I’m so excited to share this news with you today! As I’ve been hinting at for a few months, I’ve been spending most of my time lately working on a new venture, Plant-Based Juniors.

As most of you know, I become a mom last year to my Vander and to say it’s changed my world wold be the understatement of the year. Motherhood has changed everything, mostly for the better.

One thing that’s been center focus is how I will raise him. My husband BL and I are long-time vegetarians, so naturally we plan on raising Vander the same way. And while I feel very confident that this eating pattern is best to promote health and longevity for BL and I, I was a little nervous when it came to my sweet boy.

Children’s nutrient needs are different than ours. They don’t just need smaller portions of the food we eat; there are specific nutrients that must be met and frankly, some of those are harder to do with a mostly plant-based diet.

It’s why I teamed up with my friend and fellow dietitian, Whitney English, to create Plant-Based Juniors– an evidence-based resource for parents looking to raise plant-based babies.

We know how hard it is to find trustworthy information online, so we’re here to ease parent’s fears and empower them to raise happy, healthy children in whatever way that works best for their family — vegan, vegetarian, reducetarian, whatever!

That’s the beauty of plant-based juniors. We focus on nutrition, not dogma. All our welcome under the PBJs umbrella, we just want our kids to eat more plant-based foods and guide parents in doing so.

To kick things off, we’re releasing our very first resource — Plant-Based Juniors: First Bites.

This 42-page ebook is the first of its kind: a definitive guide to baby-led weaning for plant-based babes.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to starting solid foods that allows baby to lead the way as opposed to starting with purees.

Emerging research suggests that BLW helps babies form a more positive relationship with food and establish a healthier body weight than the traditional introduction to solids.

First Bites includes:

• What is baby-led weaning (BLW)?
• Why did we choose BLW for our Plant-Based Juniors (PBJs)?
• How to start BLW
• How to incorporate key nutrients like iron into a plant-based diet using BLW
• 20 delicious, baby-led weaning recipes specifically for plant-based babes
• Grocery list
• Meal planning guide
• FAQs about BLW and PBJs