About The Picky Eater
Hi! I’m Anjali. I’m the Nutritionist and Health Coach behind The Picky Eater®. I’m so happy you found me! Here you will find healthy, family-friendly and kid-friendly recipes that are easy to make and taste GREAT!
About The Picky Eater®
The Picky Eater® is a place where you can browse hundreds of plant-based recipes covering all types of courses, diets and cuisines. In addition, I provide healthy tips, insights, and resources for parents and kids of all ages.
Main Topics I Cover
- Over 800 vegetarian friendly recipes by meal: breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, desserts, and more
- Recipes for different dietary needs including: vegan recipes, gluten free recipes, vegetarian keto, baby food recipes, and kid friendly meals.
- Different cuisines including: Asian, Thai, Mediterranean, Indian, Mexican, Italian and more.
- Find the healthiest products for your kids in my best for kids guides
You’ll see nutrition information provided for my recipes, but my philosophy around food isn’t focused on calories. Instead, I prioritize eating lots of plant-based foods with a little indulgence here and there. I am vegetarian, and have raised my kids to be vegetarian, so those are the type of recipes that you’ll see here. (Although I have to say, meat-eaters love my recipes too!)
The Picky Eater® is a place of no-judgement and no-diets. I believe in healthy eating, but I do NOT believe in deprivation. I believe you can have your cake (in moderation!) and eat it too!
Why “The Picky Eater”?
I grew up a “whole wheat” girl: I was raised in the healthy-eating, organic-obsessed, farmer’s market-driven culture of the San Francisco Bay Area. My childhood was filled with fruits, vegetables and home cooked meals; I was raised to be “picky” about what I put into my body and to eat junk food in moderation.
I always thought of myself as a picky eater in the non-traditional sense of the word: that it was all about being choosy about finding healthy options to put into your body.
Then I got married and ended up with a family of TRUE picky eaters – in the traditional sense of the word! I realized that the only way I could convert my family into healthy eaters would be to cook healthy versions of the foods they loved: pizza, pasta, and fast-food.
My Blog Was Inspired By:
- My journey teaching myself to cook, and using my “picky eater” philosophy to help my whole family eat healthier.
- Expanding my family’s palate to enjoy just about every healthy food out there.
- My ability to transform my kids into veggie-loving, sprouted-wheat-bread-eating, health conscious little ones!
- Making healthy food taste good for families all over the world!
What started as a way to catalog my own journey cooking healthy meals that my picky-eating family would love has since turned into an online destination visited by millions of people a year. I’m so grateful for the community we’ve built here, and the connections I’ve built with all of you!
About Anjali Shah
I am a board certified health coach, wife, mom of two, cookbook author, and self-taught chef who develops all of the recipes on The Picky Eater®, and investigates the truth behind food products on grocery store shelves, so you can find the healthiest options for your family.
I received my undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!) and my nutrition certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I absolutely LOVE food and I am passionate about healthy living for the whole family – including picky eaters! Learn more about me here!
Meet The Team
Sophia DeSantis
In early 2024, I met Sophia DeSantis: a mom of 3, recipe developer and food blogger behind Veggies Don’t Bite, ACE certified health coach, photographer, and cookbook author! We had so much in common – we’re both moms, plant-based foodies, and are passionate about health and wellness – that it made sense for her (and all of her recipes at veggiesdontbite.com to join us here at The Picky Eater!)
So as of April 2024, I’m so excited to share that I have acquired veggiesdontbite.com, and that Sophia is now part of my team! I’m so excited to have her on board, her recipes are absolutely delicious, and over time you will find all of them on this blog, as I merge her site with my own. Learn more about Sophia here!
Medical Reviewers & Dietitians
While The Picky Eater is mostly focused on healthy recipes that kids and adults alike will enjoy, you’ll find that I also have a section on my blog called “best for kids” – where I recommend some of the healthiest products for your child including vitamins, baby formula, snacks, baby food, cereals, granola bars, and more.
To ensure that any product recommendations I’m providing are 100% accurate and align with current dietary guidance for kids, I have three pediatric dieticians on my team who fact check, review, and sign off on my articles in my best for kids section. You’ll see them mentioned on any articles they have reviewed and fact checked. Here’s more about them!
