Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Hey everyone! This is the last school-lunch-related post of the month, and we're going to "celebrate" with a dessert recipe! I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Brownies on Instagram and drastically changed it to make these Chocolate Cherry Brownies. The recipe is entirely different now; it's sweeter, smoother, and has a fun flavor complex, and I love it! They're super sweet, and the sweetness comes from just bananas, agave nectar, and chocolate chips. The banana and the coconut oil give it the added moisture to give it a traditional, brownie-like consistency. I think they're delicious and I hope you do too! These are perfect to take in your lunch, and they're fairly easy to make. Throwing the batter together should only take around 20 minutes or less, and you can finish your homework while the brownies are in the oven. Note: these brownies are best the day after you make them. Try your best to wait until the next day to eat them, because the texture isn't quite right until they've taken awhile to set and cool completely.

Chocolate Cherry Brownies
Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients
2 large, ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed)
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil, plus extra for greasing the baking dish
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup fair-trade cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 oz (about half of a package) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 tbsp finely shredded coconut, for garnish (optional)

Preparation
1. Peel the bananas and mash them in a small bowl with a potato masher or a fork. Try to make sure you work out any chunks and lumps that you can. If needed, use an electric beater to beat the bananas on a low speed in order to work out the lumps.

2. Combine the eggs, coconut oil, coconut flour, cocoa powder, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and baking soda in a medium-large bowl. Beat on a low speed using your electric beater until completely mixed. Add the bananas and beat on a higher speed until fully incorporated.

3. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cherries. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil and pour the batter into the dish. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick into the batter and it will come out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once it has cooled for at least 30 minutes, cut into 16 squares. Let it cool completely and serve the next day. Garnish with shredded coconut if you desire. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe! I know I do. ;) I ate three squares in a row after I got home from my shows yesterday. I basically was in Little Mermaid mode for 12 hours yesterday, so I think I deserved the treat! Please follow Teens Can Cook, Too on all the sites below:

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Stay healthy!
- Madeline

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Hey, everybody! I said I wouldn't be here this week, but I have the day off of school tomorrow, so I figured I would have enough time to write a post this week. Today's recipe is a little old, but it's a good one. I don't have a picture of it, though.... Sorry about that. The recipe is Black Bean and Corn Salad. It's a perfect side dish and it has lots of protein and omega 3s, so it's perfect for a main dish as well. This month's theme is school lunches, and I think this recipe would be perfect to put in your lunch. Since you eat it cold and it takes about 10 minutes to prepare, you can make it easily the night before school and you don't have to do anything to it in the morning!

Black Bean and Corn Salad 
Serves 3 as a main dish and 5 - 6 as a side dish

Ingredients 
1 (15 oz) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ear of organic corn (if it isn't organic, it is most likely genetically modified!)
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diched
½ tsp cayenne pepper
The juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation
1. Shuck the corn and remove all the silk. Carefully cut off the stem so the bottom end of the corn is flat. Holding the corn upright, slice the corn off of the cob. The flat end will make the corn more stable as you slice. You may need help from a parent or an older sibling if you've never done this before. 

2. Combine the corn with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl or Tupperware container. Adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve with a side salad and other nutritious snacks. 

There you go! How easy is that? Corn isn't exactly in season right now, but I'm sure you can find it somewhere. If you're looking for a recipe that is more Mediterranean-inspired, check out the recipe to Chickpea Salad Sandwiches that I posted in June: http://foodforteensbyteens.blogspot.com/2013/06/chickpea-salad-sandwiches.html They are equally easy to make and are really delicious! 

Don't forget to check out the newest video about school lunch ideas! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel - it's pretty new, so I don't have many subscribers yet, and I would really appreciate your support. The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmubkNm7js And don't forget to make sure you're following me on all the websites below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo (@teenscancooktoo)
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YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ 

Stay healthy! 

- Madeline  

School Lunches: Main Dish Ideas

Hey, everybody! Today, I have two main dish recipes that you can easily put in your school lunch. Hopefully last week's post and all of my Instagram updates have given you a good idea of what I typically eat at school, and I hope this post helps even more. There's also a video about school lunches that I posted. Click here to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmubkNm7js

Left: Make-Your-Own Yummy Bowl
Right: Guacamole Chicken Salad

Guacamole Chicken Salad
Serves 6 - 8 

4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 avocados
½ of a large red onion, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
The juice of 1½ limes
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped½ tsp ground cumin
A few dashes of hot sauce
3-4 cups pre-washed baby spinach
Preparation
1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and the olive oil. Grill the chicken breasts, bake them, or prepare them in whichever manner you like best. I prefer grilling. Once they are fully cooked, let them cool and cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash them using a potato masher. Add the lime juice, cumin, hot sauce, and more salt and pepper. Mash once more to achieve a creamy consistency. 

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except the spinach) and mix well. Adjust the seasonings. Put a bed of spinach (½ cup per person) at the bottom of your Tupperware container and spoon in the chicken salad. Enjoy! 

