About Little Vegan Eats

Hi, I’m Cat, a 33 year old first time mama to Little Vegan. I’m the recipe developer and content creator for @little.vegan.eats Instagram account and this website. I’ve been vegan for 8 years, and my partner (Little Vegan’s Dad) has been vegan for 14 years, so it was a given this would be how we proceed with our weaning journey. I’m Australian and my partner is from England, but we now live in Australia.

When we first came to starting solids, it felt overwhelming to try and find recipes and ideas on what and how to feed our little one, especially with being vegan. So we started to trial different things and found the best approach was to slightly adjust our normal foods so that they were baby friendly and then add in what we liked once it was on our plates (salt, sugar, extra chilli etc). This eliminated the stress of cooking extra meals, something most families definitely don’t have time for.

We started sharing what we ate on Instagram, then our homemade recipes, and took the leap (with a big nudge/full site creation by my partner) to share things in a much more accesible format here on our site.

Our whole food plant based recipes are simple, healthy, quick and tasty – everything you want and need with babies and toddlers running around. Most things are also freezable too, which is our biggest parenting hack: bulk cooking, so there’s always something ready for those days (or weeks) where you just don’t have the time or energy.

I believe in trusting our kids to make the choices when it comes to what they eat, and have found two of the best ways that have worked for us. Firstly lead by example, meaning eat with them and show them that mealtimes are a positive experience by demonstrating healthy eating habits yourself. Even before Little Vegan was eating, she would be on my lap or close by watching us eat our meals, which sparked an interest in food from the get go. And secondly, by involving them in the preparation and cooking of food (where possible). Involving toddlers and kids in the kitchen makes them feel included and valued, teaches them different skills, and also sparks their curiosity towards different foods.

I hope you enjoy your weaning journey with your little ones, and please feel free to leave a comment on any of your favourite recipes or pop over to our Instagram and say hi 👋🏼

What is Baby Led Weaning?

Baby led weaning is a way of feeding babies by starting with solid foods and bypassing the puréed and spoon feeding phases. By doing this, it encourages babies & toddlers to be independent and gives them the control to trust their own intuitive hunger cues, eating as much or as little as they like. By removing the expectations, pressure, restriction, and comments on what and how much they eat, you provide a safe and positive environment for them to explore their food. This in turn can lead to babies and toddlers who are less picky with what they eat as they age, as they’ve always been in control.