Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have the first edition of this cookbook and it rates up there with my 5 most used cookbooks. I have bought multiple copies and given them as gifts to friends and family members. I cook primarily whole foods for my family, which in common terms means that I cook from scratch about 18-20 of our 21 weekly meals. Many of these recipes can be made quickly (30 minutes) with some planning.

The author gives wonderful advice for cooking beans, basic recipes for various grains and family favorite sauces. Most of the soup recipes are staples in our house. The introduction of 'new' and different grains...millet, quinoa, buckwheat...is a great way to add variety to your family's diet and most are quick and easy to make. Our culture eats far too much wheat and making some wheat-free meals is a welcome change in most families.

If I had just 1 box of books I could keep, this would be one of the books I would be sure made its way into the box.

I love the ideas in this cookbook, which focuses on whole foods the entire family will enjoy. It's clear and sensible, and includes a couple hundred pages of recipes.

What makes a whole food? Author Cynthia Lair writes that the best way to determine whether a food is whole or not is to ask these questions:
* Can I imagine it growing? (It's tough to imagine a field of marshmallows.)
* How many ingredients does it have? (It should have only one: apple, wild rice, salmon.)
* What's been done to the food since it was harvested? (The less, the better.)
* Is this product part of a food or the whole entity? (Only the juice? It's not whole.)
* How long has this food been known to nourish human beings? (Probably centuries.)

The recipes are helpful. Most include instructions on how to alter their dishes to make them appropriate for babies.

The chapters are:
1) Wholesome Family Eating
* What do we mean by wholesome?
* Shopping for sustenance
* Sharing a nourishing meal
* Setting the table, setting the scene
2) Including Baby
* Start with the best, the breast
* Starting solids
* Food allergies and intolerances
* Expanding the diet of the older baby
3) Raising Healthy Eaters
* Parents as role models
* Setting boundaries
* What should I give my child to drink?
* Involving your children in the kitchen
* Presenting food so it appeals to young children
* "My child won't eat vegetables"
4) Basic Grain and Bean Cookery
5) Bustling Breakfasts
6) Lively Lunch Boxes
7) Soothing Soups
8) Substantial Suppers
9) Got Color?
10) Fresh-Baked Breads and Muffins
11) Refreshing Relishes, Convenient Condiments
11) Simple Sweet Desserts
12) Daily Drinks and Brews

Lair also wrote Feeding the Young Athlete: Sports Nutrition Made Easy for Players and Parents. Other good books about eating whole foods include Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

I have had this book on my wish list for ages but couldn't justify another whole foods cookbook. I decided to try it after it was updated and after reading the authors essay on how we create picky eaters, I am glad I did. The recipes I have tried have been simple to make and taste delicious.The ingredients called for are easily found. I especially liked the lunch section as I struggle with packing my son a lunch. The book also has a nice section on nutrition that is helpful and informative for those new to whole foods cooking. I recommend this book to anyone looking for delicious meals for their families.

A little bit of background: I'm a middle-aged, martini-swilling, cigar-puffing, steak-chomping foodie who had long dismissed vegetarian and 'healthy' cuisine as the province of annoying, self-righteous, Birkenstock-wearing, humorless 'food nazis'. Unfortunately, I'm getting to the age where I'm starting to pay the price for my Falstaffian appetites. My wife seems to love me more than my life insurance policy, so she gave me this book. I love to cook, and before this, my only foray into 'healthy' cuisine was a 'healthy cuisine' cookbook by Graham Kerr (of the "Galloping Gourmet" fame). That was a disaster, with recipes that made unadorned rice cakes look flavorful by comparison.

"Feeding the Whole Family" is nothing short of a miracle! Ms. Lair's recipes have delightfully complex flavor profiles, and are hearty, while being low-fat, and often meat-free! You owe it to yourself to check out such gems as the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Red Bean & Quinoa Chili, and the Nut Burger. Both your palate AND your heart will thank you!!

I bought this book (with the old purple cover -- Feeding the Whole Family: Whole Foods Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents) when my girls were babies. They're now 11 and 9, and we still go back to it for certain beloved recipes, especially the beet salad, the one with the greens -- the only way my family can really enjoy beets, and we really enjoy this salad. It is one of the few family cookbooks that has healthy recipes my children actually liked (they like a lot of healthy food, but many family cookbooks have a lot of fat, meat, white flour, and sweets, and feel the need to disguise vegetables). I took the ideas on breaking down a meal to feed parents, toddlers, and infants, and applied them to other foods. I highly recommend this book -- I'm back here because I'm considering getting some copies for family members with young children.

Recipes are good; nice introductory section with suggestions for feeding children... from first introduced solids and issues (or non-issues) with allergies, to toddlerhood and pickiness, and beyond. Nice coverage of why it is important to feed whole foods to kids; not only for their current health but also to help them form good eating habits and tastes. Also talks about parent/caregivers as role models for eating and how important that is. Suggestions for making foods fun for younger kids and for cooking together.

Generally a good variety of food types included. Most recipes are pretty simple and easily modifiable for taste. There is a section explaining different kinds of whole grains and other whole foods.

It is a little heavy on Asian influence. My family loves Asian cuisine, so that works for us, but for a family that isn't so into Asian inspired foods, they wouldn't get as much out of it.

I'd also personally like a little more explanation about baking with whole grains, but that's not really what this book is about.

Overall, I think this is an excellent book for every family to have as a reference.

This is now by far my favorite cookbook. Every recipe has turned out with two thumbs up from the family. I wish I had this book when My children were babies so many good ideas for them. I had the carrot cake for my birthday and it was the best darn carrot cake in the world. This alone was worth the price of the book but on top of that there is so much information on eating whole foods. This is one cookbook I read from start to finish and couldn't put down. Hope she writes more :)

I bought three of these cookbooks to give away as gifts. I had the older edition which I thought was terrific. I was disappointed by the new typeset and found it annoying to read.
I also choose to give this book to families who want to feed their children healthier. This new addition uses sugar in some of the dessert recipes. The whole point in buying a book like this is to find healthier alternatives to sugar (which the previous edition had). If I give this book out, I feel like I'm endorsing the use of sugar. I have not decided if I will keep this book.

This book is a great source for healthy and delicious recipes. I love the Rosemary Red soup. The nutritional information is helpful too. I use this book often.

If I could only own one cookbook this would be the ONE! I have two kids with Celiac disease so most cookbooks are difficult to cook from to meet their needs (unless its a GF cookbook). She uses whole foods and simple recipes. If there is a gluten containing grain in a recipe she gives an alternative grain that can be used. Not only are the recipes great but she gives lots of info on the different types of grains and veggies that are used in the book. I recommend this to EVERYONE! (and I own a LOT of cookbooks).