Customer Reviews

The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children: 365 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Dishes

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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!

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.

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 !

I just got this book in the mail today to make food for my 1 year old. I do not recommend this book for babies or toddlers. The recipes are self explanatory: steamed vegetables and mixed fruits. The author is from England so some of the ingrediants I've never heard of. Most of the recipes are for the age group 3-6 year old with a smaller section of the book devoted to babies and toddlers. If anyone has found a better book for babies/toddlers please email me.

This book has many really good, original recipes. A number of them our 18 month old really liked. However, don't bank on any one recipe and always have a back up plan like Gerber meals. Some of the recipes were too tough for our baby, and some of them she simply did not care for. This comes from the individuality of course - some babies may have more teeth than ours, some less, and some may like some things our doesn't. Bottom line is don't expect your child to like everything here.

Also look over the recipes carefully - some take quite a bit of time and effort. But overall, very satisfied with this product and we use it daily.

I have a 2 yr. old, and he is like his Mom and Dad. He likes food that has some taste, he even will eat food with a little spice in it. These recipes are good for him and for us too, and they fill you up, even a hungry husband.

So this recipie book gets points for lots of pictures and very interesting ideas for toddler and child foods. The only complaint that I had about the book was that they used A LOT of weird words for simple ingredients like: mangetout instead of snap peas. Can't you just say snap peas? I actually had to go online for some other ingredients as well. But over all she has some good recipies.

These recipes are easy and very good. I did not put a 5 stars because I don't like some of the recipes (my taste, not the book's fault), but I really recommend it! It is overall a very well presented, and great book.

If truth be told, I use the recipes in this book more for me and my husband and for entertaining than for my two kids. Almost every single recipe I have cooked or baked has come out amazing, and many have become family favorites that have made their way into our weekly meals(chocolate banana pancakes, shepherd's pie, curries, stir-fry, banana bread, to name a few). I love the fact that the recipes are simple and don't require every pot and utensil you own, and they are all wholesome and delicious. If you have picky eaters at home then don't expect them to be as enthusiastic as you may be about the recipes - this is not the book for them (better to try "Deceptively Delicious" or something along those lines...).

Am Lovin' this cookbook. Was a little hesitant to order another cookbook online without being able to look at it first, but the other reviews convinced me it was a good decision. And boy was it! This cookbook is awesome! Provides me with lots of new menu ideas vs. the redundant cheerios/yogurt for breakfast and turkey/cheese for lunch. (Not that there's anything wrong with those things). But I know my son is going to get burned out on the same stuff. And sometimes you just need a quick recipe on the nights when you're not into making a full-on dinner and little one is hungry.
The recipes are short & sweet, easy to follow and actually contain ingredients that are in your house already or are easy to obtain from your local grocery. Plus they're healthy! A nice combination of realistic cooking times and yummy food!
I didn't give this book a five star only because I think there could have been just a few more distinctive recipes for times of the day for the beginner with table food.
The book starts with information on Healthy Eating, Food-Combining, Essential Nutrients, and basic How-To's on feeding little ones. Even Coping with Feeding Problems, Managing Allergies and Sensible Shopping. A lot of info but designed to be read easily or you can choose to skip straight to recipes. Then the book is broken down into sections. The first section is baby's first foods- a variety of purees and cereals when first introducing baby to "solids". (ie- first rice flakes, carrot and potato puree, apple puree). Next, on to include a wider variety of pureed baby foods. (ie- chicken with rice and leeks, pork apple with parsnip and rutabaga, fresh peach yogurt). All home made, all healthy and best of all- easy to make. Then, for babies that are ready for soft lumps and first finger foods and on to mashed/chopped meals and finger foods. (ie- eggy toast fingers, macaroni cheese, pork with apples). Part three is for 1-2 year olds (ie- tuna pasta bake, first chicken nuggets, mini pitta pizzas). Finally, Part four is for 3-6 year olds (mini blueberry pancakes, apple and oat muffins, twice baked potato, chicken and corn pizza). There's everything from breakfast to dinner and all foods in between, including snacks, soups and drinks. There's even a section on cooking with your kids.
Another great feature is that under each recipe there's small icons that tell you at glance if the recipe is suitable for vegetarians, gluten-free, contains eggs or peanuts, ect. Also, many of the recipes can be modified for almost all age groups.
Indispensable for mommies and daddies of babies, toddlers and children!