Make-Your-Own Yummy Bowl
Serves 4 

Ingredients
4 cups (cooked) of your favorite whole grain (i.e. brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, bulgur, etc.)
8 cups of your favorite assorted, chopped veggies (i.e. tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower, avocado, cucumber, carrots, etc.) 
1 (15 oz) can your favorite bean (i.e. black beans, navy beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, etc.) 
½ cup your favorite (preferably homemade) sauce/salad dressing (i.e. salsa, balsamic vinaigrette, pesto sauce, marinara sauce, oil and vinegar, etc.) 
(Optional) ½ cup of your favorite cheese
2 cups pre-washed greens of choice (i.e. spinach, arugula, lettuce, etc.) 

Preparation
1. Stir your sauce of choice into your grain of choice and fluff with a fork. Season your beans, if you so desire, with your favorite seasonings. 

2. Combine the beans, dressed whole grains, and veggies together in a large bowl. Serve each serving on a bed of greens. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy these recipes and enjoyed the video! They're super simple. Please remember to share your recreations with me using #teenscancooktoo, and don't forget to follow me on all the social media handles below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo (@teenscancooktoo)
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I'm going to be busy performing in The Little Mermaid, Jr. as Ursula for the next few weeks, so some of the team members will be posting instead of me. They are going to have some awesome recipes, so keep an eye out for those.

Stay healthy!
- Madeline 

Homemade Hummus + 2014 Changes

Hey, everybody! Happy 2014! I hope you all had a great holiday season. Today is a super exciting day for Teens Can Cook, Too, because there's a new recipe, a new video, and a new format to the blog.

The new format isn't too different. From now on, every month is going to have a theme, and all the posts will be centered around that theme. This month's theme is school lunches. We're all heading back to school tomorrow, and I think we should all start off the new year with some healthy eating tools that we can use at school. I'm used to bringing my lunch to school because my elementary and middle school didn't have a cafeteria. My high school does, and it's a really great cafeteria with freshly made meals, but I still prefer to bring my lunch. Bringing a lunch is so routine for me, but for most others, it isn't. From what I've heard from my friends who attend public schools, public school lunches are awful. Most are just reheated in the kitchen, and they have no nutritional value. If you go to a school like this, hopefully I can help you learn how to make a nutritious lunch so you don't have to put up with those nasty meals!

A really important part of school lunches is your snack. You need to have enough nutrients in your body between classes to get you through the day, and a protein bar isn't going to cut it. Try steering away from granola bars, even if they're the high-quality kind. I'll admit that I'm guilty of eating granola bars at school, but I'm trying my best to cut back because they're so high in sugar. If you find yourself in desperate need of more food, go for the granola/protein bars that are lowest in sugar content. Do a little research and find the best ones for you! My preferred snacks are cut up fruits and veggies. These are so easy to add to your lunch. Cut up an assortment of your favorites the night before school and store them in the fridge. In the morning, pull them out and put them in your lunchbox! Veggies won't brown or get slimy overnight. For fruits, take whole fruits like apples, pears, peaches, and oranges. If you have braces and can't eat whole fruits, slice them up the morning before school. Bring an assortment of colors to get lots of different types of nutrients. You can also pack some homemade dips to spice things up. My favorite is hummus, and there's a recipe below!

Click here for the Homemade Hummus video tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxVgABcaSu8&feature=youtu.be

All you need are these simple ingredients!

Homemade Hummus
Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients
2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
The juice of 1 lemon
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp cumin
About 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for blending
About 2 tsp water, for blending (if needed)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Your favorite veggies, for dipping (suggestions: sliced bell peppers, sliced cucumbers, jicama sticks, celery sticks, baby carrots, snap peas, cauliflower florets, cherry tomatoes, etc.)

Preparation
1. Combine the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, garlic, sesame oil, cumin, salt and pepper in the food processor. Take the plastic plug out of the lid and put the lid on the food processor. Pulse the ingredients. While pulsing, gradually add the olive oil in through the open space in the lid. The more oil you add, the smoother it will be. Add the water if you want it smoother. Turn off the food processor, scrape down the sides with a spatula, and blend again until a smooth and thick consistency is reached.

2. Spoon the hummus into individual serving-sized Tupperware containers. Pack in your lunchbox with your favorite veggies, garnish the hummus with a bit of parsley, and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! It's so simple, and such a great treat to have at school. Make it the night before school and put it in your lunch in the morning!

This whole week, I'll be posting pictures of my school lunches on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I'm hoping that this will give you more insight into what I eat everyday at school and how to stay healthy! I'm still working on school lunches myself, so this will keep me in good shape too. Make sure you're following me on all the sites below so you can keep track of my meals this week:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo (@teenscancooktoo)
Instagram: http://instagram.com/teenscancooktoo (@teenscancooktoo)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teens-Can-Cook-Too/113579778813832
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ  

Stay healthy!
- Madeline