I recently interviewed Claire Thomas of Kitchy Kitchen blog and she shares easy mealtime tips, ways to stay inspired at mealtime, how mealtime has changed since having her son and much more.

Listen to the full interview below and read her top easy mealtime tips below and ways to incorporate your little ones into your mealtime.

SS: Claire, how and when did you decide to start The Kitchy Kitchen?
CT: I started the Kitchy Kitchen about 10 years ago, so I’ve been doing this for quite awhile. I just was really inspired by the food I grew up with. I grew up in southern California, so I was surrounded by really beautiful produce, amazing history and culture. And so the Kitchy Kitchen is really an expression of that. It’s just delicious, simple food that is easy to make, but it looks beautiful as well, but most importantly it’s delicious.

Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

  1. Start with recipes that are classics that you know and feel confident making. Then just add new ingredients that are seasonal that really just kind of update it, freshen up the flavor and make it interesting.

  2. Farmers market are such an incredible resource and such a good place for inspiration. I know for me that’s where I go whenever I need to kind of think of something new and I just don’t know what I’m going to be doing. I go to the farmer’s market and I just taste and I try to find new produce that I haven’t had before. I also asked the farmers because they know their produce better than anyone and they will tell you really interesting ideas for how to prepare their produce.

  3. It’s really about finding inspiration from the world around me. So my joke is that you could be a good home cook, you actually have to be a great eater. So you have to get out there and really eat food, try new things, try new flavors. And for me, I just had gotten inspiration from looking at Mochi and seeing what she, her experience was and kind of thinking about how can I elevate my entire family’s experience, including my furry friends like Mochi and my dog, Buster.

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Photo provided by Claire Thomas

What is your top way of incorporating your 7 month old James into family meal time.  
One big thing I’ve been doing in the way I prepare my own meals is I’ve been really thoughtful about making things that I can eat, but James can eat too. James had a lot of teeth come in early, so infinitely chewing a lot. For instance, if I’m making myself some sweet potatoes, I’ll just make sure that I salt them at the table for myself rather than before. And I’ll just cut off little pieces of soft, sweet potato and James grabs them and tries to nibble them. But when he sees me hit me, take it from my plate and put it on his. He’s so quick to try it and it helps encourage that kind of experimentation. Sort of curiosity for James.

Looking for more Wellness Wednesday Inspiration? Check out my last Wellness Wednesday post on the Health Benefits of Pumpkin.