Our story: how we came together and why
“Rawr!” my son, Luca, roared as he marched his toy dinosaurs across a broccoli jungle. Lookingover the roasted broccoli and plastic dinos scattered on a large sheet pan, I thought to myself,“This is crazy. I’m losing it!” But as we sat there, feeding a stegosaurus a small floret, I watched as Luca, for the first time in his life, brought a piece of broccoli to his mouth, licked it, and ateit. As I stared in disbelief, he started feeding himself and the dinosaurs broccoli, floret by floret,until they had downed a couple of cups. To this day, broccoli is his favorite vegetable.
Why am I sharing this story—and why was my son eating veggies with dinosaurs? It had been a year of countless frustrating and demoralizing mealtimes during which my almost-two-year-oldson refused to try any new foods. I needed guidance and reached out to Judy, an occupationaltherapist who specializes in pediatric feeding therapy and is cofounder of Feeding Littles, an online resource for helping families feed their children. When we chatted, she didn’t askabout Luca’s picky eating but about his personality, likes, and dislikes. “Well, Judy, he neverstops playing. He can’t sit still,” I told her. Hearing that, she suggested that rather than focusingon mealtime, I bring food into playtime. She gave me the dinosaur idea, and our family’s approachto eating changed forever and for the better.
This is just one of the many ways that the dynamic duo at Feeding Littles helped me in myfeeding journey with my children, starting when my eldest was just starting solids. I’m humbled, honored, and delighted to be writing this book with them. I cannot wait to see how it positivelytransforms thousands of struggling parents’ journeys. But before I get into what this cookbookis all about and what to expect, I want to share how our partnership came to be and how Ilearned about the dazzling Megan and Judy of Feeding Littles.
First, I haven’t introduced myself yet! Hi, I’m Ali Maffucci, authoring this book alongside Megan and Judy. I’m the founder of Inspiralized, where I was originally dedicated to cooking exclusivelywith the spiralizer, a kitchen tool that turns vegetables and fruits into noodles. However, after mykids were born, my time became more precious, and I needed to make meals that were appropriatefor my kids but could still satisfy me and my husband, and veggie spaghetti wasn't cutting it.Now, you can find me sharing family-friendlyrecipes for every meal (not just those in noodleform) that use vegetables creatively, in an effort to show people that veggies can be craveable, too.
Back in 2018, after my son Luca’s four-monthcheckup, my pediatrician told me, “You can startfeeding him solids.” I was over-the-moonexcited. As someone who shares their everyday life on socialmedia, I whipped out my phone, opened Instagram, and recorded a video: “Baby food, here we come!”That’s when the messages started pouring in. “Do baby-ledweaning; you’ll love it.” and “You don’t have to do purees—there’sanother way.”And then, “Follow Feeding Littles!”
You may be having a similar reaction to mine: baby-led-what?!I had always assumed that toothlessbabies could only “handle” purees, and I assumed I’d be committing to jarred food, pouchsnacks, and flying a spoon of creamed spinach into my baby’s mouth, just like on television.
While starting with pureed foods for your baby can be healthy and wonderful if it works for yourfamily, there is indeed another way. Later, Megan and Judy will dive deeper into baby-ledweaningor baby-ledfeeding and the beautiful philosophy around it, but in short it’s a way of feeding yourbaby that skips the spoon-feedingaltogether and encourages your kiddos to self-feedfinger foodsand other safe textures. This way, you don’t have to buy or make separate meals for your child, andthe whole family can eat together. This method of feeding extends into toddlerhood and sets afoundationfor an explorative, positive, and empowering relationship with food and mealtimes.Sounds ideal, right? That’s what I thought, but I was overwhelmed with the how and when. That’s where Feeding Littles came in. Their supportive, educational community was exactlywhat I needed as I embarked on my own journey. Social media tends to create a culture of comparison,and it is so easy for new parents to feel like we’re not “doing it right.” I could tell immediately that Feeding Littles was a safe place to share my experiences and insecurities, knowing that I would be met with empathy and solid advice. Sign. Me. Up!
I bought their online course, grabbed a glass of wine, and buckled up. You’d think the classwas the latest bingeable crime show by the way I was on the edge of my seat. I was captivated. Every principle I learned resonated with me and the way I hoped to raise my littles. The idea ofmy family gathering around the table to enjoy a meal together was what sealed the deal.
After those first few weeks and months of feeding Luca, I knew Feeding Littles had built something truly life-changing,and I wanted to meet the masterminds behind it. We connectedas anyone in the twenty-firstcentury does: through Instagram. Before you knew it, we collaboratedon an e-cookbookcalled Inspiralized Littles (cute, right?).
I wanted everyone to learn about baby-ledweaning. However, I didn’t have the nutritionalknowledge to offer expert advice and could only share my own experience. Of course, when itcomes to feeding your babies, you want to make sure you’re getting your information from areliable and professional source, and Megan and Judy are the perfect team: Judy is an occupationaltherapist who specializes in pediatric feeding development, oral motor skills, and sensoryprocessing issues as related to feeding. and Megan is a pediatric registered dietitian nutritionistwho specializes in maternal and child nutrition and disordered eating prevention.
As for Megan and Judy, they weren’t recipe writers. They threw meals together like mostfamilies do or had their own favorites and go-tos.They were there to equip parents and childcareproviders with the safety and nutritional guidelines necessary to feed their own familiessafely, with troubleshooting help along the way. But their audience wanted recipes that complementedtheir feeding philosophy.
That’s why we decided to partner on that starter e-book.We were blown away by its reception,so we got the band back together to build something bigger and better: this book.To this day, choosing baby-ledweaning is one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made.After devouring this book, with the qualified and specialized guidance from Megan and Judy andour delicious recipes, I know you’ll feel the same way. And hey, if you find yourself feeding broccolito plastic dinosaurs with your rambunctious toddler, you’ll giggle to yourself. We’re all in thistogether, so know that whatever way you choose to feed your family is the right way.
Copyright © 2022 by Ali Maffucci, Megan McNamee, MPH, RDN, and Judy Delaware, OTR/L,CLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
