Because this much I know for sure: feeding your baby real-food should feel simple. But when the time came for me to start feeding my little guy, it felt anything but that. Yup, me. My hands are raised. The author of two cookbooks on real food, made simple. Me, the one who’s mission in life it is to help make healthy eating not so overwhelming and more fun to do.
It was something that caught me totally by surprise: how overwhelming it was to figure out where and what to start with (and why), how complicated and confusing all the advice was (because it all conflicts), and most of all, feeling like how in the world do new postpartum, moms with zero extra time, have the time to figure all of this out.
Because behind all of that was the truth: I didn’t want to mess this up.
I know– with all of my heart– how important food is to our LIFE. To our bodies. To our health. And to our happiness.
And with such a clean and pure slate….. I wanted to give him the best start in life.
I kind of laugh about it now, because I think being in the world that I am of lifestyle and health, I almost knew too much: I spend all day helping clients and running programs that help people UNWIND all of the negative and backwards programming they learned about food growing up. I help them simplify and get back to just eating real food, so they can simplify their lives. I know how much a good relationship to food matters…. and how negative the impacts of having a more negative one can be.
Plus, all the nutritional nerdy stuff I spend my free time learning about (for fun).
Our health and our foundation for our health starts SO MUCH EARLIER than anyone ever talks about. And when you know better, you can do better, as they say.
So, I started digging around.
I asked every friend who’s philosophy on food I agree with, spent so much time in rabbit-hole google searches, talked to our naturopath about resources she recommended, and ordered sooo many books.
But I couldn’t find anything that resonated. About feeding your baby REAL FOOD……but made simple.
Oh, and covered these factors too….(see, I told you I prob knew too much):
- Age: when to start feeding and what to start with
- Digestion & gut health
- Allergies/Sensitivities: introducing foods in a thoughtful way to hopefully reduce or minimize these overall
- Nutrient Density: trying to get as many healthy nutrients in as possible in the small bites that babies take
- Immune system building
- Teaching hunger signals and intuition around eating from a young age
- Tastebud training: aka, developing all 4 tastebuds (sweet, sour, salty and bitter) equally so that sweet isn’t the only flavor they like
- Variety of food: both for nutrient variety, taste, texture and immune system building
- Aided in motor skill development
- Time: aka, for food prep and cooking time to be not crazy long or complicated
- A rhythm and cadence of eating in daily life that matched our family’s life
- Creating the foundations for a good relationship to food, and a healthy family dynamic around food
The end result? I decided I was going to have to figure it out as I went, taking it month by month. I made a promise to myself (and to you) that I would capture it all, so that I could turn around and help other mamas behind me. So that more babies and families grow up loving and craving healthy food, with beautiful and unshakeable foundations of good food for the rest of their life…… but all done SIMPLY and INTENTIONALLY, and with a bigger goal in mind.
The thing I didn’t realize until now (as Noah is 18 months), is that all the effort that you put in now, and the food that you feed them in the first 18 months of life will make things SO MUCH EASIER ON YOURSELF (and them) down the road. Even a little bit of intention and thought in the first year can be so freaking powerful for how it sets them up for toddlerhood and childhood….and adulthood too of course.
I want you to feel empowered in this time. To have a flexible framework that’s kind and slow and so very thought-out, so that you don’t have to stress or worry or feel overwhelmed or like you have to do this all perfectly. Seeing a lay of the land will give you such a bigger perspective, and hopefully make you feel at ease and make your mealtimes and relationship to food as family so much for peaceful and joyful.
This is why I wrote this guide: so that you can take everything that took me an entire year and a half to learn (and fail, and test and try and research and do it all over again), and learn it all in 1-2 hours if you want to. Or take it month by month. Or pull it out whenever you have questions, or need inspiration or aren’t sure what to focus on next.
Because mama (and dadas too), you are doing SO MUCH right now in this season with a new baby. Let me help you, and take this one thing off your shoulder so you can actually relax and enjoy this sweet season in time, and feel so proud of how you’re setting up your baby’s health and foundation for the future.
We’ve got this, together.
INTRODUCING SIMPLY REAL BABY: THE BABY FOOD FILES. A DONE-FOR-YOU, MONTH-BY-MONTH GUIDE FOR BUSY MAMAS ON FEEDING YOUR BABY REAL FOOD. SO YOU CAN GET YOUR TIME BACK, HELP YOUR BABY LOVE GOOD FOOD, AND SET THEM UP FOR A HEALTHY FOUNDATION FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES! Check it out here >>
A FEW NOTES:
*earlybird pricing is available just for now! Grab your copy now before the price goes back up. See all the details here on this 57 page, month-by-month done for your baby food guide for busy mamas.
*I am running a special pilot group of mamas this summer to dive even deeper, give you even more support, and answer all your questions about all things real-food, baby food. This option has very limited spots and closes on July 23rd! Choose the VIP Pilot option at checkout and grab one of these special spots!
* a portion of all proceeds from the Baby Guide will be donated to BMMA (Black Mamas Matter Alliance), which is a non-profit organization to help black mothers have access to healthy pregnancies, care and postpartum support, so that all babies and mothers have the resources to thrive as new mamas.
>> CHECK OUT THE BRAND NEW SIMPLY REAL BABY: BABY FOOD FILES GUIDE HERE!
Why Did I Write This Guide?
Because the more I dove in, the more I realized that — just like adults— the way we’re taught about baby food is pretty backwards.
Well, backwards IF what we want are for our kids to grow up loving healthy & real food, as their norm. The method that most people are taught is “normal” is to randomly start feeding their baby food.
Random, haphazard, and not intentional about how their bodies and major organs—-and *tastebuds*— are developing and the nutrients they need.
So we do as everyone else does: We feed them whatever on a whim… usually whatever is quickest and easiest—- and then wonder why food gets to be such an issue/power struggle/they don’t PREFER eating their veggies later on down the road. ??♀️
It’s the path of least resistance. We do it with our own adult food all the time. Aka, just do whatever’s close and easy and doesn’t take any thought or time.
…But then we wonder why food feels so complicated and annoying and why we have weird relationships to it that we have to put so much effort and time to UNWIND as adults?
I’m beginning to see so many connection points..
And that just a tiny bit more INTENTION early on in the first year of life could change so much.
For that baby, yes. Like, how much easier would life would be if you loved vegetables and eating them was just a normal part of every meal, without a big fuss? How much healthier their bodies would be over time.
But scope out. To the next generation. How and what would that change if they grew up on simple, REAL FOOD. That it was innate in them to lean towards the foods that made them feel good. That they’re educated on it, purely by watching what the adults around them eat and cook as a family.
Imagine how powerful they could be. Imagine how much better they’d be in tune with their bodies and feeling good most of the time. Imagine going through life with such a steady and calm foundation. And a love of food, and a joy with life because of it.
That is what I want for my baby. It brings me to tears when I think about it. That’s why I will keep talking about this. Because it starts so much sooner than we think. And it doesn’t have to be this crazy complicated drastic overhaul. It can start with tiny & simple things. In fact, that’s the only way it can change.
JOIN ME FOR A LIVE Q + A & Special Chat! On 9 Things I Wish I Knew (& The Most Common Mistakes People Make) With Baby Food