A to Z: Dr. Plastic Picker’s Cookbook for Kids!
November 3, 2020
by drplasticpicker
I am almost out of Dr. Plastic Picker reusable tote bags! It’s been fun over the last year giving them out randomly to my patients and people I’ve met. Yesterday I gave one to Priscilla, the nice HMO staff who works on updating iPhones for MDs. She spent over an hour updating my new phone and backing up all my data. As she walked away, there was the Maui Blue Turtle themed Dr. Plastic Picker bag peaking from her small trolley of things. I think those bags are everywhere! They were a group project made from the art of a patient Daniela, my sister’s logo she designed for the blog and about a $1000 a paid to get them done. I just gave them away over the year and it has been great fun.
But it’s time to think about something else to have at work to give away to my families! I have decided to live my dream and finally write a book! I’ve always wanted to be an author. I had tried to write a romance novel back in medical school during our first year, it was Pass-Fail grading system, but I got distracted and only wrote two chapters. I have realized it’s better to write something useful. Since I am a pediatrician and refocused on plantetary and pediatric health, I really ought to write a cookbook. I have never desired to write a cookbook until now. Now I want to write a cookbook because I have learned more new skills in the kitchen, and I want to encourage my patients to eat more plant-based and less processed and less plastic. When I was younger, I had saved enough UPC codes from some company and sent them in for a free kid’s cookbook that was baked goods A to Z. I loved that cookbook. Unfortunately that is probably what derailed me from cooking more because I was in adolescence and making a lot of baked goods and eating a lot of it. I gained probably an unhealthly amount of weight from all that sugary baked goodness.
I would like my patients to have the same wonderful experience in cooking, but with food that is healthy. Cooking and the love of food is a lifelong journey, and I would like to inspire some of my patients to cook more. Since I am an amateurish cook, it would be most appropriate for me to have a cookbook that is for kids. I am a pediatrician, and we are just big kids with medical degrees. I will try to write this book with my own children. My tween daughter is actually a really good cook. My teen son is a very good artists as well. I will ask them to contribute photographs and recipes. They can put this on their resume. Yes, they will.
Half joking aside, my plan is to publish it for now on the blog. Later on, I will publish it on recycled paper in a small book for patients and give them out in clinic. Why not? I will give it out for free after I run out of Dr. Plastic Picker bags.
I thought I had been cooking a lot. Thus far I have 5 recipes that I think appropriate to include for kids. I am not going to put a deadline on this project. I will keep it fun. So here is the beginning of A to Z: Dr. Plastic Picker’s Cookbook for Kids. This may take a few years. Apologize for the messiness of this post. It’s a running working document for the cookbook. Although as of right now I have 13/26 recipes done!!! Yeah!!!
A is for Apple Sauce https://drplasticpicker.com/home-made-apple-sauce-and-apple-cider-vinegar-something-sweet-and-sometime-with-a-bit-of-acidic-bite/
B is for Banana Walnut Muffins (Almost Vegan!) https://drplasticpicker.com/almost-vegan-banana-walnut-muffins/
B is for Besan Coated Cruciferous Vegetables (“Vegan Buffalo Wings’) https://drplasticpicker.com/baked-besan-coated-cruciferous-vegetables-aka-vegan-buffalo-wings-aka-staple-of-south-asian-cuisine-for-centuries/
C is for Chilpolte Adobo Burgers (Vegan) https://drplasticpicker.com/the-road-to-fise-homemade-vegan-chipolte-adobo-black-bean-burgers/,
C is also for CORNBREAD: Almost Almost Vegan Coconut Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup butter
- I put 1/2 cup of left over coconut flakes as a partial food waste project
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar) in a large bowl and stir well.
- Melt the butter in a small pot on the stovetop or in the microwave. Then add it to the cornmeal flour mixture together with the unsweetened plant-based milk and the apple cider vinegar. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined, but don’t overmix.
- Generously grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish with butter. Pour the prepared batter into the dish and evenly divide it with a spatula.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Bake the cornbread for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow the cornbread to slightly cool before slicing and serving.
D is for Dough. Home made Pizza Dough. The reasoning of making home-made pizza dough, is that after you master the dough – you will save your family so much money and home-made pizza is so much healthier and better to portion control. This is our tween daughter’s recipe, and it is soooo good. We used to get Bronx Pizza and one pie is $24. Homemade pizza costs a fraction of the amount.