Linzy Ziegelbaum, MS, RD, CDN
Linzy Ziegelbaum is a New York based pediatric Registered Dietitian and the owner of the private nutrition practice LNZ Nutrition LLC. She has her Masters in Nutrition from Lehman College and her bachelors from Syracuse University, did her clinical dietetic internship at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, and formerly worked as a clinical nutritionist at Hospital for Special Surgery and as a Pediatric Dietitian at Northwell’s Allergy/Immunology office. She specializes in areas such as: helping families remove stress from meal times, helping children with food allergies and intolerances meet their nutrition needs through diet, and helping youth athletes learn how to fuel their bodies for sports. Linzy has frequently been quoted as a nutrition expert, and recently started a youth sports nutrition blog.
Katie Drakeford, MA, RD, CSP, LD, CLC
Katie graduated from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center with a Master’s in Dietetics and completed her Dietetic Internship through OU. She has over a decade of experience helping people of all ages meet their nutritional needs but found her passion in pediatrics. She currently holds a Board Certification in Pediatric Nutrition and is a Certified Lactation Counselor. You can learn more about her on her LinkedIn page here.
Christina Badaracco, MPH, RDN, LDN
Christina Badaracco is a consultant, author, and educator focusing on elevating the role of nutrition in healthcare and better aligning our food and healthcare systems. She regularly writes, teaches, and presents about nutrition, culinary medicine, and sustainable agriculture – including publishing The Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide in 2019. She earned her MPH from the University of California, Berkeley, and her bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, with a minor in Italian Language and Culture, from Princeton University. She completed her dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital and was selected as a 2021 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year and 2023 Emerging Dietetic Leader by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. You can learn more about her on her website and LinkedIn page.
In The Media
Work With Me
I partner with brands and organizations in a variety of ways, including speaking engagements, guest writer contributions, brand collaborations and more. Learn more about how to work with me here.
Connect With Me
The best way to contact me is via email: anjali@pickyeaterblog.com
You can also find me on social media and other platforms here:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X (Twitter)
- Subscribe via email to The Picky Eater to get my newest recipes and tips delivered straight to your inbox.
I love hearing from my readers or anyone who is interested in learning more about the world of healthy living and flavorful eating. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or feedback. I respond to every message I get!
Hi! I linked to you from Skinny Taste where you posted a recipe for a loaded baked potato. Clean eating is a goal of mine for 2013 and moving forward so I’m lining up my “go-to” sites now. Love your site!
Hi Tracy! Aw thank you so much – I’m so glad you like my site! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help support you in your clean eating goals for next year or if you have any other questions! Looking forward to connecting with you more through my blog 🙂
hi Anjali, just found your blog and love reading your story. his ad and I also have different food preferences but haven’t got him to try my recipes. when cooking dinner, I usually make two dinners sonneither of us has to eat what we don’t like. I’m veggie lover and he loves meat, it’s hard to fusion both worlds.
I also love traveling, ive been to iguazu and rio as well, both are amazing places, 😉
Hi Coco!! Thank you so much – it’s so great to meet you! I’d love to hear whether any of my recipes work out for both you and your partner 🙂 Try the veggie chili on my blog – it’s proven very successful with even the most die-hard meat-eaters! Sounds like we have a lot in common, any fun travel plans coming up for you?
I love your website. You have lots of great information. I, too, am very health concious. I work full time sitting behind a desk and used to eat unhealthy snacks but I’ve recently changed my diet and feel a lot better!
Thanks Vivianne! Glad to hear you’re moving towards eating healthier snacks at work!
Hello, this is wonderful. A woman on the same mission as me! I am a vegetarian health concious eater with a husband and two boys who love their meat, snacks and stodgy meals. I am always trying to -invent things that will satisfy all of us. I am so glad to stumble upon your blog. I am busy working on a post for my own blog on other women who have inspired me. I am going to mention you and add a link –back to your site. Congreats on a lovely Blog x
Thank you so much Robyn!! It sounds like we are in the same boat 🙂 Let me know my recipes turn out for you and your family – I’m sure your husband and boys will enjoy them!
