Prickly Pear Smoothie (and Video)
Recently my kids decided to try a new fruit. They picked up a prickly pear (at Wegmans) and decided this might be one to try. My older son had tried it once at school but thought it would be fun for his little brother to try it to. They researched the prickly pear and made this video. Be careful with the tiny spines, they will get you! Use a glove or tongs, as Zane says in their video! Afterwards we took one of our prickly pears and made an AMAZING SMOOTHIE. We kept the seeds in ours, but if your blender...
Read MoreSpaghetti Squash-Video
Spaghetti Squash from Doctor Yum on Vimeo. Spaghetti Squash is a very interesting squash with a unique consistency when roasted. Cut in half, remove seeds, and roast at 350 on a baking sheet (cut side down) until you can pierce easily with a knife. Remove, cool slighly and then “comb” the inside flesh with a fork. Strings of squash will appear, and they can be eaten just like spaghetti, served with your favorite sauce. High in vitamins, and minerals this is a curious, mildly flavored squash...
Read MoreDoctor Yum’s Cooking Adventure for Kids
In August The Doctor Yum Project, our newly formed nonprofit, debuted it’s Cooking Adventure for kids. We enrolled 12 children, age 7-12 and spent the week learning about nutrition and cooking plant-based recipes. Each day we focused on a different food group including Leafy Greens Berries Melons Tomatoes Citrus fruits We started off the day with a nutrition lesson which highlighted the food group of the day. We learned that plants not only give us vitamins and minerals but powerful body-boosting...
Read MoreDoctor Yum’s Tiny Taster Rap
There is a great campaign in Maine called “Dunk the Junk” started by pediatrician Kevin Strong. Their campaign aims to get kids to stop eating junk food and start eating healthy foods, and uses graffiti art and rap to engage kids in their mission. Recently they released a rap video by some Atlanta kids quartet, The ShortZ. These kids are fun, smart, and make rapping about eating healthy SO COOL. I was playing the rap the other day, and my own kids started rapping the chorus over and over, “Dunk...
Read MoreTrying the Cherimoya Fruit (video)
Recently Zane found a strange fruit at the grocery store called Cherimoya. This green fruit has a textured skin and sweet white custard-like flesh. The kids found some other Tiny Tasters. Then they got online, found out a few facts about this ancient fruit and discovered a new favorite. See what they said about this cool fruit. I even let the video roll after the take so we could hear what they really thought. The kids did a great...
Read MoreA Powerful Look at Childhood Obesity
As a pediatrician I have dedicated much of my time to giving parents practical information to prevent and combat obesity. I have found that I love this work. However, this week I hit a WALL. I saw too many kids in my office with morbid obesity. Many of them had been counseled before, and most had continued to gain weight. So many times I found no room at the top of the chart to plot their growing body mass index. I saw a few kids on the edge of diabetes, one with hypertension, and many with complaints related to...
Read MoreHow to Make Homemade Yogurt (Video)
Many parents tell me their kids won’t drink a lot of milk. They worry about calcium, and are not sure how to give their kids enough. Yogurt is a great way to do this, and making your own is super easy. I use yogurt in smoothies, baked goods, as a side dish, as a substitute for mayonnaise when making chicken or tuna salad. Ever look at the ingredients on the average flavored yogurt? A popular strawberry yogurt has the following ingredients : Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk, Sugar,...
Read MoreTrying Kumquats (Video)
Doctor Yum’s Tiny Tasters show how much kids love trying new foods by tasting kumquats. As they show you in this video, kumquats are a cool little winter-time fruit that is high in Vitamin C. Watch the video to see how you eat...
Read MoreSugar Plums (Video)
This is a great no-bake holiday recipe given to me by my friend Kara. It’s a favorite at her house, and we thought we would give it a try. Although there are no plums in this recipe, there are a lot of wholesome ingredients like dried fruits, nuts and honey. It’s super fast and the kids will love it. Check out the video. INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup honey 1 teasoon cinnamon 2 tsp orange zest 1 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional) 2 cups slivered almonds, toasted 3/4 cup dried apricots,...
Read MoreHow to Eat a Pomegranate (Video)
Pomegranates are my favorite fall fruit. When my sister and I were younger we used to have “Pomegranate Parties.” We would dress up in trash bags so that our clothes wouldn’t stain, and would cut into the fruit, revealing the pockets of jewel-like fruit- it was like opening a treasure chest! Little did we know that this delicious fruit is full of TONS of antioxidants. When pomegranates are available the fruity seeds (called “arils”) can be enjoyed alone or sprinkled in fruit jello...
Read MoreHow to Bake a Pumpkin (Video)
Pumpkins are one of the greatest things about fall. My favorite pumpkin farm, Miller Farms in Locust Grove Virginia, has a great collection of fall heirloom pumpkins. Over the years I have learned that these varieties are great for baking, with less stringy fibers and better color and taste. We bake a few pumpkins, freeze the puree, and use it for baking for months. Pumpkin cookies, muffins, yogurt, cake, soup…..the list goes on. We even made pumpkin butter yesterday. YUM!!! Babyfood Shortcut: Make...
Read MoreEasy Blender Tomato Sauce (Video)
This is a super easy tomato sauce that uses fresh summer ingredients. Blend tomatoes, herbs, and other veggies to make a smooth sauce that can be eaten right out of the blender (some of the high power blenders like the Blendtec and Vitamix will blend sauces until they are slightly warmed). If you have time, simmer the sauce and the flavors and color will get even richer. The more the sauce is simmered the better it gets. If you want chunky sauce, then chop some veggies separately and add to blended sauce...
Read MoreStrawberry Mango Yogurt Popsicle (with Video)
INGREDIENTS 8-10 strawberries 12-15 grapes 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt 3/4 cup mango nectar 3 baby carrots Blend all ingredients until smooth. Blend in additional fruit, yogurt or juice if more volume is needed. Freeze in trays for at least 2 hours. Yields 8 popsicles. To find out more about my Blendtec Blender click...
Read MoreVideo-Trying Lychees
Lychees are an exotic fruit from East Asia and South Asia. They grow on trees in clusters and have a red, nubby, leathery skin. Once peeled, a white fruit with the taste and consistency of a peeled grape is revealed. Different from a grape, the seed is large like a pit. This fruit is becoming more popular in the West, as its pleasant flavor and nutritional qualities are being discovered. At a trendy restaurant in DC, I recently had a “Lychee-tini” which was a martini-style cocktail made with...
Read More