Meet Lena Ognyanova, mom to 2.5 year old Adrian, and mom-preneur behind Organic Eats for Kids. This mom astounds me with her vision for feeding our kids amazing, healthy, globally inspired-locally sourced food. My hubby likes to call that eating “glocal”! Read on below to learn more about Lena, Organic Eats for Kids and where you can find her…
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in town?
I am from Bulgaria and I’ve lived in Austin for 4 years already. I moved here with my boyfriend, we got married at Mount Bonnell and 1 year later our son was born.
You shared something with me that others would be really surprised to know about you… I know I was! What was it?
The fact that I am a medical doctor. I graduated from the Medical University of Sofia, specialising in Dermatology and I also have a Masters Degree in Preventive medicine from Dresden International University, Germany.
Way to go, momma! I am truly impressed. What do you love to do with your family around town?
We love to go camping! We feel so connected to nature and my son likes the camp fire, running around and sleeping in the tent.
Tell us about Organic Eats for Kids and how it came to be, what you love about it, what makes it unique, etc…
I make pre packaged meals for toddlers and up, using organic and local ingredients – from local farmers and ranchers. My menu is world inspired so kids are being exposed to many different spices and cultures.
Some of my meals are finger food, but a big part of them are stew-like, so kids are practicing self-feeding skills.
When practicing using utensils kids also improve the strength in their back, arms and hands, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and independence.
We offer our meals in eco friendly packaging.
I love every single part of my job. From choosing which products I will use, speaking to the farmer or rancher, getting to know his work to going to the commercial kitchen and cook with all those wonderful ingredients.
The second part of the process is offering the food to Austin parents and getting to know them and their kids.
Austin parents are young, busy and successful. Our meals are convenient for them because instead of cooking they can spend quality time with their kids.
I love everything about this from introducing multi-cultural tastes to developmentally appropriate finger foods! Are you involved in anything else within the community?
We rent a small community garden and me and my son grow different veggies and herbs. He is so happy there! That experience makes him understand the circle of life and it is so much fun!
Moms can find Lena and Organic Eats for Kids at Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, and also on social media @eats_for_kids on Instagram and @eatsforkids on Facebook.