Customer Reviews

Feeding the Whole Family: Whole Foods Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the 18 months I have been using this cookbook, it has always given me excellent meals and valuable cooking tips. It is the perfect cookbook for the experienced wholefood cook or for a person, especially a parent, wanting to begin experimenting with the health-sustaining wholefood diet. The author even includes at the bottom of each recipe ways to adapt the food for a 'new eater' so parents don't have to cook separate meals for each member of the family.

Also, particularly helpful is her chapter on healthy lunches, which gives great ideas for packable wholefoods - usually a daunting task in these days of take-out/fastfood. The cooking tips throughout the book and her glossary at the back include extremely helpful and often hard to find information which helps make wholefoods less intimidating and much tastier. This cookbook and Annemarie Colbin's cookbooks (The Natural Gourmet and Book of Wholemeals) are my constant kitchen references

This book has some excellent recipies made with whole foods. I was able to get rid of all the additives, preservatives, etc, and make meals with truly wholesome ingredients and the recipes taste great. My whole family loves it when I make something from this book. Even has a section that profiles the not so common ingredients. Would highly recommend to anyone trying to "clean up" their eating act! One of the best things I've done for my family and our health/eating habits. A+++++

I agree with some other reviewers, that Cynthia Lair makes a good start but neglects many important whole foods such as yogurt, kefir, free-range beef, wild salmon, etc. The main dishes focus way too heavily on grains, with chicken being the only meat, and seldom, at that. There are some great recipes for adding more veggies to your diet. While the recipes aren't super easy, they're not very difficult, either. As far as the recipes being adapatable for babies, the only comments she makes are to puree some vegetables and grains during the cooking process and set them aside for baby. Most babies graduate from pureed foods in a matter of weeks and begin to prefer finger foods. Her information on why to breastfeed and avoid commercial baby foods and supplements is EXCELLENT, however.

For me, the best part of this book was the dessert section. I have an incurable sweet tooth (that I'm trying to cure). When I began eating whole foods, I cut WAY back on sweets, but I still crave a treat now and then. She gives excellent advice on how to convert your favorite dessert recipes to whole foods by substituting bananas, dates, honey, etc. for the sugar and whole-wheat flour for all-purpose flour. There are also quite a few whole-foods dessert recipes included like cake, cookies, brownies, etc.

The beginning of the book outlines good reasons for switching to whole foods. Unfortunately, she places too much trust in the "food pyramid" promoted by the USDA and encourages a low-fat diet. Many whole foods are naturally high in fat, full of vitamins, and intended to complement the whole foods that are naturally low in fat. She does write, however, that her book is only a starting point and each family needs to do their own research into the healthiest foods for their family. An excellent point.

This book is a good addition to your library of whole foods cookbooks, but please don't let it be your only one. In addition, I recommend "Whole Foods for the Whole Family," "Nourishing Traditions," and "The Maker's Diet."

I bought this cookbook after a friend brought leftover Asian Noodle Salad (p. 104) for her lunch one day and it smelled sooooo good. Went home and made it myself that very day. My husband always told me he didn't like leafy greens, beets, most squash, etc., but he has greeted every dish I've made from this book with ENTHUSIASM!! I've been using this cookbook for over a year now, practically daily. I no longer shy away from the bulk-food section of the grocery store, I love learning how to use lots of different grains and beans in YUMMY ways, and best of all our two very young children enjoy the dishes as well. Three cheers for Cynthia Lair!! PS. I've given away many copies of this book, and buy it for every pregnant woman I know.

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, Cynthia Lair's Feeding The Whole Family: Whole Foods Recipes For Babies, Young Children And Their Parents continues to be one of the best "user friendly", family oriented guides to nutritious, delicious, meal-time cookbooks available today. From Whole Grain Baby Cereal, Sage and Rosemary Seitan Sandwiches, and Tempeh Tacos, to Mustard Green Salad with Tofu-Dill Dressing, Sweet Squash Corn Muffins, and Carrot Cake with Apricot Glaze, Feeding The Whole Family offers a wealth of recipes that are as fun to make in the kitchen as they are to consume at the family dining table!

This is a VEGETARIAN book with one recipe for chicken breast.
There is no milk, no eggs, no yogurt unless you want to count putting a dollop of yogurt on top of a bean burrito.
I researched what "whole foods" means and this book is NOT it.
This is a vegetarian SOY BEANS book.
She uses tofu, tempeh, soy milk, tamari, and shoyu ALOT!

The book starts out great telling me everything I wanted to hear about changing eating habits and how our diets need to be more whole foods, but then she has a recipe for imitation meat products made from "PROCESSED" wheat flour gluten. Please.....

And then she recommends you read the labels of the cereals in the store and pick a good one! There are no good ones! That's why I bought the book. Duh!

If you want to read about whole foods, read Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon. I was just looking for kid-friendly recipes that uses grains, etc, and this wasn't it.

I was given this book as a gift when our first child was born. As older parents, my husband and I had already established some pretty stubborn eating habits, but this book is helping us out of those bad patterns. I was skeptical at first, because many "whole food" cookbooks have a strident, humorless tone. These recipes are delicious, easy to follow, and not too time consuming, the book is informative and encouraging, and most importantly, I felt that I was getting good advice from another mom. Our 1 year old loves his veggies and fruits, and this book is helping me to feed him healthfully. Thank you, Cynthia! We love this book.

This is so great - nutrition advice from breastfeeding to solids on up to grown-ups, tasty recipes, and a pretty good read. Awesome especially if you are short on time - all the recipes have a prep and cooking time estimation.

I first discovered this book at my local La Leche League group library and I was so wowed! I immediately ordered this book from Amazon last year and I have used it more than any of my over 30 cookbooks combined. The book is just wonderful, full of delicious healthy recipies that the whole family will enjoy. I like that there is an index that describes some foods that you might find different and tells you where to find them although non of the ingredients are so exotic that they can't be found in a good health food store or regular grocery store. The recipies are also tailored at the end for babies and toddlers and there are lots of hints on healthy eating at the beggining. Cynthia Lair knows her stuff, and the best part is that the "Whole Family" loves the recipies which really is the best indication of a good cookbook. You will love this!

Three cheers for Cynthia Lair's Feeding the Whole Family! From baby's first cereal to recipes that adults love, this book is packed with delicious, nutritious recipes. The recipes are mostly simple and easy to make, and the nutrition advice and cooking instructions for grains and beans are constantly useful. Having a kid is a great incentive to start eating healthy if you don't already, and Feeding the Whole Family helps you do it without spending all day preparing different food for everyone in your household. Try Cynthia's version of Bathing Rama with udon noodles! I double this recipe every time I make it because it is so popular in our family. Get this book and discover how easy and delicious it is to raise a healthy family. And, yes, your kid (and you and your partner) will love broccoli and kale and seaweed, too!