Veggie Teens

Why I wrote this book

My name is Elyse and I wrote a cookbook called Veggie Teens: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. It’s for teenage vegetarians, teenagers hoping to convince their parents to let them try becoming a vegetarian, vegetarians of any age, and anybody else who loves to cook and eat great food.

 

I’ve been a vegetarian for two years now. I decided to write this cookbook for a school project called “Project Imagine.” My dad is a chef and my mom is a doctor so a vegetarian cookbook seemed like the perfect idea. From the moment I started, I knew this would be more than a school project because there had to be thousands of teenagers out there just like me. Just because we don't like to eat animals doesn't mean we don't like to eat!

 

I'd love to hear your comments and ideas - just post them in this blog. You can also buy your own copy of Veggie Teens here: Spiral bound for $17.95 (plus 3-day shipping) or E-book for 12.95 (will be delivered to your email box now)!

What to do when there's a mouse in the house

My week has been full of animals. We have a baby rabbit in our backyard, accompanied by a family of quail. A couple of scorpions and a mouse were sharing our house too. Because I love animals, I asked my dad if we could find a way to catch them without killing them. My dad caught the scorpions in a jar. 

The easiest way to catch the mouse would have been with a mouse trap or a sticky trap but we decide to use a cage instead. We loaded the cage with sweet apricot pits (the kind you buy, not fresh) and the next day the pits were gone--but no mouse. We reloaded
the cage a couple of times with no success. We needed to attach the food to the trigger somehow. We had no idea how to do this until my dad came up with the idea of using peanut butter. It worked! The next day we had him in the cage. 

We released the scorpions and the rodent into the desert. If you have rodent problems, instead of using a trap that will kill the animal, use a cage so you can catch it in and release it back into its natural habitat. 

Meatless Monday Recipe: Cherry Tomato Pasta

Post by Chef Owen May:

Meatless Mondays are a great way to experiment with vegetarian meals without making a major commitment. My daughter Elyse is the only vegetarian in our family but we all eat meatless meals numerous times during the week. (If we're lucky, she's the one who makes them!)

Meatless meals are generally less expensive, often easy to make, may be better for the environment, and are usually healthier. Those are all nice, but if they don't taste great (or worse yet, if they taste "weird"), the rest won't matter because your family won't buy in.

This Meatless Monday series is a weekly recipe for a meatless meal that is inexpensive, simple, healthy, and that your whole family will love. This one is straight out of our book, Veggie Teens Cookbook: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. Bon appétit!

Cherry Tomato Pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 ounces of whole wheat pasta (any shape)
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved (or two medium tomatoes chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded (see Culinary Techniques)
½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, sauté tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic and sauté for about a minute. Be careful not to burn garlic or it will become bitter.
3. Drain pasta and return it to the pot.
4. Toss with tomatoes, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, vinegar and basil.
5. Add the salt and fresh ground pepper or red pepper flakes to taste.

Dr. Michelle May's Notes: The whole wheat pasta, tomatoes and monounsaturated olive oil make this a great dish for even the most health conscious diner. For a little more protein, add grated parmesean or goat cheese.

Culinary Techniques: How to Chiffonade Basil

Post by Elyse May (aka Veggie Teen) from my book, Veggie Teens: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers.

In addition to hundreds of recipes, there are 21 "Culinary How To" instructions in Veggie Teens, each with three-step photos. This one is a fun and easy way to cut strips of basil or other large flat leaves like spinach. The technique is called "chiffonade."

Stack several washed basil leaves.

Roll them tightly.

Cut them into 1/4 inch slices and separate them into thin strips.

Add fresh strips of basil to pasta dishes, like my easy recipe for Cherry Tomato Pasta.

Meatless Monday Recipe: Garlic Beans

Post by Chef Owen May:

Meatless Mondays are a great way to experiment with vegetarian meals without making a major commitment. My daughter Elyse is the only vegetarian in our family but we all eat meatless meals numerous times during the week. (If we're lucky, she's the one who makes them!)

Meatless meals are generally less expensive, often easy to make, may be better for the environment, and are usually healthier. Those are all nice, but if they don't taste great (or worse yet, if they taste "weird"), the rest won't matter because your family won't buy in.

