Stacey Weichelt’s “Little Spoons & Spice” Celebrates Healthy Cooking for the Whole Family
Like many families, Stacey and Bryan Weichelt have a busy home and family. With 4 year-old daughter, Lily, and their identical triplet boys, Dylan, Logan, and Mason, it can be challenging to prepare healthy, home cooked meals.
In an effort to encourage healthy choices while introducing children to the joys of cooking, Stacey, a Registered Dietitian, founded “Little Spoons and Spice,” a blog focused on healthy cooking with kids. Designed for parents, teachers, grandparents and anyone who has the opportunity to cook alongside kids, each recipe has a custom list of age-appropriate cooking tasks.
“It’s incredible how proper nutrition can impact a child, from physical growth to brain development and behavior,” said Stacey. “I wanted my kids to not only eat healthy food, but enjoy it as well. To do that, I started to introduce them to cooking.”
No strangers to inspirational stories, the Weichelt family already has a special place in the hearts of the community through the story of their three triplets (read more here). The boys were born healthy at 33 ½ weeks, then contracted Human Parechovirus Type 3 when they were about 1 month old.
“It took the care team nearly two months of testing and investigation to determine a diagnosis,” said Stacey. “The list of possible outcomes is long, but in short the virus often causes a brain injury among infants. 80% of us get the virus at some point, but never know, as the symptoms are mild. The rare few get it at their most susceptible time, claiming the lives of many, and altering the lives of many more. This virus left 2 of the 3 boys with some significant challenges.”
Now, almost three years later, the Weichelt’s have found cooking to be a family activity that brings them together.
“Even though the skill levels vary, it’s something we can do as a family and everyone can be included in some way,” said Stacey. “It is so heart-warming to see Lily helping her brothers scoop or mix and teach basic cooking techniques and when Mason helps his brothers put on their aprons.”
Combining her longtime passions for child nutrition and cooking, Stacey is excited to use her blog to introduce people to the importance of healthy eating at a young age. On the site, she shares ways to make cooking with kids easier and safer and more nutritious, along with posting a mix of non-recipe blogs about nutrition, healthy tips, and more.
“My goal for the blog is to reach as many families as I can, to encourage and motivate them to start or continue cooking with their kids or grandkids,” said Weichelt, adding that many families, particularly among millennials, have stepped away from home cooked meals.
“I want to inspire the busy moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles to come back to the kitchen, and to bring the kiddos along,” she said. “I hope our story and my blogs will inspire, educate, and help bring families together in the kitchen and around the dinner table. I’ve also found that when my kids help me with a new recipe, they are much more likely to try it.”
Stacey has always enjoyed how cooking can bring a family together, something that has been a big part of her life.
“Cooking with my kids has brought a lot of joy and laughter into our home,” said Stacey. “I wanted to share our kitchen and kid adventures with others, and I’m hopeful that our stories will inspire others to create and savor kitchen adventures of their own.”
Many people inquire how Stacey finds the time to maintain a blog.
“The weekend is our time that we try one or two new recipes. We can take our time, be silly and just have fun with the cooking,” she said. “Everything else is done after the kids go to bed.”
For Stacey, making time to spend with family is important, and she hopes her blog encourages other families to value that quality time learning together.
“I know it can be intimidating because you don’t want a mess, but the best advice I can give is: forget about the messes, smile and appreciate the little moments this creates.”
Visit www.LittleSpoonsAndSpice.com for more from Stacey and family!
