Green Teen Pick: The Green Teen Cookbook

The Green Teen Cookbook: Recipes for all Seasons--Written by Teens, For Teens
edited by Lauran Marchive & Pam McElroy
Zest Books
2014
9781936976584
144 pages


The Green Teen Cookbook is a  unique fresh approach to eating and cooking green for teens--and big news! It's written by actual teens for their teen counterparts. When the editors asked teens for recipes that used fresh ingredients, they received thousands of submissions from around the world. They were surprised by  the excitement that teens had for food, cooking and eating green and seasonally. This little green book will excite the new chef in the teen kitchen and awaken the sleeping chef in all the rest of us.

Many cooks and eaters do not eat green or healthy. We grab and go. We overspend on produce that is not seasonal. We end up wasting food and throwing away our hard earned money. The Green Teen Cookbook shows cooks how to plan and prepare tasty food following a few easy rules.

Eating seasonally allows eaters and cooks to eat healthy, more flavorful foods at a premium price. Tomatoes in season are delicious at every meal--slice them on a sandwich, puree them for a sauce or make a nice salsa using the fresh bounty.  Zucchini and asparagus are also seasonal gifts.  Once these foods are gone for the season, look forward to eating them again next year.  According to chef Andy Gold, "Tests show that leafy greens like spinach lose around half of their nutrients in the first twenty=four hours after they're harvested." No wonder the spinach in the market is not as flavorful as that you pick up at a farmer's stand. It's been packaged and shipped, sometimes over thousands of miles! Eating local produce and products is a big boon to practicing being green. Teens support local growers and cut out the cost of transportation and the burning of fuels to transport those  goods.

Recipes run the gamut of tastes from making your own peanut butter and Chocolate Hazelnut spread (compare to Nutella) to homemade energy bars to seasonal frittatas to Sausage Bolognese to hummus to guacamole. Colorful photos accompany every page; as every cookbook junkie knows, a cookbook just isn't a good cookbook unless it comes with color photos on every page! The recipes included are easy to follow, include quick tips, and are user friendly for beginner chefs.

I say, let's roll up our sleeves, wash our hands, and start cooking! This is one great gift for that foodie tween or teen in  your life!

From the back cover: "The Green Teen Cookbook is more than just another set of recipes: it's an all-in-one guide for going green and eating well."

Highly, highly recommended for every teen wannabe chef and foodie. Grade 5-up with some supervision  for younger chefs.

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FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.