From Quinoa To a Murder Mystery: all in a day's work!

Do you know that 2013 is the International Year of Quinoa (Keen-wah)? Do you know that Quinoa although may look somewhat like couscous is actually a complete protein? Do you know that to get the maximum absorption of iron from haem and non-haem iron sources you ought to have a small glass of orange juice or fresh fruit, especially berries or kiwi fruit, with meals thanks to the Vitamin C these foods contain? Well, you may by now be asking yourself how I know all this. Simple answer is The Healthyfood Guide magazine.

'Healthyfood Guide' is a compact (as in of a size easy to carry in a purse) monthly magazine packed full of very useful nutrition information that are easily understood by anyone outside of medicine and more importantly the advice is quite easy to apply even by the busiest of us. Packed full of healthy recipes it is a great reference for those who like to cook from scratch and offers advice each month on what to choose from the ready-meals we pick up from our supermarkets to advice on how to better our general well-being. The publication goes further with sensible fitness and shaping up tips. The panel of monthly experts make sure that whatever health resolution you've made for the new year, they have it covered. I cannot begin to say how brilliant this magazine is and 'No!' I don't get paid to say this :)

My favourite part of HFG? It's got to be the weekly diet planner. Each month a nutritional consultant offers up a week of planned meals that you can shop for at the beginning of the week which definitely takes the hassle out of deciding what to eat each day. Besides research has found that people who plan their meals ahead and know what they are having each day are more likely to stick to their diets and enjoy better health. 'What?' I hear you say 'and give up the daily mad hectic high blood-pressure inducing rush of getting home after a long day's work trying to frantically put together whatever's in the fridge to come up with some decent sort of dinner to feed those hungry mouths in the living room?'- Yup, I thought so!

HFG wouldn't be a decent mag though if they didn't have a website that lets you check out a sample issue. So, honestly head there now and let me know if you agree with me- or not but that's what the comment section below is all about - To go to HFG's website, simply click HERE.

In other news today, I have just finished reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon. I've had this book on my wish list for years and now that I have finally got round to it, I completely get why everyone continues to rave about it. You cannot possibly read this book without falling in love with the story's main character Christopher who suffers from Aspeger's Syndrome, a type of Autism. A genius at maths he struggles with day to day activities that a lot of us take for granted. A sensitive eye-opener of a book and it has been widely embraced by both adults and teenagers.

Although it has taken me nearly 10 years to get to this murder mystery (the novel was published in 2003), there is a silver lining here: the stage production will be running at the Apollo Theatre in the West End from March to May this year. Having completed its run at the National Theatre it hits the theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue from March 1 and is scheduled to run until May 25. Tickets have been on sale since November of last year. Mine are probably in the post as we speak. How exciting!

The award-winning novel is adapted to the stage by playwright Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott (the award-winning co-director of War Horse). Luke Treadaway, who appeared in 'War Horse' at the National Theatre and in the films 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Wasteland', plays Christopher, the 15-year-old central character of the book. A film adaptation is currently being discussed. Yay!

The blurb about the book as on the back cover of the paperback edition:

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.