Young people’s recipe book is a treat for the mind as well as the tastebuds

Called ‘Scran – A Young Person’s Guide To Easy Cooking’, it has been compiled by Youth Voice For Hartlepool – a group of young people aged 13-19 supported by Hartlepool Borough Council’s Youth Services Team.

The 32-page book is packed with mouth-watering, quick, healthy recipes which won’t break the bank, researched by the young people with help from their families and friends.

These include subway-style meatballs, an easy omelette, cheesy bean burritos, dirty cajun rice, a healthy parmo, air fryer paprika wedges, a versatile tomato sauce, peanut cookies and Eton mess. 

Celebrating the launch of the book are (left to right) Sarah McCluskey from the Youth Services Team, Mayowa Carew, Amy Cook, Emily Birkbeck, Amanda Smith (‘Mandascat’), Georgia Robson, Oliver Huermann and Rachael Garlick from the Youth Services Team

Speaking on behalf of the group, Layla Gibson said: “We recently carried out a cost-of-living survey and found that 80% of young people in Hartlepool have been directly affected by the cost of living.

“We decided that it would be useful for young people to be able to create quick, easy and healthy meals.

“Over the summer we tested these recipes, adding our own twists, cooking and tasting them.

“Our aim is to make cooking accessible for all young people, inspiring them to have a go in the kitchen and helping them to become self-sufficient and build their confidence.

“We also know how important it is to look after your mental health. Eating well and looking after yourself can help you feel much better.”

The project was funded by NHS North East and Cumbria as part of the ‘Telling the iThrive story’ project.

The young people recently worked with the Youth Services Team to create a web page on the Hartlepool Now website www.hartlepoolnow.co.uk called the Young People’s Wellbeing Hub, based on the NHS iTHRIVE model, to help them find their way to advice and activities when they need a bit of extra support.

Recognising that young people can sometimes feel worried, frustrated or under pressure and that ‘We can all feel like a bit of a monster sometimes,’ the web page features some colourful but friendly ‘monster’ cartoon characters created by Hartlepool artist ‘Mandascat’ – Amanda Smith - and Amanda has once again worked with the young people to create some more ‘monster’ cartoon characters to decorate the pages of the recipe book.

Copies of the book have been given to youth clubs and youth centres across Hartlepool as well as to secondary schools.

The book can also be downloaded at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/scran