The Words of Krista

This week I’m reading Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. I’ve never really liked Sarah Dessen books because they’re kind of boring. They’re always about problems that girls have and I’d rather not read about that kind of thing but I actually like Lock and Key. On the color scale, I’d give this book an orange because it’s pretty good so far, but it’s not an impressive red. I’d recommend this book to any girl that likes to read about other people’s problems. Also, it’s one of those books where the girl finds a guy that she likes. This tends to happen a lot in Sarah Dessen books. One of the themes in this book is family, because the main character has a very screwed up one, and she tends to observe the way other families interact. I hope I can finish this book before I have to turn it back in to the SSR library.

For my final post about nutritional foods, I’m going to blog about honey. Honey has many health benefits, such as being anti-cancer. Also, honey helps cure hangovers because it causes the liver to speed up the process of breaking down alcohol. Honey helps athletes get an extra energy boost when they’re tired. In the mornings, drinking honey is better than drinking coffee because it has natural ingredients that help wake you up. Honey is also good for the immune system because it helps strengthen it. Finally, honey is good for wounds, and doctors recommend that you put honey on your scrapes and cuts. Not only is honey good for you, but it actually tastes good. Finally, I found a healthy food that people would actually want to eat! There’s many ways to eat your honey, such as putting it on toast and mixing it into drinks.

I just finished reading The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. It was not my favorite book by Sparks because it was really boring and short. I had seen the movie before I read the book and I thought the movie was so much better. The storyline is about these two people who fall in love when they’re teenagers, but their social status’s are too different for them to be together. The movie was mostly about the summer that they fell in love and less of what the book was about. The book was mostly about the two people meeting up when they’re old and falling in love again over the course of two days even though the girl is engaged. Eventually, we learn that she has Alzheimer’s disease and can’t even remember her husband and that’s really sad for him. This book is a blue on the color scale because it really wasn’t that good compared to the movie.

One day I was watching Doctor Oz with my mom and he mentioned that fennel was a nutritious food with health benefits. I have never heard of fennel before. Fennel is a vegetable that kind of looks like a turnip, except the bulb is white or pale green. Fennel is often used in Italian cuisine and is crunchy and slightly sweet, so it’s not tasteless like celery. There is something in fennel that’s called the anethole, which is the primary part of the oil found in this crop. Studies have been done on animals that show that anethole reduces inflammation and helps prevent cancer. Like most vegetables and fruits, fennel is a good source of Vitamin C. Fennel also has lots of fiber in it, and fiber helps to remove toxins from the colon-which means fennel helps prevent colon cancer, specifically. You can put fennel on sandwiches, eat with salmon, or serve with scallops. Apparently, these are all good.

www.Whfoods.com

Over spring break I read P.S I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. This book is about a woman named Holly coping with the death of her husband and soul mate, Gerry. Before Gerry died of brain cancer, he wrote Holly some letters that she received after he died. In each letter, Gerry gives Holly a challenge for her to do, so she will have fun and try to get rid of some of the pain that he caused from dying. I’d rate this book a red on the color scale, because this book was even better than the movie, which I’ve seen prior to spring break. I would recommend this book to any girl who is looking for a good read. One thing I liked about this book is that the setting is in Ireland, which is cool because the language they use in the book is a little different than what we use in America. I also liked it because this book is also about family and friend drama, which Holly realizes goes on even though she lost a major part of her life.

Why is whole grain bread healthier than white bread? When bread is made, it comes from flour that is made up of grain kernals. A grain kernal has three parts to it: the bran, the endosperm, and the germ. Whole grain bread is made with all three parts of the grain kernals, whereas white bread is made of refined flour, which leaves out the fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc. These things are all nutritious, and refined bread is made of only the endosperm, which excludes the bran and the germ. The bran and germ are made up of fiber and protein that provide energy throughout the day. Also, after eating whole grain bread, you will feel more full and won’t feel the need to eat more. I personally choose white bread because the taste of wheat bread makes me gag. I only eat whole grain bread when I have peanut butter on it, because it masks the taste. I should probably eat more whole grain bread because it’s so much more healthy than white bread.

There’s No Place Like Home is the last book in the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series by Jen Calonita. This series is about a fictional celebrity named Kaitlin Burke who always has problems with her boyfriend, her family, or her coworkers. Each book is about a different problem she faces in her hectic Hollywood career. In There’s No Place Like Home, Kaitlin faces an interesting twist of fate that changes her life. She experiences changes with her family, her friends, and her boyfriend. She also discovers things about herself that she never knew about before. I thought this book was a great way to wrap up the series, and it deserves a yellow on the color scale. The book could have been better because I thought some of it was very childish and some of Kaitlin’s actions and words did not seem realistic to what a seventeen year old girl would do and say.

Contrary to their name, peanuts aren’t actually nuts, they’re in the group of chickpeas, peas, and other beans. Many people enjoy peanuts as a snack year round, and in different forms, such as roasted, shelled, or peanut butter. Peanuts are healthy, because they contain monounsaturated fat, which is a heart-healthy fat. They are a rich source of Vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein, and manganese. They also contain oleic acid, which is the healthy fat found in olive oil. Also, they are rich in antioxidants, and they have even more antioxidants than apples, carrots, and beets. Peanuts are heart healthy, and have been proven to help prevent cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. Gallstones are also prevented by peanuts, and peanut studies have shown that eating peanuts helps lower the risk for colon cancer. There are many ways to incorporate peanuts into your day-to-day food intake. You can spread peanut butter on toast or a sandwich, or throw a handful of peanuts in your diet. Also, the classic snack of ‘ants on a log’ provides the opportunity to eat peanut butter on a stick of celery. Peanuts are a quick and easy snack that has plenty of health benefits!

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Bananas are perfect for eating on cereal, baking into bread, or just eating them plain! An average American eats more than about 29 pounds of bananas every year! Bananas contain Vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. The Vitamin C has many health benefits, such as: defending against and healing infections, absorbing iron, and making blood. Potassium’s health benefits are building muscle, making protein, and reducing the risk of hypertension and stroke. Bananas also are good for quick energy, because they have three sugars: sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Bananas contain the most digestible carbohydrates than any other fruits. This is OKbecause the body burns off calories from carbohydrates easier and quicker than calories from fats. Bananas are different than other fruits because unlike other fruits, bananas grow on plants, not trees. Bananas are mostly grown in tropical areas, but they are also grown in iceland, by heating the soil with geysers! Bananas are a quick and easy way to get a nutritious energy boost.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/banana-nutrition-facts.html

Recently I just finished reading the Pretty Little Liars series. All 8 of the books were really good and I can’t wait for the 9th book to come out in July! The 8th book of the series, Wanted, supposedly concludes the mystery for Emily, Spencer, Hanna, and Aria. Since the series is not over yet, the mystery of their friend, Ali, who disappeared 3 years ago is not over. I would say this book and all the books in the series are my guilty pleasure reads. You can’t really learn any lessons from this series, but it is suspenseful and addicting. I recommend this book and all the other books to girls my age because they are truly fun. This series takes place in a small town called Rosewood, PA. Although the events in these books seem out of the ordinary, Sara Shepard, the author, makes it seem very realistic and likely to happen! I would all the books red on the color scale because they’re just really great. I suggest that you read them before the 9th book comes out in July!