Simple Tastes – Quick Carbonara Style Pasta

Does this sound familiar? The other week, I opened the fridge to start preparing our evening meal. I had plenty of ingredients, but couldn’t decide what to make. Spaghetti Bolognese, Fish Pie, Lasagne, Pizza, Steak and salad… all the old favourites, that I’ve made week in week out, and am just fed up making, never mind eating. I need some fresh ideas, and thankfully I’ve found someone to provide them to me – and you.

This is the first in a new series of recipe posts by Asha Fowells, called Simple Tastes. Every week or so, she will supply a new recipe that you might want to try and, if successful, then add to your regular rotation of meals. You can join in the discussion on our FB group, and add a photo of your creation.

Neuroscience of the Teenage Brain – The Changes of Adolescence

What is Adolescence?

Although we often use the words adolescent and teenager interchangeably, they actually refer to different things. A teenager is a young person between the ages of 13 and 19, while the start of adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty, and its end is generally accepted to be around the age of 19 or 20. While teenagerhood is a social idea, adolescence is a period of biological development common to all human cultures, and one that is also found in many non-human species.

During adolescence young people begin to pull away from their parents and to assert their independence and individuality. At the same time they start to explore their identity and how they fit in with their peers as well as society as a whole. The opinion of their peers is likely to matter more to an adolescent than that of their parents or other adults. They may behave more impulsively and take more risks than before without thought of the consequences, while their sleep patterns change drastically. You’ll be relieved to hear that there are reasons for all this! Our science editor Samantha Gouldson investigates the neuroscience of the teenage brain.

Help Your Child be Body Confident

We all want our kids to have great self-esteem and to feel good about themselves. Unfortunately kids are bombarded with images of the perfect body from all angles, and at some point in their childhood they will become very aware of their appearance and body shape, and how it differs to others.