Nutrition through SMOOTHIES!

Hey everyone! This is Isaac, another one of the team members. I'm so excited to share my smoothie recipes and philosophy about smoothies with you today.

Smoothies are the perfect way of delivering nutritionally full meals quickly and deliciously. The diversity of recipes that fall under the category of “smoothies” are what make them so accessible, and successful. The ability to blend favorite flavors with new ones, with the goal of finding nutritional nirvana, makes the smoothie category even more special.
 

In a failed attempt to avoid gross generalizations, I would say that most people have heard of a smoothie. It's simple, right? Take some food, blend it, drink it. More newly, the green smoothie/green revolution has taken over, which is the idea of supplementing your food and lifestyle in a more conscious way overall. With the development of a more eco-friendly, health aware population, many people have also heard of green smoothies. Contrary to popular belief, the green smoothie is not the pinnacle of nutrition; the super smoothie trumps all. The idea of the super smoothie is the creation of modern raw vegan food gurus, a diet essentially surrounding capturing the most available nutrition in food by not cooking food over a certain temperature, and not eating animal products. There is more depth to the lifestyle that is raw veganism; the important part is the reintroduction of foods and herbs surrounding the culture. The following recipe for a chocolate-peanut butter-banana smoothie takes you through the 3 smoothie levels, so that anyone can enjoy this filling, yet balanced recipe.

Level 1:

1 Banana (If desired: freeze for thickness)

1 ½ Cups Milk

2 Cups Ice

¾ Cup Smooth Peanut Butter

¾ Cup Chocolate Chips

Level 2:

1 Banana (If desired: freeze for thickness)

1 ½ Cup Milk

1 1/2 Cups Ice

¾ Cup Smooth Peanut Butter

¾ Cup Chocolate Syrup or Chips

¼ Cup water blended with 1 small-medium bunch kale

½ Avocado

*Blend kale and water first
**Spinach can be swapped with kale based on preference/availability

Level 3:

1 ½ Banana

2 Cups Ice (Use coconut water for additional electrolytes)

1 Cup Milk

½ Cup Cashews

1/2 Cup Cacao Nibs

1+ Tbsp. Agave Nectar

½-1 Tbsp. Coconut oil

¾ Cup Smooth Peanut Butter

1 Small-Medium Avocado

¼ water blended with 1 small-medium bunch kale

*Blend cashews/cacao nibs first with water/kale

 

The recipes above are written based on personal experience and can/should be changed to personal preference. A few general rules: ice to thicken, “Milk” can be soy, almond, coconut, or yogurt, and all sweeteners are optional (keep in mind they are put in for a reason, in this case to counteract the rich yet slightly bitter/overpowering taste of chocolate from cacao nibs). Also, if you’re struggling to put some vegetables into your smoothie, start with an avocado, which has no affect on taste, and gives incredible creaminess and natural fats. Then, move to spinach, and finally to kale. The reason behind kale is that it is generally considered the king of nutrition for vegetables for numerous reasons: high in fiber, packed with vitamins, etc. Finally, the herbal side of super smoothies, while incredible nutritional, is complicated and expensive, and for the sake of the brevity of the blog post was excluded, but with a proper guide can be broken down and accessible, perhaps in a future book…. ;)

Thanks for reading my first blog post! I can't wait to share more smoothie recipes with you all in the future. Please follow Teens Can Cook, Too at all of our social media handles (and follow this blog as well, of course). Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the smoothies as well via email (teenscancooktooteam@gmail.com), comments on this post, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo

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YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ

 

Stay healthy!

- Isaac

Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheese

Hey, everybody! This is Madeline again. This week, I have a delicious recipe for you and some thoughts I've had this past week about becoming a vegetarian.

A few days ago, I had a (mostly one-sided) conversation with my best friend about becoming a vegetarian. Contrary to what everyone seems to think, I am not a vegetarian, but I've been considering omitting meat from my diet. I only eat meat about three times a week, and whenever I cook, I tend to cook vegetarian meals because that's what I'm generally in the mood for. Also, Health Starts Here taught me that meat isn't entirely necessary for our diets. Yes, it's a source of protein, but I can also get protein from beans or tofu. However, I have a really busy schedule, so I don't have time to cook myself a healthy meal with vegetarian proteins every night. Also, I'm only 15, so I need lots of protein while I'm still young and growing. All teenagers do.

