Tag: picky eaters

Three Kids, Three Appetites, One Kitchen
Recipes

Three Kids, Three Appetites, One Kitchen

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

One of the questions I get asked the most is, “How do you come up with so many different recipes?”

The truth is, I rarely have to look very far for inspiration. It lives right here in my home.

Cooking for my family is a little like running a restaurant with four very different customers—including the chef.

One child has an undeniable sweet tooth and would happily eat seafood whenever I put it on the menu. Another loves the comforting, familiar flavors of Sierra Leone—the foods that connect us to family, tradition, and home. Then there’s my youngest, who keeps me on my toes. What she’ll love one week might be completely off the table the next, so every meal feels like a new adventure.

And then there’s me.

I’m about 90% vegan. I rarely eat meat or dairy, though I do enjoy seafood from time to time. My own meals are centered around vegetables, beans, grains, herbs, and whatever is thriving in my little garden.

At first glance, it might sound exhausting to cook for so many different tastes. Some days, it certainly can be. But over the years, I’ve learned that meal planning isn’t about making four separate dinners. It’s about finding common ground.

A pot of rice can become the foundation for several meals. Roasted vegetables can be served alongside grilled seafood, tucked into a Sierra Leonean-inspired stew, or added to my own plant-based bowl. A homemade sauce can completely transform the same ingredients into something that feels entirely new.

Instead of asking, “What do I have to cook tonight?” I’ve started asking, “How can one meal make everyone feel cared for?”

That simple shift has changed the way I think about cooking.

It has also challenged me to become more creative in the kitchen. Some of my favorite recipes have been born from trying to satisfy four different appetites without spending the entire evening cooking.

Over the next few weeks, I’d love to share some of those family-inspired meals with you. I’ll show you how I adapt one recipe into several variations, how I keep meal prep manageable, and how my children continue to inspire nearly everything I create in the kitchen.

Because in this house, every recipe has a story.

Coming to the Blog

Here are a few recipes I’ll be sharing soon:

  • Garden Vegetable & Chickpea Rice Bowls (with optional grilled shrimp)
  • Sierra Leone–Inspired Groundnut Stew with plant-based and traditional variations
  • Homemade BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches with my garden tomato barbecue sauce
  • Sweet Potato Leaf Stew (Plasas) made the way my family loves it
  • Healthy Banana Bread for the sweet tooth in our house
  • Easy “Build Your Own Bowl” meal prep that keeps everyone happy without cooking four separate dinners

What inspires your favorite family recipes? I’d love to hear the stories behind the meals that bring your family together.

Sunday Lasagna and a Garden-Fresh Salad
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Sunday Lasagna and a Garden-Fresh Salad

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

After working all night, I came home this morning feeling tired but determined to make something special for my family.

I haven’t been eating much meat these days, but my family loves my homemade lasagna. It had been months since I last made it, and for some reason, today felt like the perfect day to bring it back to the table.

As soon as I got home, I started working on the sauce. I browned about half a pound of ground turkey and then turned my attention to the vegetables. I gathered one large bell pepper, five sweet peppers, two large onions, one steak tomato, and two carrots. After blending everything together, I added the vegetables to the turkey and let the mixture cook down into a rich and savory base.

Next came the seasonings.

If you’ve been following my recipes for any length of time, you already know that I rarely measure anything. I cook the same way my mother and many home cooks before her did—by instinct. A little ginger, basil, garlic, seasoned salt, and chicken bouillon found their way into the pot. There is no exact science behind it. I taste, adjust, and trust my senses.

After about fifteen minutes of cooking, I added a store-bought pasta sauce. Normally, I make my sauce from scratch, but after a long shift, convenience won the day. Sometimes good enough is exactly what we need.

I lowered the heat and let everything simmer together for another fifteen to twenty minutes while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

The oven was preheated to 350 degrees, the baking dish was waiting on the counter, and three different cheeses were ready to go alongside the oven-ready lasagna noodles.

Then came my favorite part: assembling the layers.

Sauce.

Pasta.

Cheese.

Repeat.

There is something almost therapeutic about building a lasagna layer by layer. Maybe it’s because you can already imagine the finished dish before it ever goes into the oven.

After forty-five minutes of baking, the house smelled amazing.

