how our story began
When the time came for Shibani Baluja to introduce her son, Jayden, to solid food, she was stunned by the lack of fresh, veggie-focused, good-tasting options available. All of the prepared food was either too bland or overly sweetened by fruit, and all highly processed. She ended up cooking all his meals but found it to be draining and stressful to have no good options when she needed a break.
After seeing the impact that the early introduction of fresh, flavorful, vegetable-focused meals had on Jayden, and confirming it with medical research, she knew that we must demand more on behalf of our kids. Using her 10+ years of food industry experience, she launched a product that was everything she was looking for as a mom and a product that her youngest child continues to request almost daily as a 3-year-old.
lil’gourmets was born
“We started lil’gourmets because, as moms, we saw firsthand the connection between our kids’ first foods and their future eating habits, says founder and CEO Shibani Baluja.
“With our fresh, organic, globally-inspired veggie meals, we strive to not only help lil’ones develop a love of vegetables, but also to cultivate a curiosity of flavors and cultures from around the world.”
“We imagine a world where our children request a vegetable curry more often than mac & cheese.”
what makes lil’gourmets different?
- VEGGIES: Vegetables and beans will always be the first & primary ingredients in 100% of our recipes
- CHEF-CRAFTED: Our chef-crafted recipes are uniquely delicious and offer flavor complexity unlike any other food for kids
- GLOBAL: Recipes that are based on generations-old recipes bring the flavors of six distinct global cuisines to your home (with more to come!)
- FRESH: Minimal processing allows us to deliver fresh, nutrient-dense refrigerated meals & snacks that taste homemade
- LOW-SUGAR: Because of our focus on veggies, our meals & snacks only contain 2-5g of naturally occurring sugars, which is less than half of the national brands. And we never add salt or sugar to our recipes
- SERVED IN A CUP: To encourage savoring our complex flavors, sensory development, and recognition of satiety cues (to avoid over-eating), we chose to forego the pouch. Learn more about this here.
say hello to the lil’gourmets global line-up:
- Organic Cinnamon Beets & Apples: American cuisine
- Organic Coconut Cauliflower Mash: Australian cuisine
- Organic Moroccan Butternut Squash: Moroccan cuisine
- Organic Pumpkin Navy Bean Shawarma: Middle Eastern cuisine
- Organic Spanish Corn & Bean Gazpacho: Spanish cuisine
- Organic Sweet Potato Curry: South Indian cuisine
Not just for babies and toddlers, our fresh organic veggie meals & snacks strive to teach kids of all ages how delicious veggies can and should be while cultivating their curiosity for flavors from around the world!
about lil’gourmets
lil'gourmets products are refrigerated, certified organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and cold-pressure processed. All 6 varieties are now available online and in select grocery and retail locations.