Hi, Heejee here. I wanted to share a little about my background and the story behind this site. My husband and I are first-generation immigrants — he’s from Mexico and I’m from Korea — and we live in sunny California with our two daughters: “munchkin,” who is four, and “sweet pea,” who is eleven months.
When I launched this blog, my goal was simply to have a creative outlet separate from my profession. By trade I’m a licensed architect, and I hadn’t planned to become a food blogger. But as a new mom, the main creative thing I found myself doing was cooking, so the blog naturally evolved into a kids’ food project.
At the beginning I knew very little about baby and kids’ food — I didn’t even know what “BLW” meant — and I didn’t have many mom friends to learn from. Most of my close friends were former colleagues without children. So I improvised: I cooked the foods I love and adjusted them for munchkin. I shared those meals online. As my community grew, I connected with other food-loving parents and learned more about baby-led weaning, nutrition, and safe preparation. Looking back, I see I was lax with cutting food safely at first and served some items the same way adults would eat them; that’s something I’ve become more careful about. For most other things, I still prefer a relaxed approach rather than strict rules.
I should explain where that relaxed approach came from. I grew up with a lot of food freedom. I can’t recall my parents ever forcing me to eat something I didn’t want. My dad enjoyed treating my brother and me, and food was an expression of love. Maybe because of that, I was never a picky eater — I was the kid who would ask for mushrooms and surprise the adults — and I became a person who values culinary experiences, even if it means splurging on a memorable meal now and then.
Munchkin, now four, is a typical child. She eats a wide variety of foods overall, but she has days when she only wants sweets and some foods she simply rejects. Sometimes I encourage her to try new things, but often I don’t push it. I don’t lose sleep over it — my relaxed childhood didn’t harm me, and I trust that variety and exposure over time will do the same for her.
Back to the blog. I posted many of our lunchboxes, and that became one of the site’s recurring themes. When I returned to work outside the home, the only light I knew how to shoot in was natural light, and the only consistent slot I had for photos was at 7:15 a.m., right before I left. So I began photographing the lunchbox I prepared for munchkin each morning, and that practice organically shaped a central focus of the blog.
Although much of the blog’s direction happened by chance, I’m passionate about learning and improving. I devote a lot of time to sharpening my cooking skills, reading about feeding and nutrition, and practicing photography and video. I want to share what I learn and create, but my guiding principle is to do what feels right for your family and what brings you joy.
When sweet pea was four months old I had planned to continue working outside the home, but then the pandemic happened and I spent most of the year at home with two little ones, cooking constantly. It was an intense and unpredictable time, but I consider it a gift because I got to watch sweet pea grow and spend meaningful time with munchkin. With many professional projects paused, I saw an opportunity to focus on taking this blog to the next level. If you’ve read this far, thank you for your support. I look forward to sharing more recipes, video tutorials, and ideas with you.
Check out my latest projects. Are you following me on YouTube? Subscribe!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgW77-lZiMF3b5GBGjVUSYg?view_as=subscriber
Also, check out my first ebook.