While the lasagna rested, I stepped outside and harvested fresh lettuce from the garden. I paired it with tomatoes, carrots, and baby spinach we already had on hand to create a simple side salad.

I had every intention of making a cheesy garlic bread to go alongside dinner, but by that point exhaustion had caught up with me. After being awake all night and spending the morning cooking, I decided the garlic bread could wait for another Sunday when I had a little more time and energy.

And honestly, that was okay.

Sometimes a meal doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.

Sometimes it’s enough to gather around the table with the people you love, share a homemade meal, and enjoy the fruits of your labor—whether they come from the garden, the grocery store, or a recipe you’ve been making for years.

Today’s meal reminded me that caring for the people we love often happens in simple ways. A warm pan of lasagna. A fresh salad from the garden. A quiet afternoon after a long night’s work.

Those small acts of love matter more than we realize.

Almost Hits: Beet Pulp Vegan Brownies & Learning to Cook Differently
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Almost Hits: Beet Pulp Vegan Brownies & Learning to Cook Differently

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

There’s something oddly satisfying about making a recipe completely from scratch — especially when it starts with ingredients that most people would probably throw away.

Recently, I decided to experiment with a healthier vegan brownie recipe using homemade almond flour, homemade almond milk, and the leftover beet grounds from a batch of homemade fruit punch. I’ve been trying to find more ways to naturally incorporate iron-rich foods into our family’s meals without making every meal feel overly “healthy,” and honestly… this recipe landed somewhere between an almost hit and a full success.

The brownies came out soft, delicate, and more cake-like than fudgy. Considering I was working with homemade ingredients that tend to behave differently than store-bought versions, I was actually pretty happy with the outcome. I used homemade almond flour, applesauce, flaxseed meal as an egg substitute, cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar, and chocolate chips on top before baking everything at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

And surprisingly? It worked.

Now, did everyone in the family immediately fall in love with them? Not exactly.

Some people enjoyed them, while others were a little skeptical — which is fair. When people are used to rich, ultra-sugary brownies, healthier versions can feel a little different at first. But that’s part of this journey for me. I’m learning that healthier cooking doesn’t have to be perfect to still be worthwhile.

Sometimes the goal isn’t to recreate traditional comfort food exactly as we remember it. Sometimes the goal is simply finding better ways to nourish ourselves while still enjoying the process.

What I loved most about this recipe was the intention behind it:

  • Using beet grounds instead of creating food waste
  • Making homemade almond flour instead of relying on heavily processed ingredients
  • Using flaxseed instead of eggs
  • Finding simple ways to increase iron-rich foods in our daily meals

It reminded me that not every recipe has to be a viral masterpiece to be meaningful. Some recipes are stepping stones. Some are experiments. Some are “almost there.” And honestly, I think there’s value in sharing those too.

Because real cooking — especially when you’re trying to feed your family healthier meals on a budget — is a lot of trial, error, adjusting, and trying again.

I’ll probably tweak this recipe next time by adding a little more healthy fat for richness and maybe reducing the bake time slightly for a softer center. But overall? I’d still call this one a win.

Not every healthy recipe has to fool people into thinking it’s unhealthy to be worth making.

And maybe that’s what this new series is really about:
celebrating the almost hits too.

🍲 30-Minute Seafood Paella (Real Life, Tired Mom Edition)
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🍲 30-Minute Seafood Paella (Real Life, Tired Mom Edition)

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

Some days, I have the energy to cook from scratch.

And some days… I’m tired.

Today was one of those days.

But instead of ordering out or skipping a good meal, I leaned into something simple that still felt like a real dinner—and honestly, it turned out better than I expected.

 I used a boxed seafood paella mix I picked up from the store last week and added a few small touches to make it feel more like my meal.

🌿 What I Used

Boxed seafood paella kit

1 small onion (chopped)

1 bell pepper (chopped)

1/8 cup olive oil

Fresh parsley

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup shelled edamame

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

👩🏾‍🍳 How I Made It

I kept this super simple (because that’s all I had the energy for):

Heated olive oil in a pan Sautéed the onion and bell pepper until softened Added parsley and cayenne pepper and cooked for about a minute Mixed in: the canned seafood the rice mixture edamame vegetable broth Stirred everything together and let it cook on low heat for about 20 minutes

And that was it.

