The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes [Spiral-bound]

Bridget Wardley (Author), Judy More (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2006

More than a cookbook, this indispensable kitchen companion not only offers delicious recipes for every day of the year, but also contains a wealth of information on child nutrition—from weaning and introducing solids to packing lunches and serving up party foods for older children. It emphasizes an easy approach to food preparation, with no complicated measurements or methods. Most important of all, there’s a wide variety of recipes for every stage of childhood development, complete with 50 "first food" recipes, 7-day meal planners, and sound snack ideas. Practical tips accompany the dishes, including methods for promoting healthy eating habits that support brain development and a strong immune system.
 

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 224 pages
• Publisher: Duncan Baird (July 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184483106X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844831067
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas for quick meals, August 17, 2005

By 

Joe'sMom (Ayer, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes (Spiral-bound)

My 1 year old is starting to move away from baby food and eat primarily table food. I am so sick of chicken fingers, french fries, grilled cheese and fish sticks. Not to mention, I was feeling guilty about all the frozen foods. I had searched online and on parenting websites and chat rooms for any ideas on meals that would be healthy, quick to make, and appealing to both infants and adults (making 2 separate meals each night was a drain on time).

Finally, I found this recipe book. I was grateful for the "search inside" function so that I could browse the index at the recipe titles. But you really can't tell how wonderful this book is until you purchase it. The book starts out with an informational chapter about first foods, and the types of nutrients that are essential for growing babies. Some of it is common sense, but the explanations are great none the less.

Then, the rest of the chapters are broken out by stages. So the first stage gets into first foods (oatmeals, and other pureed foods). I skipped right ahead to the self feeding stage. The recipe ideas are simple and easy with lots of colorful pictures. Each recipe includes prep and cooking times, as well as symbols that indicate vegetarian meals, recipes made with peanuts, and other tips.

The first lunch I served was hummos on toasted pita with chopped up red peppers (chopped really tiny). My son ate it up like he'd been starving for days! I've since tried several other foods. We haven't had chicken fingers in days! We now have a vast repertoire of veggie burgers, ground lamb, taboule.... the list goes on and on.

I will definitely give this as a gift to several new moms I know! 5 stars! And thanks to the author!

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is the BEST!!!, January 26, 2006

By 

RicaDaChica (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes (Spiral-bound)

I love this cook book. My mom and friends laugh when they hear me saying this because I actually don't like cooking very much. Somehow this book brings out the cook from deep inside me. There are LOADS of recipes in here, they are nutritious, delicious and creative...from couscous salad to sheperd's pie to Iced Mango Yogurt.
Mmmmmhmmm....I am excited when I open the book to find recipes for the week ahead...I hardly ever used to plan a lot of meals ahead, but this book is such a good resource, I actually LOVE doing this now (well, I don't only cook from this book but I make a lot of stuff from it)
Every recipe has the prep time on it (which is usually about 10 - 15 minutes more for me...hey, I am a rookie) which I love because it helps me plan ahead.
The book is divided into age groups (babies, toddlers, older children) and I have to admit I have not yet tried the baby recipes so I am mainly talking about the ones for the older kids. Many of the recipes are great for the whole family, which is very important because I also have a hungry husband to feed at night and I will not make two different dinners.
The lunch section is fabulous, the recipes have a shorter preperation time and I always used to have trouble coming up with easy delicious meals for my kids after school - not anymore.
The book is in ring binder format which is super practical when during cooking because I can just have one page in front of me and I lean it upright on the wall while I am cooking.
All in all I recommend this cook book to all mommies and daddies that are looking for a great recipe collection with easy to prepare and most of all super yummy recipes for children and the whole family.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy meals for baby to adult, September 8, 2005

By 

A mommy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes (Spiral-bound)

I recently purchased this book and love it. This book has meals for the whole family and uses healthy and varied ingredients. It has the basics for how and what to feed your baby, meal planner ideas, a shopping list for the items in the book and nutrious meals. It has a basics chapter which includes fussy eaters, food allergies, nutrients, and the basic ideas for the food pyramid. I recommend this book to parents who want to feed their children a varied diet. You do not need to put tons of effort into these recipes. There are recipes that take 10 minutes to 2 1/2 hours and most of the hours is for the meal to cook or chill. And YES they are worth it. They appeal to your child's palate and to yours. Best wishes and happy cooking !