
Read on for 5 fun facts about lil'gourmets...
Whether you've already fallen in love with our delicious, nutritious veggie meals or have still yet to try us, we're so happy you've joined us here. In the spirit of #fridayintroductions we'd like to share some fun facts about our brand and ourselves...
- The story of lil’gourmets starts with our founder’s infertility journey. During that time, Shibani was told that eliminating processed foods from her diet could help. So, she did and not only felt better, but eventually had her son, Jayden! When it came time to start feeding Jayden, she was struck by the irony that most baby food was over-processed with too much sugar. If over-processed food wasn’t good for her, how could it be good for a baby?? So, she cooked his food, full of a variety of veggies, meats, and spices, and saw incredible benefits … as a toddler, he still loved veggies and flavorful foods! After confirming with medical research that this was an ideal way to begin feeding kids, Shibani decided to launch lil’gourmets veggie meals, knowing there must be other parents like her, looking for truly nutritious, truly delicious, vegetable focused-meals that taste like they were made fresh that day.
- Shibani and Becky met while working at Kraft Foods, and even took a business trip together to Texas. Little did we know several years later, we would work side by side building lil'gourmets! But as Shibani was about to launch lil’gourmets, she ran into Becky at a kids festival at Bubbles Academy in Chicago. Within 2-3 minutes of the fateful reconnection, Shibani asked Becky to join as her partner. And luckily, soon after, Becky said yes!
- Between Shibani and Becky there are 4 kids under 7 (our Chief Taste Officers!) who keep us on our toes! We understand how busy and rewarding it is to be a mom and are proud that lil'gourmets allows our fellow parents to take a break from cooking their kids foods, without feeling like they are sacrificing taste or nutrition.
- Shibani is first generation Indian-American and spent much of her childhood in her parents' Indian restaurant. Her exposure to incredible, complex flavors is reflected in the chef-crafted, global recipes we created for lil'gourmets. Each nourishing, veggie-focused recipe was developed to cultivate curiosity in lil’ones and help them fall in love with vegetables and flavorful foods for life.
- Which flavors do our kids love? It depends on the day! Beets are always beloved, but Squash and Sweet Potato are high in rotation right now too! And for us? Becky has been on a Cauliflower Mash and Gazpacho kick, while Shibani can't get enough of the Shawarma topped with a dollop of hummus. But check with us again next week as it may have changed!