Hi and welcome to Kitchen Belleicious. Out of my love for cooking grew my love to give my kids the best and most delicious bites they could possibly have. I have recently launched Baby Belleicious and Belleicious Kids. Read below to find out more about each site and visit to get the latest delicious treats for your kids.

Belleicious Kids

Belleicious Kids is a sister site of Kitchen Belleicious. By now you know that my joy and my passion is cooking. It excites me, it drives me, and it allows me to be myself and be creative. I don’t have to be a famous chef or the Next Food Network Star I can just be Jessica in the kitchen. My whole purpose in doing Kitchen Belleicious was to encourage women of all ages to get in the kitchen and not be fearful. It’s not a scary place but a magical place, where you can make anything happen.

After many months of trying to re-create healthy dishes for my son, who happens to be picky, I decided I need to share these recipes with you all. I know I am consistently googling (isn’t that crazy it’s an actual word now) healthy food ideas and snacks for my son or searching for what can I make with whole wheat flour and veggies to where he won’t know the difference. By visiting Belleicious Kids you won’t have to do what I have been doing. Instead I am doing it for you and compiling it all in to one site. I want this to be a place you can come to each day and find a recipe that suits your kids needs and wants. Each meal or snack I will be providing you has been approved by the picky eater, a.k.a., P.E.! He if doesn’t LOVE it, its not going on this blog and I am back to the drawing board.

Please note that I do not necessarily condone giving into a picky eater. This site isn’t about that. It is about feeding your kids healthy foods and food you know they will eat and love. I want my son to love what he eats. Eating shouldn’t be something forced and dinner time shouldn’t be an all out war. We are working on changing this habit and I have been reading a lot to help me in the process. For a great article on picky eaters click here! You can also find tips in the Inspire Your Kids tab on Belleicious Kids.

My motto for this blog is going to be, Anything  THEY can do I can do healthier! LOL! Funny, huh? It is intended to let the makers of those processed foods you find in the grocery store and fast food companies know that I and by that I mean, WE, can make anything you make (seriously, we can) and it will be just as tasty and 100% better for our kids! Now, listen closely..sometimes you just gotta have butter, sugar or All Purpose Flour! However, those ingredients do NOT have to be unhealthy and fattening to your kids when used in moderation with other healthy ingredients. Just knowing how much of each ingredient you are putting into your kids food is comforting in itself.

Healthy food DOES NOT have to be boring and quite frankly it doesn’t have to “taste healthy”. It can be packed with fun and flavorful ingredients but still have great nutritional substance. Combine healthy ingredients with new and exciting ideas and you have yourself a tasty and kid friendly meal.

Join me in the kitchen each week at Belleicious Kids and let’s say YES to healthy bites and healthy kids!

Belleicious Baby

Belleicious Baby. This has been a long time coming. My second son couldn’t be more different than my first. He loves to eat. Mind you he is only 6 months old, he will eat any baby food I put in front of him and then some. With Connor’s arrival I knew I wanted to make his baby food from scratch. I wanted my love for him and my love for cooking to come together and create the most delicious food to help him begin his little life with. Making your own homemade baby food definitely takes more time than walking down a store aisle and throwing babyfood jars in the cart but it is so rewarding to see the look on your baby’s face when they are introduced to new foods for the first time that actually TASTE like REAL food! By making your own you are able to be creative with ingredients and combinations let alone spices and seasonings (once they are old enough).

Now, some of you have already dismissed this idea because you don’t have the time nor the resources to make homemade baby food so let’s talk about this. Not everything you make has to be made the day you get home from the store. Fresh produce keeps for days as well as veggies and some pureed foods are actually best if you use frozen fruits and veggies like peas, mangos, peaches and blueberries. To make one batch of apples and pears takes approximately 20 minutes from start to finish- peel, chop, steam, puree. That’s it and you have 2 weeks worth of baby food at your disposable.  In regards to equipment. You do NOT and I repeat do NOT need a specially made baby food steamer or blender, etc. I received the Bebea as a sweet gift but if I had not I would go about it the old fashioned way with a saucepan for steaming, a cookie sheet for baking and a microwavable bowl for well- you guessed it- the microwave. In fact, one of the handiest pieces of equipment when it comes time to more complex foods is the slow cooker! Yes- the slow cooker! Sigh of relief!

I beg you to give making your own baby food a try and see the impact it has on your child at feeding time and when in doubt, keep a stock of commercial bought baby food in your pantry on those days when you in a hurry or on the go.  Please join me in the kitchen at Belleicious Baby and let’s make it belleicious from the start!