From start to finish—about 30 minutes.

💭 Real Thoughts

I didn’t overthink this meal.

I didn’t try to make it perfect.

I just needed something:

warm filling easy

And it delivered.

Even better?

👉 My very picky eater loved it.

That alone made it a win.

And now we have leftovers for tomorrow, which means one less thing to think about.

🌱 Why This Matters (More Than the Recipe)

This is something I’m learning in this season:

Not every meal has to be from scratch.

Not every day has to be “high effort.”

Sometimes, taking a shortcut is taking care of yourself.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about the food—it’s about:

feeding your family conserving your energy and still showing up

And today, this was more than enough.

✨ If You Try This

Make it your own.

Add what you have.

Use what’s already in your kitchen.

Don’t overcomplicate it.

Because simple meals like this?

They’re the ones that actually get made.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake (Rich, Fudgy & Protein-Packed)
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Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake (Rich, Fudgy & Protein-Packed)

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

There are two kinds of baking moments in my house:

The planned ones.

And the “these bananas are about to turn” ones.

This cake was the second kind.

I had three very overripe bananas sitting on the counter, and instead of making the usual banana bread, I wanted something deeper. Richer. Chocolate.

And because I’ve been experimenting with incorporating more plant-based protein into our meals, I decided to blend in silken tofu.

What came out of the oven surprised me.

This isn’t light and fluffy.

It’s dense.

It’s fudgy.

It’s intensely chocolatey.

And it slices beautifully.

🍫 Ingredients

3 overripe bananas

1¾ cups flour

¾ cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup coconut milk

¼ cup applesauce

1 cup cocoa powder

1 package silken tofu

👩🏾‍🍳 Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a blender or food processor, combine: Bananas Silken tofu Coconut milk Maple syrup Olive oil Applesauce Blend until completely smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together: Flour Cocoa powder Baking powder Baking soda Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until fully combined. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into a prepared baking pan (an 8×8 pan works beautifully for this texture).

Batter poured into the pan (if available)

Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing. It firms up as it rests.

🍰 The Texture (Because It Deserves Attention)

First slice photo

This cake is:

Thick and moist Almost brownie-like at the base Deep and rich in chocolate flavor Slightly creamy from the silken tofu Naturally sweetened with banana and maple syrup

You cannot taste the tofu. What it does is add structure, moisture, and protein without changing the flavor.

It feels indulgent — but intentional.

🌿 Why I Bake This Way

I’m not trying to make dessert “healthy.”

I’m trying to make it balanced.

Adding fruit.

Adding tofu.

Using maple syrup instead of refined sugar.

It’s about making small shifts that add nourishment without removing joy.

And when a slice looks like this?

No one is asking questions.

Holiday Sweet Potato Rolls: A Family Favorite (Even for the Picky Eaters!)
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Holiday Sweet Potato Rolls: A Family Favorite (Even for the Picky Eaters!)

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

A Short Story From My Holiday Kitchen

The days leading up to Thanksgiving always feel like a quiet dance in my kitchen — not rushed, not frantic, just intentional. Over the years, I’ve learned to start preparing certain parts of our holiday meal days in advance. Not because I love being ahead of schedule (though it helps!), but because life has required it.

I’ve worked through many major holidays, sometimes only catching a few hours at home before heading back out again. And because of that, I had to learn how to create a holiday rhythm that made room for both my responsibilities and my children. A rhythm that allowed them to experience the joy of the season without feeling the absence of my schedule.

So I plan. I chop, mix, and prep early. I build flavors slowly. I tuck things away in the fridge and freezer like little promises to myself. I do it so that when the holiday arrives, I’m not drowning in tasks — I’m emotionally present, grounded, and able to enjoy those pockets of time with my kids, whether I’m home all day or just long enough to share a meal and laugh together.

And somewhere in the middle of all that preparation, these sweet potato rolls were born.

They came from a simple desire:
to help my youngest see the beauty and versatility of sweet potatoes — and to make sure they never felt like they were missing out on a food their siblings enjoyed.

They also became a symbol of my kind of holiday magic: finding small ways to stretch time, stretch love, and stretch tradition so my family gets to feel whole even on the days I’m balancing a lot.

These rolls have earned their place on our Thanksgiving table — soft, warm, and welcoming to even the pickiest eater in the house.

