically, that leaves fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. I've actually had little trouble doing this. I've been tracking my consumption on Nutrition Data, and I've been able to get at least 100% of the daily value of all vitamins and all but a few minerals(Iron and Selenium, and some days Phosphorus). My protein has been only slightly on the low side(31-46 g). Since this is only temporary, it's fine to be slightly low. So far, I've also lost 7 of the 12 pounds that I've gained since January(!), mostly by binging very often. The cleanse ends Monday night. I will end the cleanse gradually by eating some raw nuts on Monday night, then add in steamed vegetables on Tuesday, then add beans on Wednesday, and after that any other foods I have been avoiding(grains, bread, etc.).

I've been enjoying the simple, delicious foods that the start of summer brings-fresh, raw corn, ripe tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, cherries.

Also, I'm going to be volunteering at the Library this summer, as well as volunteering more often at the Humane Society. I will probably get a job too, and start exercising more often. Today a went on a 55 minute walk/jog, and then did an hour of yoga. I'm going to gradually increase the percentage of jog I do during the walk/jog.

Edit:
I almost forgot to mention, on April 17, I turned 18! I'm finally an adult.

That's all for now. Hopefully now that it's summer, I can update more often.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my first post. I was planning to start this days ago, but my computer wasn't functioning. So, I have many pictures to post. I am a 16 year old vegan who lives in Texas. I am a junior in high school. Yesterday was my first day back to school after winter break. I am very health conscious, and I care about the environment and animals. When I go to college, I think I will study biology or chemistry.

I love to cook, and that will probably be the main focus of this blog. Sometimes, though, I am too busy with schoolwork, UIL math competetions, and volunteering to cook interesting things, so I just have plain beans or grains and raw or steamed veggies. Here are some things I have made the past couple of days. I know, I'm not a great photographer.

This is a stirfry I made. I thought it would be great, but it was just ok. It had a sauce made of fresh orange juice, Bragg's, garlic, ginger, kombu, and thai chiles. The tofu was marinated in this and then baked. The veggies were onions, carrots, lemon grass, zucchini, more garlic, mushrooms, and a pound of mixed frozen vegetables.

This is a raw apple pie I made from Delights of the Garden by Imar Hutchins. The crust is made of unsweetened dried bananas, dried pineapple, and dates. The filling is apples, dried pinapple, lemon juice, and apple pie spice. It was delicious, even though it was made with nasty, mealy apples. My omnivore parents loved it too.

This is Spiced and Roasted Winter Vegetables from a flyer from Whole Foods. This photo is aweful, but this is so delicious! Here is the recipe:

2 winter squash, sliced in wedges

2 parsnips, sliced in 1 inch pieces

2 sweet potatoes, cut in wedges

2 carrots, sliced

2 red onions, cut in wedges

3 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into wedges

8 cloves garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon pepper

4 cinnamon sticks

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

6 whole star anise

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large mixing bowl, mix the vegetables and pepper. Put in a roasting pan covered with a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Add last 3 ingredients and bake for 10-15 more minutes until vegetables are tender.

The original recipe called for salt, oil, sugar, and butter, but I left these out. This is so good it doesn't need any of that unhealthy stuff! If you make the amount in the recipe, this makes a HUGE amount. I only made half and it was still a lot. What you see in the photo is probably less than a quarter of the amount I made, after making half.

There was another recipe I took a picture of, but the picture isn't so pretty, this post is already long, and I want to go to bed, so that's all for now. I will try to post again tomorrow.