The Proper Care and Feeding of Teenagers
Avocado toast with a soft-boiled egg
Three square meals from the once relevant USDA Food Pyramid have been replaced in my household with viral TikTok recipes and food hacks that are served up daily by the Alexa screen in the kitchen: How to make your own chocolate marshmallows; Cloud bread; The Chopped Sandwich; Pasta chips.
The trending recipes of the moment not only help to bring the family together in the kitchen and away from the smart phones, but they create thoughtful innovations and inspire wacky experiments. How many thirteen-year-old kids know how to successfully sprout an avocado pit? If they frequent a DIY social media platform, they’ve probably seen the video.
Mug cake
Like it or not, and despite how many times political parties try to banish TikTok from the hands of Americans, I think it’s here to stay. And avocados aren’t solely meant for the basis of guacamole or for the overpriced Avo Toast at your local breakfast joint. Try mixing these three simple ingredients of avocado, sweetened condensed milk, and ice in a blender—this deeply ingrained cultural treat from the Philippines and Vietnam will not disappoint. Who knew?
Vegan tortillas, handmade
Feeding teenagers’ desire to replicate a science experiment they’ve seen on Instagram or test some cooking hacks in the (oh well) newly cleaned kitchen also feeds their curiosity. According to Wikipedia, "Curiosity killed the cat" is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation, but the curiosity inspired in our younger generation—those who had to exist within a computer monitor’s screen during Covid 19’s Zoom school days—can only precipitate rapid brain growth and create greater potential benefits to learning and memory retention.
As much as we’d prefer to have our children incorporate a lean protein, a piece of fruit, a vegetable, and some form of whole grain into a meal, sometimes we must let them nosh on some blue cloud bread. At least it’s gluten free.