Easy Gourmet Baby Food: 150 Recipes for Homemade Goodness [Paperback]

Che Jordan Wagman (Author), Jill Hillhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2008

Providing the best possible food for baby -- made in the home kitchen.

When it comes to introducing solid food to babies at approximately six months, providing the best means using fresh, organic ingredients and paying attention to how food is prepared. For the very best, it means preparing those foods at home and introducing children to a variety of foods, nutrients and unique flavors.

Easy Gourmet Baby Food features 150 recipes that introduce very simple ways for parents to prepare meals for their infants and toddlers. Here's a small sampling:

• Green beans with fresh basil leaves; orange lentil and root vegetables; roasted cauliflower and white bean purée
• Seared salmon, cauliflower and russet potato; grilled chicken breast with yogurt; three-cheese vegetable lasagna
• Parmesan polenta cakes; pork tenderloin with prunes and bliss potatoes; corn and fennel soup.

Recipes are conveniently divided into age groups: 6-9 months, 9-12 months, and 12-24 months. Each recipe contains a complete nutritional analysis. Many transition seamlessly to older family members, so meals can be shared by everyone. Also included are instructions on how to create multiple-meal purées to be frozen and used later, plus extensive tips on meal preparation, nutrition and feeding.

Editorial Reviews

Review

More than 150 delicious recipes to help you cultivate your baby's palette. An excellent way for parents to give their child a healthy head start in life.

About the Author

Jordan Wagman, who has worked with some of the most notable chefs in North America, received the Rising Star in North America nomination from the James Beard Foundation. He develops recipes for the Sweet Pea line of frozen baby foods. The father of two children including a newborn, he lives in Toronto.

Jill Hillhouse, BPHE. RNCP, is a holistic nutritionist and faculty member of the Institute of Holistic Nutrition, as well as a regular contributor to several national health magazines. She lives in Toronto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Robert Rose; 1 edition (April 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778801829
• ISBN-13: 978-0778801825
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for adults too! December 2, 2009

By Lisa Bailey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is handy, even for adults!

1) Almost every child's recipe has a way to adapt it to make it more interesting for adults. The pureed broccoli mixed with parmesan cheese over pasta is great.
2) Every recipe has an interesting nutrition section as well as a complete breakdown of all the nutritional facts. I never thought I'd find myself reading about vitamin B12, folic acid, fiber, different layer of grain, etc.
3) Chef Jordan has a preparation tip for every recipe. Try roasting yams with the skin to develop the sugars, etc.
4) All the recipes are manageable. Meaning they don't require 30 different ingredients and 30 steps. They make use of standard basics you'd have in your pantry as well as encouraging you to run to the store to buy the one or two things you don't have.

I go back and back to this cookbook for our son as well as our own meals!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great older baby and toddler ideas July 8, 2011

By Petra K Stuhmeier

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I stumbled on this book in the library and am now purchasing it to have at home. I used canned food when my son was first starting to eat, but found the commercial options for older baby foods (9 months and beyond) less appealing and was looking for some easy, yet creative things to try at home. I never tried any of the puree recipes, but loved the older baby and toddler recipes. They were easy to follow, creative, but not too eccentric. I liked the personal tone of the book and that this was written by a chef with an emphasis on taste/flavor and less dogmatic on organic, nutrition, etc. I work full-time and needed recipes that were either quick and easy and most recipes here fit that bill. I also found myself making some of the recipes to eat myself, especially the sweet potato fries and the roasted cauliflower. It was a great way to get my son to try different things in that age between 9 months and 15 months before they start getting picky and resistant to new stuff.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific for my toddler May 9, 2010

By Austin

Format:Paperback

This book is great. As soon as my daughter started to eat solid food I began experimenting with recipes from this book. Now that we all dinner together, I can honestly say this book has come in super duper handy. I'm the chef at our house so I'm able to cook food for both her and my wife and I at the same time, with the same food - instead of messing up the kitchen with menu of different items. Our favourite is Jonah's mac and cheese. I've used some of the recipes strictly to wow my adult friends when I'm throwing a dinner party. I would definitely recommend this book. Clearly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had this book when my kids were babies! September 27, 2009

By S. Jackson

Format:Paperback

I bought this book for my sister, who wants to make her own baby food. I compared it to the other baby cookbooks on the market and this one grabbed me for a few reasons: it has a nice balance of clear, concise basic information and beautiful, easy to prepare fresh recipes. I particularly like the lists of pesticide absorption in produce and a section on food prep safety that I think is vitally important for a beginner cook, especially one cooking for an infant. I love the use of unconventional food pairings for variety and the inclusion of healthy grains/seeds like quinoa and millet. If I had this book when my kids were babies I could have been feeding them lovely dishes like quinoa-banana puree and cabbage, fennel, apple puree. Sigh...at least my niece will be well fed! Before I give it to my sister, I might have to steal the recipes for the chocolate banana sandwiches and the white bean and fennel puree.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars bought it after checking it out from the library February 26, 2009

By Glenda Mendello

Format:Paperback

Book was well put together. All the nutritional information and tips are listed with each recipe page so you do not have to page through to figure anything out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to have but not for solo use December 12, 2008

By J. Blakeman

Format:Paperback

I have read and used many babyfood cookbooks and cookbooks that claim to cook for the whole family - baby included. Most recipes have a suggestion at the bottom of how to turn the baby food into an adult food. The one's I tried were a stretch! The baby food itself though is tasty. They use a wide variety of easily found ingredients including fresh herbs. I liked the comments by the chef and by a nutritionist for each recipe. Most of the purees turned out too watery when I followed the recipe quantity so I adapted accordingly. All in all, a good book to have in addition to another.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Beginner Baby Food Book June 20, 2012

By ReneeSA

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fabulous book. I am a decent cook but new to baby food. This book is great on specifics about buying food and preparing it for baby and also has a section on each recipe for mom and dad to eat. Also, gives tips to save money and nutrition tips. A fabulous read and cookbook. If you want a healthy eater and want to give baby something other than mashed bananas this is a great book to get!!! Absolutely a must!