
Blueberry Chia Jam + Yogurt Parfait
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Time to Read: 7 min
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Time to Read: 7 min
I’m Dr. Manasa Mantravadi—pediatrician, mom of three, and founder of The Pediatrician Kitchen and Ahimsa. I help families build healthy habits through the most powerful prescription we have: food.
To celebrate the new Smurfs musical movie, I created a joyful, layered snack that’s as nourishing as it is fun to make: the Blueberry Chia Jam + Yogurt Parfait. It’s made with real ingredients (no artificial dyes), supports gut and brain health, and is perfect for school mornings, after-school snacks—or a Smurfs movie night.
And yes—this is the first musical Smurfs film. So while you stir, layer, and scoop, turn on the official soundtrack. With songs by Rihanna and other beloved artists, it’s the perfect way to bring music into the kitchen and turn cooking into connection.
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Food and music both support healthy rhythms in a child’s life—literally. From digestion to sleep, mood to memory, children thrive on structure and joy. Music helps activate attention, reduce mealtime stress, and make new foods feel familiar.
When kids listen, sing, or dance while helping prepare their meals, they form positive associations around food—and are more likely to try and enjoy it.
That’s what makes this Smurfs-inspired recipe so powerful: it’s fun, functional, and makes space for rhythm, learning, and love at the table.
5 minutes
10-15 Minutes
1-2 Bowls
Snack
This colorful, naturally blue snack supports:
It’s a complete mini-meal that brings science and real-world simplicity together.
This is a hands-on recipe with built-in opportunities to engage your child:
Toddlers and preschoolers:
Older kids:
Music creates a sensory-rich environment that makes learning and helping feel exciting—not like a chore.
Our Smurfs x Ahimsa partnership is more than movie fun—it’s a national initiative to turn cafeterias and kitchens into classrooms. Through our educational curriculum and kid-friendly products, we teach:
This parfait is a perfect at-home activity to extend those lessons from school to the kitchen.
This snack is a great example of how we make food feel doable:
That’s the heart of culinary medicine: taking scientific evidence and turning it into family-friendly action.
This Blueberry Chia Jam Yogurt Parfait is more than a healthy snack. It’s an opportunity to nourish your child’s body, nurture your bond, and fill your home with music, joy, and color.
So cue up the Smurfs soundtrack, grab a matching blue Starter Sip cup and Baby Starter spoon , and build something beautiful—one Smurf-blue layer at a time.
Dr. Manasa Mantravadi is a board-certified pediatrician whose dedication to children’s health drove her to launch Ahimsa, the world's first colorful stainless steel dishes for kids. She was motivated by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ findings on harmful chemicals in plastic affecting children's well-being. Ahimsa has gained widespread recognition and been featured in media outlets such as Parents Magazine, the Today Show, The Oprah Magazine, and more.
Dr. Mantravadi received the esteemed “Physician Mentor of the Year” award at Indiana University School of Medicine in 2019. She was also named a Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneur in 2021, with her inspiring story showcased on Good Morning America. She serves on the Council for Environmental Health and Climate Change and the Council for School Health at The American Academy of Pediatrics. She represents Ahimsa as a U.S. industry stakeholder on the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for the Global Plastics Treaty, led by the United Nations Environment Program. Dr. Mantravadi leads Ahimsa's social impact program, The Conscious Cafeteria Project, to reduce carbon emissions and safeguard student health as part of a national pilot of the Clinton Global Initiative.
She is dedicated to educating and empowering people to make healthier, more environmentally friendly choices at mealtime. Her mission remains to advocate for the health of all children and the one planet we will leave behind for them through real policy change within our food system.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a report in July 2018 suggesting ways that families can limit exposure to certain chemicals at mealtime, including “the use of alternatives to plastic, such as glass or stainless steel, when possible.” The report explained that “…some additives are put directly in foods, while “indirect” additives may include chemicals from plastic, glues, dyes, paper, cardboard”. Further, “Children are more sensitive to chemical exposures because they eat and drink more, relative to body weight, than adults do, and are still growing and developing.” While stainless steel items meet the recommendation to avoid plastic products in children, Ahimsa® products have the obvious advantage of not breaking like glass.
According to the Steel Recycling Institute, steel can be recycled over and over and over again without losing its integrity and requires less energy to recycle than to make anew. Most plastic unfortunately ends up in landfills and it is estimated to take 700 years to decompose. Our special coloring process that allows Ahimsa® products to be fully metal is environmentally friendly, so it does not produce toxic run-off into the ecosystem.
No. Our steel is durable, so it won’t break or shatter with everyday use, like glass. And it won’t peel, like other colored stainless steel products you’ve seen. We use a special process that allows the colors to naturally occur in the metal.
Our products are meant to last, you can use Ahimsa at ages 1, 8 and 18! We thoughtfully design our products to be safe for little ones and our planet while reducing consumption. Once your child outgrows the Starting Solids Set and can use regular cups and utensils, the training cup is the perfect size rinse cup in the bathroom, the infant spoon doubles as a tea stirrer and the bowl is great for snacks or as an additional compartment to our modular divided plate. Our plates are great for any age as they encourage choosing a variety of healthy foods at each meal and help visualize portion sizes easily. It’s the lasting beauty of stainless steel - grows with your child and reduces waste.