Healthy Cooking for Teens
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-- School Library Journal, 5/21/2008 8:18:00 AM
If you think about how hard it is to eat the right things as an adult, imagine what it’s like for teenagers. The media promotes high-calorie, fat-loaded snacks and drinks, and until recently most school cafeterias had soda and candy machines. The titles here will get young people working on better ways to feed themselves and their friends—and maybe the adults in their lives, too!
CARLE, Megan & Jill Carle. College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends. Ten Speed. 2007. pap. $19.95. ISBN 978-1-58008-826-8.
Gr 11 Up–While not every recipe in this title could be considered “healthy,” the author does an excellent job of outlining vegetarian options and recipe substitutions for young people just learning how to manage their own food shopping and cooking. There are a broad range of ethnic dishes among the recipes, including Thai Chicken and Tres Leches Cake.
MOSKOWITZ, Isa Chandra. Vegan with a Vengeance: Over 150 Delicious. Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock. photos. by Geoffery Tischman. Marlowe. 2005. pap. $17.95. ISBN 978-1-56924-358-9.
Gr 7 Up–Aspiring teen chefs with a vegan conviction will thank you for this title. Tons of great recipes, most very easy to prepare, are spread across nine major subject categories such as soups, pizzas and pastas, entrees, and desserts. The author is the host of the cable TV show The Post Punk Kitchen.
STERN, Sam. Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook. Candlewick. 2006. pap. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-2988-5.
Gr 6 Up–Stir together dreamy teen Sam Stern, a Martha Stewart setting, Rachael Ray enthusiasm, and easy, healthy recipes and you’ve got this cookbook! Divided into 10 themed chapters, the recipe options range from the simple Hot Sugared Pink Grapefruit to the slightly more complicated Chickpea, Spinach and Potato Curry. Great for browsing. Also check out Real Food, Real Fast (Candlewick, 2008), Stern’s collection of recipes that teens can whip up in 30 minutes or less.
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