What is your background? Have you always been interested in food?
I started modeling when I was around 14 and as a result was extremely fortunate to be able to travel around the world experiencing an incredible variety of cuisines. From a very young age, I was always consumed with food and cooking. 7 years ago I decided to follow my dreams and go to the Institute of Culinary Education. I spent a few years after finishing trying to find my niche in the food world, but it wasn’t until I had my son that I found my calling. To me, trying to help my own kids and other people’s children be great eaters and to appreciate food is the best outlet for all my years of being passionate about fresh and healthy food!
What made you start Weelicious?
When I had my son, Kenya, I didn’t know the first thing about what to feed him and when. I educated myself and used my background to start coming up with interesting yet simple baby food recipes. I started weelicious as a blog about baby food, but it quickly grew into family, kid and family food.
Where do your best ideas/recipes come from? When you are feeling a little “stuck” what helps you get back to being creative?
My best recipes come from visiting our local farmer’s market every weekend to see what’s in season and paying close attention to the foods and flavors that my kids are really into. You can’t go wrong cooking seasonally. I also find few people can tell you better ways to prepare fruits or vegetables than the people who grow them. If I see my kids respond to a certain food or flavor, I try to get inspired to spin off those tastes into new recipes that feature their favorite tastes along with an ingredient they may not have tried before. As for getting stuck….I don’t have time to get stuck! I’m a born coupon clipper. When I find something on sale, you can be sure I’ll come up with several things to make out of it! With 3 meals and snacks to make 7 days a week, there’s always something fun and new that we’re all game to try!
What are your top 5 tools or ingredients?
Tools: Crock Pot, Microplane, Silpat, Blender and a really good knife!
Ingredients: Too many ingredients to name. And because I make cooking seasonally a priority, my top five change constantly! When I go to the farmers market and see something cool like yellow watermelon or a mango nectarine (yes, it’s a nectarine that tastes like mango) I get totally excited and inspired!
What is your favorite thing to cook or bake?
I loving cooking anything that’s simple and doesn’t take hours to prepare. There’s nothing more satisfying for me than making a dish that has only a few ingredients, but tons of flavor. I make a chicken in the crock pot at least once a week because it’s not only delicious and easy to make, but it stretches into 3 separate meals over the next few days.
Your favorite shops/online destinations for supplies or food?
I’m an amazon.com girl for most of the things I need. They have everything. I use Eco Mom for gifts and baby products and Penzeys is awesome for good spices!
What is your most favorite recipe and why?
Hmm….I have several. I would have to say Strawberry Fruit Leather because my son tries to eat the entire batch every time I make it, Crock Pot BBQ Chicken (b/c I can get 3 meals out of it — BBQ Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and BBQ Chicken Quesadillas — if I double the recipe) and Banana Bites because they are so simple to make and everyone from my kids to my husband gobbles them up when I make them!
Other than yours, whose recipes or food tips do you love?
Huge fan of Gluten Free Girl, Simply Recipes, Smitten Kitchen and Laura’s Best Recipes! The online community of food bloggers is pretty incredible and in my opinion have some of the greatest ideas and recipes out there.