Hi, Just want to get some answers from questions that have been troubling me..
I am trying to lose weight which of course requires me to eat healthily.
Do i actually eat HEALTHIER to lose weight, or eat HEALTHY to lose weight?
For example:
Eating healthiER means lesser sugar in cupcakes muffins and etc.
But eating healthy is omitting sugar in cupcakes muffins and etc.
Which one should i follow?
I would appreciate your advice a lot.
THANK YOU!!
Hi! That is a great question. I believe that you need to eat healthier to lose weight, but you don’t have to cut out 100% of everything you like to indulge in to be successful. That said, if you eat cupcakes with less sugar but you still eat 4 cupcakes, that won’t help you in your weight loss goals 🙂 What you need to focus on is eating healthy most of the time (say 90%), and leaving a little bit of wiggle room for a couple bites of dessert, or one fully indulgent meal for the week, or a healthier version of dessert (I eat dark chocolate for dessert after dinner every day). So it all depends on what works for you, but I don’t think you need to completely cut out everything you love to lose weight because you need to come up with a plan that’s sustainable in the long run vs. a fad diet that helps you lose weight but doesn’t help you keep it off. I hope that helps! Good luck on your weight loss journey!
Ooo I see.. 🙂
Thank you for taking time to answer this, really appreciate it!
Btw, you’ve got awesome recipes and I’ll be looking out for more from you! Keep cooking! 😉
No problem at all! I’m glad it was helpful 🙂 And thank you so much!! Let me know how my recipes turn out for you!
Hi Anjali.
I just discovered your website today as I was searching around the internet for a vegetable lasagna. I checked out yours and it looks awesome. In the process, I found many other recipes that look great! I am trying to get myself and my husband to eat healthier (I felt better reading about you trying out healthier meals on your “white bread” husband, becuase that’s exactly how mine is too!).
Thanks again!
Thanks Amanda!! It’s so nice to meet you 🙂 I’m sure you and your husband will love the veggie lasagna recipe – especially since your husband sounds a lot like mine! Keep me posted on how my recipes turn out for you — I’d love to hear what your hubby thinks as well. And honestly, if my husband can go from eating frozen pizzas to eating kale (and enjoy it), I think just about anyone can!
Hey Anjali,you have a great blog and the collection of your pictures are really nice.You both look awesome in the above pics.I will love to be a regular reader of your blog.
Thanks so much! It’s so nice to meet you! I hope you enjoy my recipes 🙂
Hi Anjali! Really like your blog, articles, photos and recipes…will be trying some of those out. Like yourself, I am a big advocate of good, fresh, delicious and healthy food. Our bodies need it and we function and feel better with the right stuff! So glad our found your articles…a treasure trove of ideas!
I am so passionate about food and healthy living, I wrote an eBook “Staying Healthy in a pre-packaged world” with I sell in my Etsy store ‘Sparkle and Comfort’ https://www.etsy.com/shop/SparkleandComfort and on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Platt/e/B0091TCC4I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
I too have a blog, but it nothing as extensive and as interesting as yours, so thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas.
-Susan
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog Susan! It’s so nice to meet you – it sounds like our food philosophies are very much aligned 🙂 Your e-book sounds great, I will definitely take a look!
Hi Anjai
Want to share with you a great health food that I’ve been intrigued with as of late. My research is showing that pure cacao beans, (the real chocolate in chocolate) are one of nature’s most complete superfoods. I love them mixed into some ice cream, I make my own bakers chocolate, eat them as mid day snak etc. For a quick summary on some of the health benefits check out http://www.bocasbean.com.
Always enjoy finding new ways to make everyday meals a little bit healther. Thanks for all your work.
Thanks for sharing this Mari! I love cacao beans – I put them on every dessert or just eat dark chocolate covered cacao beans as dessert. It’s delicious! I’ll be sure to check out the link you sent me, thanks again!
Hi Anjali, I’m so happy I found your blog! I identify myself with your story…. I am very picky with what I eat, so much that I’ve started making my own sandwich bread every week because I can’t stand the taste of store bought bread! and like bread there are a few other things I’m currently working to try to make at home like my own yogurt, cheeses, kefir, butter, etc. But on the other hand I have a very picky husband and two teenagers, and by picky here I mean they are picky when it comes to healthy food, specially vegetables! so…… yes that’s my battle.
