Introduction to Cooking for Teens

Ever considered how many more meals you’re going to eat in your life? Let’s just say, ‘a lot’. Why then, wouldn’t you strive to make them as tasty and as healthy and rewarding as possible? OK, not everyone likes cooking. But we’re here to change that for you. The thing is, people DO tend to enjoy doing what they become better at (especially if there’s a tasty meal waiting for them on the other side). And we’re going to help you (or your teen) to become better – much better – at cooking. This page is all about the benefits of cooking for teens.

Then they get to choose the meals they want to cook (with some parental supervision!) they get to enjoy learning one of the most rewarding life-skills you can learn, they get to start early with time on their side (just think how good they’ll be just 5 years from now?) and you and your family get to enjoy eating what they created!

Cooking for teens should be a priority subject to study at school and college, because the potential rewards are so huge. Think about it. Aside of the enjoyment factor, there’s the health factor. It’s about the fuel you’re putting into your body. It enables you to live out the lifestyle you want to live. It should put you at your best (or put your teens at their best).

And then there’s the mental and physical side of things. The challenge and the growth. There’s the art and the science. And frankly, cooking uses just about every subject you study at school, if you think about it…

You use maths, English, science (I mean there’s biology, physics and chemistry all coming together right in front of you!) There’s geography if you’re prepared to think about where the dish you’re cooking comes from, and why. (Almost certainly it’s because of the available resources). And history, if you want to look at the history of the dish, how and why it evolved to where it’s at now. There’s art, design, even music if your teen wants to put some on whilst cooking and sing along. And you’re using your hands to create.

Is there any other activity that combines all of these things?

So, how do teens get into cooking? Well, they need to start with the right motivation and drive, and the right recipes…

Easy Recipes for Teenagers

So you want to get up and running quickly with some easy recipes for teenagers? The best way to start is to sign up to our free emails (above). You’ll get our first 10 ‘training recipes’ (“The 10 Meal Challenge”) sent one per day for 10 days into your inbox. These are designed to have you learning the most important 10 basic cooking skills.

You can sign up above, or learn more here.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to follow a more prescribed path, you can browse our recipes here and see which ones you’re most interested to start cooking. Whilst you might not have had a chance to build the skills, there are plenty of how-to videos and things to support you. Please make sure you have some parental support and supervision.

Cooking for teens: Meals for Teenagers

A quick word on cooking for teens, and particularly meals for teenagers. We’ve been lucky enough to get ideas and feedback from users of UpCooked, and it’s really no surprise that there aren’t common ‘go-to’ meals for teenagers that suit everyone. We wondered if creating burgers, and ‘fun food’ might appeal. But plenty of teenagers these days want to create healthy meals that make them feel energised, strong and healthy afterwards too!

So, in time, we may add more fun food or party food to the site, but until then, it seems most people want to cook meals that most people find healthy, tasty, easy, and fun to cook. So that’s our focus.

What’s important to keep in mind as you’re learning (and we’ll emphasise this in the recipes) are three major rules:

1. Aim for variety of plants and vegetables. Tim Spector suggests that we all eat 30 different plants/vegetables each week. Maximise the colour on your plate

2. Aim for a good mix of carbs, protein, and good fats (macronutrients). Read more here.

3. Aim for a good balance in your cooking of salt, fat, acid and heat. Those four things when balanced correctly can work miracles.

You’re not expected to learn all this now! But these ideas are all woven into the recipes on our site, and you’ll acquire them without even realising if you sign up to our emails and learn gradually with us over time.

Teens Cook: Encouraging Independence in the Kitchen

It’s important that teens learn in a safe environment, so that they can quickly build their skills and know-how.

We strongly recommend that parents supervise and encourage teens to keep going, and maximising enjoyment of the process. We also strongly recommmend that all teens and their parents start by reading about what we call “The Big 5 Skills” (here). Once you are clear on these, you can go on to learn the top 10 skills we cover in our first 10 emails.

What’s most important is that the fun factor is maximised every step of the way. It should be enjoyable throughout, so a big question to keep asking is, “how can I make this even more fun?” Some ideas are, pick the right meals that you’re dying to both cook and eat. Get the support and buy-in from your parents and family. Check that they too want to eat the finished product! Choose your favourite music and get that playing in the background. And pour yourself a nice drink to have by your side whilst cooking. Finally, if you want, get your friends involved too! Ask a friend to join you and have fun together whipping up a storm.

And stay tuned to our emails because you’ll get new ideas each week and it should keep you fresh, energised and cooking like a pro!

Easy Recipe Ideas for Teenagers to Make

OK, by now we hope you’re on board with the idea of learning to cook. So let’s finish with just a few recipes that may appeal to you if you want to get stuck into it:

The UpCooked BigWhop Burger (we designed a cross between a Big Mac and a Whopper!)
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Chicken Enchiladas
Stir Fry Chicken and Vegetables
Ellie’s Quick Tomato Pasta
The UpCooked Omelette