Better Veggie Burger and Book Review–House Rules

First up–an article about why women should do Crossfit:

“Lift Like a Girl–Reasons Women Need Crossfit”

By Amy Sullivan on June 28.

Next–The Veggie Burger Trials

I gave the veggie burger another try, as I like having something on hand to add protein to dinners. This time, from blog comments, I bought the Morningstar Garden Veggie Patties. One patty has 110 calories, 3 g fiber, and 10 g protein.

The package says it contains “A yummy, hearty blend of mushrooms, water chestnuts, onion, carrots, green and red bell peppers, black olives, brown rice, and rolled oats. It’s no wonder this well-rounded veggie burger is a ChefsBest® Award winner.”

I liked this patty so much better than Boca Veggie Burgers. It smelled great out of the microwave, and really had whole water chestnuts. Didn’t notice the other vegetables listed above as much, but the taste was much better. My dinner was very orange and green, with a side of spinach, orange peppers, snap peas, and pickles and topped with 1/4 avocado. Side small sweet potato too. Very tasty dinner!

Book Review: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Over a year ago, a friend and I started a book club. Yes, I am in a poker club and book club and I am only 26 years old. Don’t judge. In the summertime, I read a lot more than the rest of the year–vacations, more trips, no new TV shows, etc.

At the same time that I started the book club, I discovered Jodi Picoult’s books. They are some of the longest books I have ever read outside of high school books that put me to sleep, but they are the most fascinating and educational books too! For instance, did you know that a person who receives bone marrow from someone else has identical DNA to the marrow donor (Perfect Match)? And I learned about diseases like osteogenesis imperfecta (Handle With Care), thought about medical ethics–would you want the heart of a death row inmate who killed your sister to save your own life? (Change of Heart), and learned more about trial law than I could from quizzing my lawyer husband.

The most recent book of hers that I read was House Rules. Another long one topping 500 pages in hardback, this book taught  me about Asperger’s Syndrome, murder cases, and more trial law. The description of the disorder that Picoult describes is so detailed and full of fact, that I think that I could explain, or at least sound knowledgeable, in conversation. The book is about a teenage boy with Asperger’s who has a fascination with crime scenes. He and his quirks become the focus of a murder investigation, and over half the book explores his role in the crime.

Having read many of Picoult’s books, this was not my favorite (try Nineteen Minutes or My Sister’s Keeper for those), but I was still drawn in, found it hard to put down, and liked the way that the chapters rotated character points of view. The plot was very simple, there weren’t many characters, but it took a very long time to come to the conclusion, which wasn’t as surprising as some of her other books. If you are interested in learning about Asperger’s and enjoy a book that makes you part of trying to solve a crime, go ahead and read on.