That's why I am doing this Meatless Monday series. I will post a recipe for a meatless meal that is inexpensive, simple, healthy, and that your whole family will love.

This first one is straight out of our book, Veggie Teens Cookbook: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. Serve with a colorful Garden Salad and crusty bread. Enjoy!

Garlic Beans
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
3 16-oz cans white beans or one 16-ounce bag of dried beans cooked according to package directions (Navy, Great Northern, or cannelini)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large skillet and sauté onion until soft.
2. Add red pepper, garlic, and bay leaves; sauté 3 minutes.
3. Stir in beans (do not drain) and cook for at least 3 more minutes.
4. Stir in vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Discard bay leaves and serve in decorative bowls.

Veggie Teens Cookbook Voted Best Book for Teens and Tweens!

Exciting news! Veggie Teens: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers was chosen as one of the 50 Best Books for Teens and Tweens.

Family Garden: Step 4 Eating

The best part about having a garden is the food we get from it.

Now we have fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers (well one, which we didn't get to before the pests), and soon, cucumbers. I can't get over the delicious flavor of a tomato right off the vine.

I had a garden salad for lunch, made with leftover grilled asparagus and peppers, romaine, kalamata olives, and two little tomatoes from our garden. Even if you don't grow your own, perhaps you'd like to try this simple garden herb dressing we created with the fresh herbs from our garden. Just emulsify these ingredients with a hand blender.

Garden Herb Dressing
Serves 4 to 6 depending on the size of the salad servings

1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Handful of fresh herbs (we used basil and parsley)
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Family Garden: Step 3 Growing

The plants we bought weren't supposed to grow produce for about 100 days, but just a month after we planted the green bell pepper, we had one growing! Our pepper plant was so slender that I had no idea how it could hold up the pepper. This photo was taken right after I noticed it but now it looks like it will be ready to eat soon.

We also have loads of tomatoes growing (five different types); the only plants we are waiting for are the cucumbers, squash, and artichokes.

We've also planted marigolds around the garden because they are supposed to be a natural insecticide. I'll write more about ecofriendly pest control in a future post.

Earth Day! Do your part and Go Green

Today is Earth Day. Here is a guide to help make your Earth Day the greenest it can be.

• Use reusable lunch bags and containers.
  

• Use refillable water bottles.

• Take canvas bag to the go shopping instead of using plastic bags.

• Replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).

• Turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use.

• Recycle paper, plastic, and glass and buy goods made from recycled materials

As an Earth Day activity, eat vegetarian for a day; if you're a vegetarian, try eating vegan.

By the way, Veggie Teens was selected as one of the Best Cookbooks For Earth Day!

Do your part and GO GREEN.

Parents Beware: Watch for signs of eating disorders in vegetarian teens

The good news: A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that adolescent and young adult vegetarians had healthier intakes of fruits, vegetables, and fat, and were less likely to be overweight or obese.

The cautionary tale: The study also found that adolescent and young adult vegetarians were more likely to report binge eating with loss of control and engage in extreme unhealthful weight-control behaviors.

The lesson for parents: Ask questions about your teen's reasons for wanting to follow a vegetarian diet (see list). Ask about his or her feelings about his or her weight, body, and eating and watch for signs of eating disorders. If you are at all concerned, seek professional help immediately.

The bottom line: A vegetarian diet is a safe and healthful way for teenagers to eat but be on the lookout for signs that your teenager is claiming to be a vegetarian to mask signs of an eating disorder.

Michelle (Mom of a veggie teen)
Michelle May MD

Family Garden: Step 2 Planting

Our next step was to plant. Our garden has a limited amount of space, so we picked vegetables that we eat often. We chose peppers (spicy and sweet), four different kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and loads of herbs. Since this was our first time gardening and it was getting late in the spring planting season for Arizona, we decided to go with starter plants rather than seeds. We love salads, so we decided to try a pack of mixed greens' seeds because lettuce is supposed to be easy to grow. We water our plants daily and I'm eagerly waiting to see what happens!