Frances Largeman-Roth

Registered Dietitian, Author

Frances Largeman-Roth, best-selling author of “Eating in Color” – a book that shows how to brighten up meals for the family, and “Feed the Belly” – a healthful eating guide for pregnant women, loves to get creative in the kitchen! This Brooklyn native knows how to keep her family happy, while also keeping them healthy. Get to know Frances better through her ‘Meet Our Friends’ guest blog and at The Kid’s Food Festival Main Stage on March 1^st when she shows off her skills and whips up Chia Pudding with Rainbow Toppings at Winter Village at Bryant Park!

Website: www.franceslargemanroth.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/frances.largemanroth

Twitter: @FrancesLRothRD

What was your favorite food to eat as a child?

I loved sweets as a kid! I had a particular affection for Pepperidge Farms’ coconut layer cake. Yum!

Do you have children? If so, what do you like to make for them or with them?

Yes, I have three kids: 5 year old Willa, 3 year old Leo, and 6 month old Phoebe. I love making my kids colorful recipes, like the ones featured in my cookbook, Eating in Color. We really like making homemade pizza together. It’s fun to let the kids get creative and they always eat the pizza because they made it!

What is your favorite childhood memory in the kitchen?

I loved holiday time. My mother was always busy making rum balls to send off to friends and relatives. And even though they weren’t her favorite, mom always made sugar cookies with me and let me decorate them with silver non pareils.

What was your favorite recipe to help make when you were a kid?

My mother was German and she always made Plum Cake in the fall. I loved helping her make the crumb mixture of flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon. I would mix it up with my little hands and then sprinkle it over the top of the cake.

Oma’s German Plum Cake

S E R V E S 2 0

COOKING SPRAY, for the pan
3/4 cup (90g) ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
¾ cup (95g) WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR
1/3 cup (65g) SUGAR
1 large EGG
1 cup (250ml) 2% MILK, at room temperature
¼ cup (1/2 stick/57g) UNSALTED BUTTER, at room temperature
Pinch of SALT
1 teaspoon pure VANILLA EXTRACT
1 (1/4-ounce/7g) packet ACTIVE DRY YEAST
5 RED or BLACK PLUMS, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch slices

For the crumb topping:
½ cup (60g) ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
¼ cup (50g) SUGAR
1 teaspoon pure VANILLA EXTRACT
1/2 teaspoon ground CINNAMON
¼ cup (1/2 stick/57g) UNSALTED BUTTER, softened

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Coat a 9-by-13- inch (23 by 33cm) baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Stir the flours and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment. Add the egg, milk, butter, salt, vanilla, and yeast. Mix on high speed for 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and leave on the counter, in a warm spot away from drafts, for 1 hour. The dough will double in size. Remove the dough from the bowl (it will be very sticky), transfer to a piece of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Make the crumb topping: Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl. With clean hands, use your fingertips in a pinching motion to form crumbs. Set aside.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, with floured hands, press it into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a fork to prick the dough all over. Arrange the plum slices in rows, going lengthwise, in a slightly overlapping pattern.
5. Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the plums and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crumbs and the edge of the crust are light golden. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then cut into 20 squares and serve.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

We know that the more colors that are on your plate, the healthier and more nutritious the meal is! However, sometimes it can be challenging to make colorful and healthful meals for you and your family. Frances Largeman-Roth’s amazing cookbook, Eating in Color: Delicious, Healthy Recipes for You and Your Family, makes healthy eating exciting, easy, AND of course, colorful! Her chapters are separated by colors—like green and red—and each chapter contains mouth watering recipes that use fruits or vegetables in the chapter’s specific color. Her cookbook will get you and your family excited to eat fruits, vegetables, and grains. More importantly, Frances’ cookbook breaks down foods in fun new ways that will get your little ones beside you in the kitchen, excited to eat AND to cook!

From the Mouth of a Kid:

Mom and I choose recipes based on my favorite colors!

From the Eyes of a Parent:

Eating in Color has become my go-to cookbook for convenient, healthy and family-friendly dinners. My kids are as just excited to eat the dishes from the cookbook as I am. It’s a great way to introduce my kids to new fruits and vegetables as well as teach them about familiar fruits and vegetables. The book even includes a kitchen “cheat-sheet” of ingredients that I should always have on hand, which has proved to be unbelievably helpful on days when there’s no time to shop and I need a quick fix for dinner or lunch!

Fascinating Features:

Eating in Color is divided into six color-coded chapters:

• Reds
• Oranges
• Yellows
• Greens
• Blues, Indigos, and Violets
• Blacks and Tans

In addition to Eating in Color, Frances Largeman-Roth has also published other cookbooks such as: The CarbLover’s Diet Cookbook, The CarbLovers Diet: Eat What You Love, Get Slim for Life, and Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom’s Healthy Eating Guide.

The Icing on the Cake:

Eating in Color contains 90 color-coded, family-friendly recipes such as Caramelized Red Onion, Fig Pizza, and Cran-Apple Tarte Tatin. Every recipe also contains clear preparation instructions and nutritional information.

In addition, Frances also includes healthy tips for eating and living well, and the benefits of certain foods and colors in Eating in Color.

Mix it Up!

Plan a rainbow-themed dinner for you and your family! Make one recipe from each of the six color-coded chapters. Choose an appetizer, a main dish, three sides, and a dessert! Your kids will love all the colors, and you’ll all benefit from the wide array of nutrients the meal will provide

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.