Every family has that one ingredient someone just can’t get behind — and in my house, that ingredient has always been sweet potatoes. My youngest has never been a fan, no matter how I bake them, mash them, roast them, or season them.

So over the years, I’ve made it my quiet mission to find ways to introduce sweet potatoes that highlight how versatile (and delicious!) they really are. I’ve tried plenty of versions, but only one has earned a full stamp of approval:

✨ Sweet Potato Rolls. ✨

Soft, slightly sweet, beautifully golden, and perfect for soaking up gravy or eating warm right off the pan — these rolls made their way onto our Thanksgiving table this year, and they did not disappoint. In fact, this is the only sweet potato recipe my youngest happily eats, which makes it even more special.

Whether you’re preparing for a holiday dinner or simply want a cozy roll recipe for the winter season, these sweet potato rolls are warm, comforting, and surprisingly easy to make.

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1 cup pureed sweet potato
  • 1 cup (240 ml) room-temperature yogurt
  • 4 tbsp (57 g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp raw cane sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 4 3/4 cups flour

For baking

  • 1/2 stick melted butter

Instructions

Make the Dough

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yogurt, melted butter, eggs, cane sugar, yeast, and sweet potato.
  2. Add the salt and 2 cups of flour, stirring for about 1 minute.
  3. Switch to medium-low speed and gradually mix in the remaining flour. Knead until a dough forms.
  4. Increase to medium-high speed and continue kneading for about 5 minutes, until the dough becomes soft, smooth, and slightly tacky.
    • If it’s too sticky, add flour a little at a time until manageable.
  5. Lightly spray a clean bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough inside, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Shape & Bake the Rolls

  1. Prepare a baking pan by spraying with cooking spray. Divide the dough into equal pieces and shape each into a smooth ball.
  2. Brush each roll with melted butter. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes, or until puffy.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  4. Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, or until beautifully golden brown.
  5. Serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag.

A Small Sweet Victory

What makes this recipe so meaningful isn’t just the flavor or the softness of the rolls — it’s the fact that they brought sweet potatoes back into our Thanksgiving meal in a way that made everyone happy, even my pickiest eater.

Sometimes the best recipes are the ones that quietly solve a family dilemma and create a new tradition at the same time.

Book Club

The Stories That Shaped Me: Books That Continue to Inspire My Writing

Lulu LeeLeave a comment

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When reading a book, it is important to remember that one is not just looking at words. They are looking at a time capsule in print. The author creates an image of a specific place in time. The reader is able to travel either to the future or the past through the writer’s lens.

The same can be said of cooking and gardening. When you make a meal from a recipe, you reach back into memory. You shape something from the past. This creation can be experienced by others in the future. When you plant seeds you’ve saved, you carry forward stories of survival and lineage. Books, recipes, and gardens—all are living vessels of heritage.

Books That Shape My Cooking and Creativity

Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food is a cookbook that deeply resonates with me. It offers inventive ways to nourish through hidden veggies. The approach is gentle, creative, and playful. What I love about it is how it invents ways to nourish through hidden veggies—gentle, creative, and playful. I’ve returned to its pages many times. It’s not just for guidance. It serves as a reminder that adaptation is at the heart of tradition.

I often take her recipes and transform them with African ingredients—adding, subtracting, or substituting to make them sing in ways that feel like home. Deceptively Delicious reminds me that creativity in the kitchen isn’t about following every rule. It’s about making something your own. At the same time, it’s about honoring what came before.

Books That Preserve Love and History

Another book that left a deep impression on me was My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams. Their words to one another are tender, passionate, and grounded in both love and duty. Reading those letters felt like holding a time capsule in my hands. They offered a glimpse into their daily lives. I could see the strength of their bond during a turbulent period in history.

Just like recipes passed down in families, these letters carried their love into the future. Like seeds planted in soil, they carried their faith and story as well. They reminded me that writing is not just about recording events, but about preserving connection.

My Bookshelf Essentials

Here are two books I continue to carry with me:

Closing Reflections

Books shape us in ways big and small. They remind us where we’ve come from. They inspire who we are becoming. They carry stories forward for those who come after us.

👉 What books have shaped your life or inspired your creativity? Share your favorites in the comments—I’d love to build a community reading list together.