I’m from Venezuela, I grew up eating homemade meals 100% from scratch and most of the time grown locally, I’m talking homemade on a daily bases (breakfast, lunch and dinners) just so you have an idea about how from scratch food is in places like Venezuela, birthday cakes are never made from box mixes and chicken soup never ever comes from a can!
My father is Lebanese/armenian and my mother venezuelan, so lebanese and latin/spanish cuisine was a norm in our home as well as a variety of other international cuisines like authentic regional Italian, Portuguese, French, Chinese, etc.
So when we moved to Houston 12 years ago I found myself really missing the flavors I grew up with, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that there’s not good food here, but it’s so hard to find “made from scratch wholesome food” unless you go to very high end restaurants, which we do once in a while, because going to anything less than that means eating highly processed food, plus it’s not really easy to find great farmers markets here in Houston compared to places like San Francisco, the sad thing is I think people develop a taste for fast food in such way that they become incapable to appreciate good food or the wholesome goodness of great fresh ingredients…
Although my kids and husband like and happily eat most of the dishes I prepare I find myself always making the same things over and over, as my family is not the adventurous kind when it comes to food, so I’m exited to try your recipes for sure, specially if i can figure out ways to disguise good healthy ingredients successfully 😉
Hi Winny!! It is so, so nice to meet you! Thank you so much for sharing your story with me – I loved reading it. I can’t even imagine what a shift it must have been to grow up in a house where everything was made from scratch to moving to a culture where everything is “fast” and “to-go”! Kudos to you that you’ve started making your own sandwich bread, yogurt, etc. at home – that’s amazing! You’ll have to give me some of your tips, because I haven’t done that yet 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how you and your family like my recipes – I’m sure you’ll be able to “sneak” in the good stuff quite successfully! Please keep in touch and let me know how things go!
I love PB&J also. My favorite is to put button and the outside of the bread, peanut butter and fluff on the inside and grill it. It makes the best bedtime snack!!!
That sounds delicious Judy!
This is a great blog! My husband and I are similar..I grew up the healthy eater and he the frozen pizza every night kind of guy. I can’t wait to try some of your recipes.
Thank you so much Julia!! It sounds like you and I have a lot in common 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how my recipes turn out for you!
I wish I could be more health conscious. In my case, I’m a picky eater as well but not a good picky eater. I stay with foods that I’m familiar with which pretty much include hamburgers, pizza, pasta, fries…etc everything bad. I HATE THAT!! I want to change but I know so little about food that its intimidating. I am overweight but before I become obese I want to make a lifestyle change. Any advice?
Hi Shannon! Thank you so much for reaching out to me! I can totally understand where you’re coming from – there’s so much information out there and a lot of it is conflicting that it CAN be intimidating to try to figure out how to eat healthier! I’m happy to help you move towards a healthier lifestyle. My initial advice is to start small – like pick two things you’re going to do every day (for example: eat a healthier breakfast and walk at least 30 minutes a day). Then start making healthier versions of the foods you like – you can find healthy and delicious versions of burgers, pizza, pasta, and fries on my blog! You’ll still get all of the flavor but none of the unnecessary calories. I hope this gives you a good start – and I’m more than happy to give you more detailed advice over email! Feel free to email me at pickyeats@gmail.com if you have any other questions. Good luck! I know you can do it 🙂
Loved reading your about page..landed here from pinterest. Hopping to browse some of your kitchen creations now..
Aw thanks so much Sanjeeta! It’s so nice to meet you! 🙂
I love this blog! I especially like the donut story where your dad cut the donut into 8 pieces hahaha! 🙂
Thanks so much Pragya! Haha! Yeah – that was our “dessert” 🙂 And the best part is, I thought that was totally normal until I saw my friend’s mom give her a whole donut to eat!
Great blog and some fantastic tips for getting my (very very picky) son to eat vegetables. Please come and check my blog out 🙂
Aw thank you so much!! So glad my tips are helpful! 🙂 Just stopped by your blog too – it’s great!