Bobbie Flay’s Pizza Dough Recipe https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe-1921714
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water, 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
- Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe-1921714
https://drplasticpicker.com/bobbie-flays-pizza-dough-1-hour-to-rise-good-enough/ and then we did the 8-hour rise which was better! https://drplasticpicker.com/we-should-love-food-food-should-be-healthy-we-should-love-delicious-healthy-food-and-save-the-earth-at-the-same-time/
E is for Election Night Vegan Rub.
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram (oregano works too)
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
E if for Eggplant Pasta in the Instapot https://drplasticpicker.com/keeper-instapot-eggplant-tomato-pasta/
F is for Flaxseed and Organic Raisin Muffins. https://drplasticpicker.com/making-muffins-as-a-metaphor-for-life-fill-the-hole-and-add-the-raisins/
G is for Granola. https://drplasticpicker.com/granola-is-not-a-health-food-its-dessert-i-still-made-it/
H is for Chocolate Desert Hummus! https://drplasticpicker.com/chocolate-desert-hummus-spread-did-you-say-chocolate-its-vegan-im-in/
I is for Iron Skillet Tomatoes. Also known as “Costco Rotissierre Chicken and Cous Cous and a Whole Lot of Stewy Vegetables!!!” https://drplasticpicker.com/cast-iron-skillet-sprouts-ca-whole-peeled-roma-tomatoes-and-rosemary-infused-olive-oil-from-the-hmo-parking-lot/
Jung’s Beet KimChi
K is for Grandma’s Scallion Kimchi! https://drplasticpicker.com/grandma-jungs-scallion-kimchi/
L is for Left Over Anything (Turkey) Stew, https://drplasticpicker.com/left-over-anything-turkey-stew-0/
L is for Lentil Yoghurt Curry https://drplasticpicker.com/slow-down-time-make-soy-yoghurt-and-save-the-earth/
M is for Baked Oatmeal with Mushy Left Over Fruit. https://drplasticpicker.com/baked-oatmeal-left-over-mushy-fruit/
N is for Nut Butter. https://drplasticpicker.com/project-homemade-peanut-butter/
O is for Instant Pot Oatmeal Station.
P is for Pesto Sauce. https://drplasticpicker.com/home-made-pesto-who-knew-it-was-so-easy-rediscovering-the-love-of-food-and-self/
P is for Easy Peasy Split Green Pea Soup https://drplasticpicker.com/easy-peasy-split-pea-soup-0-for-4-servings-sometimes-things-are-easy/
Quinoa with A Little Bit of Bean Chilli! https://drplasticpicker.com/dr-plastic-pickers-vegan-chilli-light-on-the-beans/
R is for Riccota Cheese (Vegan Soy-Milk Based) https://drplasticpicker.com/vegan-soy-milk-ricotta-cheese-easy-you-just-made-5-and-saved-the-earth-a-little/
R is for Ritz Cracker Mini-“pizzas” by Vivi
S is for Baked Sweet Potatoes. https://drplasticpicker.com/sweet-potatoes-for-a-sweet-life-the-indigenous-foods-of-the-quechuan-people/
S is also for Pan Seared Salmon. https://drplasticpicker.com/pan-seared-salmon-in-an-iron-cast-skillet/
T is for Modifed Pad Thai with Left Over Veggies. https://drplasticpicker.com/modified-pad-thai-left-over-veggie-style/
U is for Udon Soup with White Fish. https://drplasticpicker.com/u-is-for-udon-soup-inspired-by-retireby40/
V is for Vegan Blueberry Muffins https://drplasticpicker.com/vegan-blueberry-muffins-best-recipe-thus-far/
V is for Vegan Avocado Brownies https://drplasticpicker.com/we-should-love-food-food-should-be-healthy-we-should-love-delicious-healthy-food-and-save-the-earth-at-the-same-time/
W is for Whole Wheat Tortillas with Olive Oil. https://drplasticpicker.com/home-made-whole-wheat-tortillas-made-with-olive-oil/
X is for Xmas Eve Vegan Chickpea, Parsnip, Tomato Stew https://drplasticpicker.com/covid-19-quarantine-christmas-eve-vegan-stew-chickpea-parsnip-and-tomatos-memories/
Y is for Instapot Plant-Based Yoghurt https://drplasticpicker.com/slow-down-time-make-soy-yoghurt-and-save-the-earth/
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