So what should I do? I'm pretty sure that I'm going to keep eating meat while I'm living with my parents. It's much easier for them when we have such busy schedules, and eating small quantities of meat won't hurt me. Also, my little brother is an incredibly picky eater, so we have to make him a separate dinner. I don't think my parents would be very happy if they had to make separate dinners for themselves, my little brother AND me. Even though I'm not a vegetarian (yet), I completely support people who are vegetarian or vegan, and I highly encourage that everyone should only eat meat 3 - 4 times a week. It's better for you and it's better for the environment!

Onto the recipe! I made this on Friday night after I saw a Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheese recipe on Twitter. I quickly glanced at it and saw that the sauce was just mashed butternut squash, and I knew that I could make the sauce way better. In my version, I pureed the squash with some almond milk and spices to make it smooth, rich and creamy. This recipe is vegetarian, but if you're vegan, you could easily omit the small amount of Asiago cheese that I sprinkled on top before baking. I posted a picture of it on Instagram, and many of you commented on the photo asking for the recipe, so here it is!

Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheese
Serves 7 - 8

Ingredients
16 oz whole-wheat penne pasta
1 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 medium-sized head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
¼ cup whole-wheat panko bread crumbs
½ cup smoked paprika
½ cup freshly grated Asiago cheese (optional)

For sauce:
½ of a medium-sized butternut squash
1¼ - 1½ cups (depending on desired consistency) unsweetened, plain almond milk
1 garlic clove, peeled
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried parsley
½ tsp dried thyme
1½ tbsp nutritional yeast 
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the butternut squash open lengthwise. Remove the seeds from one half of the butternut squash. Scoop the coconut oil from the jar and soften it by rubbing it between your hands. Rub the coconut oil over the surface of the butternut squash half and season with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, turning the pan after 30 minutes. The squash will be done once the surface is golden-brown and the insides are soft throughout. Remove from heat and cool until the squash is safe to handle.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cauliflower florets. Cook according to the directions on the package. Once the cooking time is up, drain the contents of the pot into a colander and briefly rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process. Pour the drained pasta and cauliflower back into the pot.

3. When the squash is cool, loosen its flesh from its walls with a fork. Then, transfer that to a food processor or Vita-Mix. Make sure you get as much out of the squash as you possibly can. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and blend on a medium-high speed. You can add more almond milk if needed. The end result should be a very smooth squash puree with a fairly thick consistency.

4. Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the sauce into the pot with the pasta and cauliflower. Mix thoroughly and adjust seasonings if needed. Add the contents to the pot to a 9x13 glass dish and spread it out evenly. Top with Asiago cheese, panko crumbs and smoked paprika (in that order). Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm. Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed today's blog post! Please try this recipe - it's perfect for fall and I know you're going to love it. Please share your recreations with me on Instagram or Twitter using #teenscancooktoo, or email then to me at teenscancooktooteam@gmail.com. Don't forget to follow this blog and follow Teens Can Cook, Too at all of the social media handles below:

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Thank you all so much, and stay healthy!

- Madeline

  

The Green Revolution

            Hey, everyone! This is Yann, one of the team members. I’m really interested in talking about GMOs, so I wrote about them today.

For millenniums, farming was simple; soil was tilled, seeds were planted, and crops were irrigated before being harvested. No great global initiative was taken to avoid great agricultural crises, for there weren’t very many, until the Great Bengal Famine of 1943. Around 4000 square miles of agricultural land was damaged and reserve stocks were destroyed. It is estimated that between 1.5 and 4 million out of 60.3 people died of starvation, malnutrition and disease.

Devastated children in the Great Bengal Famine

A calamity of this level got scientists and politicians thinking. What if there was a way to make crops more resistant to catastrophes? How could we improve the yield of crops? Some agronomists developed cereal grain varieties that were semi-dwarf, high-yield, and disease-resistant. In 1961, this system was implemented region of Punjab (situated in Northern India). Instantaneous success in the program brought forward new clients like Mexico, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Soon enough, the “Green Revolution” was in full swing.

The successes of the Green Revolution were remarkable. By 1970, India and Pakistan’s wheat production had nearly doubled. Wheat efficiency got remarkably better; in 1964, India produced 12 million tons of wheat on 14 million hectares of land. 30 years later, that number had risen to 57 million tons on only 24 million hectares of land. Many countries that underwent a green revolution became self-sustainable and economies were boosted. The Green Revolution is credited to have saved the lives of up to a billion people, with figures like hunger and malnutrition dropping significantly thanks to its success.

