How many servings of Vegetables are you and your family eating daily?

As a former picky eater, and Mom of 2 picky eaters, I created Picky Proof, a whole food solution company aimed to help sneak real nutrition in without the flavors, textures, or artificial ingredients found in nearly all other products on the market. 

My girls used to eat almost everything, until they became toddlers and then suddenly stopped.

This is very normal for kids, and nearly all go through this developmental phase. There are so many reasons for picky eating and more often than not, it is not the parents fault. It can take 15+ exposures for a child to even try a new food. An exposure can be seeing, smelling, touching, licking or trying a nibble of a food. Imagine it taking 75 of those exposures before your child actually eats that food regularly. 

For myself, I went through that extended picky "stage" until my mid-20's when I became so sick and crippled by pain that I couldn't walk. I was 23 and huddled over in pain. I knew something was wrong, but didn't know what. Food was physically hurting me and it had caused me to become very very selective of what I would eat. I had been running 4-5 days per week, eating what I thought were healthy foods (lots of wheat & oats). Doctors finally did tests, and realized that I had Celiac, as well as other food allergies.

My husband and I embraced the diagnosis and after many trips to the store ending in tears, unsure about what I could safely eat, we slowly taught ourselves recipes, grew our own gardens, and worked hard to ensure we were up to date and eating the healthiest we possibly could. I wouldn't be the person I am without his encouragement and resourcefulness. 

Before kids, I knew it all, or so I thought.

I believed my kids wouldn't have to suffer as long without the proper nutrition they needed as I had. No kids or adults should. They wouldn't have stunted growth like I me. They'd eat all the amazing meals I'd spent years learning, all of which had added vegetable ingredients. However, around 3 years old, my oldest slowly started rejecting food. Then my youngest did the same around the age of 2. I chopped veggies, blended them in the blender and tried for years to get them to eat what their bodies should be eating. We slowly uncovered that they had food allergies as well. They still struggle and we still work on trying new foods without pressure daily. My youngest even tried baked brie tonight! It was huge and her own idea. 

After years of checking every label, calling companies to ensure a product is safe, only to get sick, call again and have them admit it really isn't safe, I was fed up. One protein powder left me sick for over a month. There wasn't the transparency that there needs to be when dealing with food products. We needed change. 

Our first product:

Picky Proof Vegetable Powder is simply Zucchini, Mushrooms, Carrots, Kale & Spinach. That is it. No frills, just good quality nutrition. 

No sugar, no salt, no artificial flavors/colors, no whiteners, no gums, no unnecessary junk that us Moms don't want in our kids or our own bodies. We want the REAL stuff.

I created this product based on a recipe I'd used for years in a chopped up form in meatballs. I had also experimented with the combo in baked goods, but the texture wasn't quite right. I made a dehydrated attempt and friends and family loved it! They wanted to use it at home, so I got to work on seeing what I could make. I tried various other vegetable combos too, using tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes. Some veggies, like the broccoli, were very strong in flavor and smell, or way to visible in the food like tomatoes. None of them were as good as my original recipe.

Picky Proof's recipe was the clear winner! It can be added to sweet and savory meals without a taste, smell or texture. I also made sure that the color is closer to a soft light colored brown, so that it's able to blend in easier with most foods. 

The winning texture! My at home set up was no comparison to what industrial machines could do. I knew I needed help, so I paired with a US Manufacturer. Picky Proof is simply real vegetables, harvested at the peak of freshness. We use a proprietary process to freeze and air dry the vegetables, and then grind them into an extremely soft and fine powder. 

Our mission is to help get REAL FOODS to those that need them. We are proud to have helped thousands of families already in our first year of business, and we can't wait to help you on your journey too. 

Thank you to all that have read this far. I would love to hear your stories too. Please reach out! I believe that together us Moms can make a real change in the food industry and raise the bar for our kids,

As my Grandma always wrote:

Hugs & XX's,