I’m a totally neurotic mom. On the outside, I may not appear that way, but it takes a lot of work to come off as seemingly “normal” and less anxious/full-of-neuroses than I really am. Like…a lot of work.
As a person who loves food above all else (I would consider trading in my car for some of Carbone’s spicy rigatoni), I swore when I was pregnant with my first that he (and any future babies) would be little epicureans. They would enjoy food from all corners of the world, learn to cook like a Top Chef (or at least like my mother), and I’d proudly be able to proclaim “omg, my kids LOOOOOOOOVVVEEEEE [fill in the bougie blank]!”Those dreams were dashed/shot to shit when my son was six-months-old and ready for solids. Despite my pediatrician (and long-time bestie) advising me to feed him “whatever it is we’re eating,” my hesitant-first-time-mom impulse was to shield him from texture, flavor and spice and do what I thought moms and grandmas (dads, too!) had done for years – puree one ingredient at a time and give it to him without any seasoning. Poor kid was probably bored out of his mind with one-note avocadoes, strawberries, raspberries, sweet potatoes and bananas.
I could have juzzshed up these healthy ingredients and made guacamole,
macerated berries with mascarpone, sweet potato curry or mashed banana “ice cream” with hazelnut spread and dark chocolate chips. But I didn’t. I was too nervous. And I’m paying the price now. My son eats the same carb-filled meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner every. single. day. I do my best to buy or make the healthiest versions of chicken nuggets, PBJ pies, bagels and pancakes…but he is no epicurean. And it breaks my always-hungry heart.
When we had our daughter, we weren’t messing around when it came to feeding. At this point, we recognized that food didn’t need to be “dumbed down” for kids. That they, too, eat with their eyes and crave color, vibrancy, flavor and differing textures. In an attempt to not make second or third dinners, or deal with another picky eater, we gave our daughter coconut shrimp curry as her first meal. We figured…eh, she’ll survive. And she did! Plus, she loved it. She also loved the saffron and sausage risotto we gave her that week, along with pesto noodles. We finally had ourselves a little foodie! And I became a less nervous mom….at least when it came to eating.
Our daughter is also a “quarantine baby.” She was only a few months old when we “hunkered down,” never having taken baby music or yoga, or even the requisite Mommy & Me classes. During a time when we couldn’t leave our house, let alone the country, I knew that the only way to bring the world to her…was through food.
Thus….Globowl was born. And I was about to embark on what I was born to do. Over the next few days, my eyes blurred from reading every article and medical journal the internet would let me get my digital hands on. And it became abundantly clear that we were onto something. Just that year, the USDA came out with their first ever pediatric feeding guidelines, stating: “diet diversity is critical” and “feed allergenic foods early and often.”
My hope with Globowl is that – whether a first-, second-, third- or ninth-time parent – we can make your already chaotic lives just a bit easier. That you can rest easy knowing you’re making healthy dietary choices for your baby. That you’re setting them up for more adventurous, less picky eating, with a statistically smaller chance of developing food allergies. And in the spirit of adventure, open-mindedness and curiosity, Globowl’s educational videos (much like the back-of-the-cereal-box games of our youth) will introduce kids to parts of the world from which the food originates, why the dishes are culturally relevant and they will be able to see kids on the other side of the world eating the same food as they are. A true universal unifier.
I’ve only been at this gig for six years – the parenting thing, not the baby foodbusiness – and I’m still learning every day. But I feel so good about bringing a world of flavor to my kids’ plates; I only wish I had done it sooner. I am an email, text or DM away if you have questions, comments, concerns; want to vent about parenthood, work or the Real Housewives; share a recipe or request one; or indulge in a cup of noodles. After all, we’re in this together.