A graph showing the successes of the Green Revolution

Although the Green Revolution was very successful in many regards, many issues have immerged that once again challenge global agriculture. Corporations like Monsanto have now taken control of the seed market/production, forcing farmers to continually buy new seeds annually in order to continue farming. The problem is that it is extremely expensive for the farmers, with 100 grams of genetically modified seed costing £10, compared with less than £10 for 1,000 times more traditional seeds. In addition to the cost of the seeds, farmers need to purchase stronger pumps in order to irrigate their high-yield crops (which need quite a lot more water than normal crops). In order to pay these debts, many farmers are forced to get loans from high-interest unofficial lenders that charge as much as 24% interest.

A crop duster spreading
harmful pesticides

There are also environmental impacts due to genetically modified crops, for instance, the high amount of chemical fertilizers has led to 6% of all agricultural land being rendered anemic. Also, due to the increased amount of irrigation needed to sustain the high-yield crops, the aquifers of northern India fell by about four inches per year from 2002 through 2008 - representing about the same total volume of water as melted from Alaska's glaciers over the same period. Genetically modified farming has progressively become a less sustainable practice; a great ecological issue that will have to be dealt with in the future.

Genetically modified crops have radically changed the global landscape in numerous ways, from how we get our food to how much we get. Although the Green Revolution has been key to our growth as a planet, it raises many issues for the next generations to come. Whether we continue to follow this path of genetically modified foods or redirect our focus to other systems, the Green Revolution has made us realize that there’s more to food and agriculture than we think.

I hope you liked my first article! Please support Teens Can Cook, Too by following us on all of our social media handles below.

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Stay healthy!

- Yann

 

 

 

                                                

 

Meet the Teens Can Cook, Too Team!

Hey, everybody! Today's post will be pretty short, but it's super exciting. I just released a video about the Teens Can Cook, Too team members! Please take the time to watch it, because you're going to be hearing from these people a lot from here on out. Plus, they really deserve the support. All of them have so much to offer, and we've got tons of fun plans for this school year! Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEdYIBpnhio&feature=youtu.be

Thank you all for supporting Teens Can Cook, Too thus far! Next week, you'll be hearing from a team member instead of me, for it'll be my birthday weekend and I won't have time to cook anything. If you haven't, make sure you follow us on all of our social media handles below:

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YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ?feature=watch 

 

Stay healthy!

                   

Apollo's Rainbow Quinoa Bowl

Hey, everybody! I hope you all had a great first day of fall! Today's post will be short - my weekend was really busy, and I'm currently posting this in the midst of completing all my homework. Part of what made my weekend so busy was that I had some team members over at my house to discuss goals and ideas for the year. We each made a potluck dish and had a great time. Next week, there will be a video introducing all of the team members, so keep an eye out for that!

All of our dishes from the Teens Can Cook, Too potluck

For my potluck dish, I made a quinoa entrée that was inspired by the Sunshine bowls I had at the Mercer Island Farmers' Market. They taught me about the ingredients that go into their emulsion sauce, so I figured I'd do a nice variation on that. I think it turned out really well! This is the perfect dish to have as the grocery stores sell their final summer vegetables, but you could essentially make it with any veggies you want to. The name originates from the sunshine bowl, because Apollo is the Greek sun god. The flavors and vegetables I chose could definitely be Greek, but it could really go any way. Feel free to experiment with the vegetables and flavor profiles in the sauce, and email me your recreations at teenscancooktooteam@gmail.com!

Apollo's Rainbow Quinoa Bowl
Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients
2 cups rainbow quinoa
1 quart chicken broth
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 handfuls of pre-washed baby spinach
4 green onions, finely chopped (for garnish)

For sauce:
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
2/3 cup raw, unsalted and sliced almonds
2 large handfuls basil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
The juice of one large lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the quinoa and chicken broth to a boil at high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not check the quinoa's progress during this time, or the steam will evaporate and the cooking time will be all wrong. Once cooked, remove from heat. Fluff with a fork and let rest, covered.

2. While the quinoa  is cooking, soak the cashews and almonds. You need just enough water to cover all of the nuts, but do not add any more than that. Let soak for about 15 minutes. Pour the nuts and all of the water into a blender or Vita-mix. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend on a high speed until a thin, smooth consistency is reached. Adjust seasonings if needed.

3. Combine the quinoa, sauce, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, feta, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Adjust seasonings if needed.

4. To serve the quinoa bowls, add a handful of spinach to the bottom of each bowl. Scoop a generous helping of the quinoa on top. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!


Thank you all for reading tonight's blog post! Check back next Sunday to meet our lovely team members, and don't forget to follow us on all of our social media handles - especially this blog! As long as you are logged into a Google account (Google +, YouTube, Gmail, etc.), you can become a follower. Just click "Join This Site" on the right-hand side of this blog.

