Girl, Missing Review

I was recently reading a book called Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie (on my Amazon Kindle Touch, which I have a review on http://khadijasdays.blogspot.com/2011/12/amazon-kindle-touch-review.html) I only finished it yesterday but decided to do a review on what I think of it.

The story is based in North London, and the main character is a girl called Lauren Mathews who was adopted at the age of 3 years old. However, Lauren's adoptive parents have often talked to her about being adopted, particularly when she was younger. But they had never told her about her real mother or about the events before she had been adopted. They only mentioned that her real mother loved her very much, why did she give Lauren away for adoption then?

Lauren is more determined and keen to learn about what happened before she was 3 years old. And one day with her best mate Jam, they both stumble across a missing children website and sees a girl called Martha Lauren Purditt, who is the same age as her and has similar facial features. Lauren is sure it is her, but this girl went missing in America, this sets Laurens head buzzing and she constantly wants to know more.

Furthermore, after an enormous effort of persuading her parents to go on holiday to America (so she can find out more about this girl) Lauren encounters old enemies, meets new friends, and has the most bizarre experience of her life. She also is left stranded 20 miles from the closest city in the middle of no where, and finds out some information that could drastically change her life forever.

Overall, I found this book very gripping, and very hard to put down. Its use of language and the way it is written really brings you into the book. Also, the theme of the story is very unusual and you can relate it to real life. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody, particularly girls and boys around the age of 11 and upwards. On the other hand, there is another book which comes after it called Sister, Missing and I will be getting my hands on it shortly and hopefully doing a review on that too! But I hope you enjoy Girl, Missing as much as I did and Sophie McKenzie has many other books if you prefer a different type of read.

The Reason Why People Get Fat

I have recently taken an interest in the reason why people get fat. It always seemed to amaze me why some thin people eat to their heart's desire but did not put on weight, but some overweight people ate hardly anything yet remained overweight.

Back in 1972 Atkins suggested that eating fat would not make you fat, and 'it was all a big fat lie!'  According to Atkins saturated fat on the meat, and dairy products are not the heart of the problem. But, eating to your hearts desire with foods such as meat and steak, and stuffing your face with eggs and butter, might be a possible solution.

In order to learn how we must lose weight, shouldn't we know how the body regulates fat? Hormones and Enzymes control our growth and development, so which hormone is responsible for regulating our fat tissue? It is a hormone called Insulin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin)

Simple, refined and easily digestible carbohydrates are responsible for raising the insulin level, to an amount that is not healthy, and can lead type 2 diabetes. It is at this point at which a person is very likely to become obese. Dr. Atkins and Gary Taubes ( a writer who has written a number of books on the reason why people get fat) have a very fair point.

The New York Times, Atkins appearance
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html)

Chia Seed and Goji berry Muffins

I recently found out about two interesting, quirky foods that are not only healthy for you but could help you live better! One of these is a unusual seed called the Chia seed, and is traditionally used in mexican cooking. It contains high sources of protein, and Omega-3. The other secret ingrediant is a little berry called the Goji berry and is traditionally from China, otherwise called the Wolf berry and is packed full of healthy vitamins.

I have been looking for recipes including Chia seeds and Goji berries, and was also thinking about muffins on that particular day, so I thought why don't I make Chia seed and Goji berry muffins?! In the end, the muffins turned out fantastic so i wanted to share the simple, yet delicious recipe with you which makes about 24 muffins, depending how big you make them, considering they will rise in the oven. ( I also converted the grams in tablespoons so you can choose to work with either)

You will need (ingrediants)

500g flour (33 tbs)
300g sugar (30 tbs)
12g baking powder (0.8 tbs)
1/2 tsp of Salt
2 eggs
400ml milk
220g butter, melted (14 tbs)
2 tbsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 lemon or orange zest (optional)

Equipment (roughly)

4 bowls
4 spoons
An electrical/non-electrical whisk

How to Prepare Muffins

1. Put the oven on 190 degrees or 375 faranhite, or gas mark 5.

2. Mix dry ingrediants with a whisk, these include flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3. Next, stir milk, melted butter, lemon/orange zest, vanilla essence, and 2 eggs.

4. Pour ingrediants together and stir briefly, then add Chia seeds and Goji berries, amount to desire.

5. Pour into cases, and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, or longer but keep checking.

Amazon Kindle Touch Review

My new Amazon Kindle Touch arrived today! And I thought I'd do a quick review on what I think of it so far.

The Amazon Kindle allows you to read any books of your choice from the Amazon website, including audio books which are clearly read out to you on your Kindle. Also, it enables you to browse the Internet, but only if it is connected to a nearby wireless hub, or if it runs on 3g. But as well as its handy features, it is very straight forward to set up and its touch sensitive screen makes it even more interesting to use.

However, I found that the brightness of the screen is not very high, but overall it is quite clear to read and fun to use. The kindle has a USB cable included with it so you can download music to the mp3 file and, also of your choice such as sudokus, and the well known card game, solitaire, and many others. you can also change the size of the text, and make changes through 'settings.'

I would highly recommend this to fellow readers, or anybody who isn't to fond of books and reading as well, because it brings you straight into the read, as a book doesn't have quite the same effect. But there's always the audio files if you prefer to listen, rather than read.

Overall, I only purchased the Amazon Kindle today, and have already found it very helpful and pleasing to use. So I hope you enjoy using the Amazon Kindle Touch as much as I did.