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Stay healthy!

Polenta Recipe + NEW VIDEO!

Hey, everyone! I have lots of exciting things to share with you all today. I have a new recipe below
that I created earlier today, plus an exciting video about how to create your own recipe! My friend (and member of the Teens Can Cook, Too team) Annika and I worked together on this video by visiting the Mercer Island Farmer's Market, and later taking our recipes to the kitchen. We made her original recipe of Apple-Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Glaze as well as my recipe for Polenta with White Beans and Green Sauce. The muffins didn't turn out very well.... but Annika and I came up with some ideas to test out next time. Once the recipe has been perfected, I'll post it here for you all to see!

Watch the new video HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i957wlby8Q&feature=youtu.be 

Annika and me picking out vegetables

Polenta with Green Sauce and White Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients

Two logs organic polenta, cut into ½-inch medallions

½ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans

½ of a large yellow onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced

1¼ cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

Salt and pepper, to taste

For green sauce (you will have sauce left over):

2 cups kale, coarsely chopped

2 cups baby spinach

½ of a large zucchini, cut into 2-inch pieces

¼ of a large yellow onion, cut into 2-inch pieces

1½ cups organic frozen peas, defrosted

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups basil leaves

½ cup parmesan cheese

3 garlic cloves, peeled

Salt and pepper, to taste

About 1 ½ cups of water (adjust as needed to achieve desired consistency)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1.   Combine all of the green sauce ingredients in a blender or Vita-Mix on a high speed. Adjust seasonings and consistency as needed.

 

2.   Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add half of the polenta and pour 2 tbsp of balsamic over the top. After about 2 – 3 minutes, or once one side of the polenta is golden-brown, flip the polenta. Pour another 2 tbsp of balsamic over the top and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer the polenta to a platter or plate. Repeat these instructions with the remainder of the polenta. Do not turn off the skillet once you are done.

3.   Immediately after you finish cooking the polenta, add the cannellini beans, onions and garlic to the skillet. Cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Then, pour in about 3 cups of the sauce. You can freeze your leftover sauce in an ice cube tray and use it for pizza, pasta, or to make this dish again the next day. Cook the sauce and beans for about 5 minutes, stirringly constantly.

4.   Serve each plate by arranging the polenta in a circle and pouring the green sauce over the top. Top each plate with heirloom tomatoes. Enjoy!  

Please follow this blog, comment on this blog post, and follow me on all the Teens Can Cook, Too social media handles! A lot of these social media handles are brand new (in order to accommodate my name change), so I need as much help as I can get to gain followers. Thank you all so much, and stay healthy!

Twitter: @teenscancooktoo

Instagram: @teenscancooktoo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teens-Can-Cook-Too/113579778813832

The Blog: http://foodforteensbyteens.blogspot.com

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ 

- Madeline :)

 

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey, everybody! Sorry that it has been forever since I've posted. The summer was incredibly hectic, and I just didn't have the time to create recipes or post anything. I'm now going to stay as dedicated to posting as I possibly can. I know that I say this every time, but things are going to be different.

The first new thing about Teens Can Cook, Too is that I'm starting a new teen team. This is a team of a few teenagers who will be appearing throughout my videos and posts. Also, they will be stepping in for me if I am too busy to write a blog post. There will be a new post every Sunday, and this time, I mean it. Most of the posts will be from me, and I am still the main teen that you will be hearing from, but my team members will give you something interesting to read each and every week. Every team member has a different area of expertise about food, and hopefully it'll give you a better idea of just how many things teens can accomplish in the culinary world.

Another big thing..... This is extremely important and YOU MUST READ IT if you want everything on this blog to make sense. As you may have noticed, this blog doesn't say anything about Madison Dillon anymore. That is because my name is really Madeline Dalton. When I started this blog three years ago, I used a fake name to protect myself from stalkers. At age 12, this was a good idea. Now that I'm a sophomore in high school and want to really put my blog out there, using a fake name has caused problems. I have changed my YouTube channel, email address, name on Twitter and more to accommodate the name change. Please take a look at all of my new social media handles. Now more than ever is a great time to subscribe to me, follow me and more, because I have to (sort of) start from the ground up. It really only takes a couple of minutes, and all my information is in the side bar on the right.

Thank you all for reading! Please share this blog with your friends, spread the word, and subscribe to all of the new social media pages. There will be a recipe from me this Sunday, so keep looking for that!