Customer Reviews

First Food: Preparing Food for Babies and Toddlers

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

 

 

I sat down and read through this book page by page this weekend for suggestions to add variety to my 9 month old's diet. It recommends all these foods that are unsafe by most American pediatrician's standards like whole eggs, strawberries, citrus fruits, peanut butter, nuts, very fatty meats, etc. Many recipes are very involved with a slew of ingredients or those not normally served like leeks or corriander. The bulk of the book is recipes for toddlers who can eat most table food, anyway. You could just as easily use a recipe book on casseroles or the Joy of Cooking. The illustrations lack diversity which made me think the book was already a decade or more old. Look elsewhere.

I purchased "First Food" at a time when I needed some guidance in preparing solid foods for my young child. I sifted through a whole array of cookbooks with recipes geared toward children, but this one caught my eye in particular because of its clear descriptions, down-to-earth information, and beautiful photos. This book has proven to be so helpful and inspiring to me, as a fairly new parent, that I have recommended it to all of my friends with young children.

The recipes are arranged according to the child's developmental stage. For example, the meals for Stage 1 (birth to 4 months)include diverse recipes for fruit, vegetable and meat purees. Stage 4 recipes (children 9-12 months)include a cheese broccoli dish, eggy bread fingers, and cheese straws. The recipes are clearly described, tasty, and include beautiful and descriptive photos.

There are also recipes for "Quick Cakes and Bakes the Kids Can Make," "Family Meals," "Just Desserts" and "Quick Teas" with nutritious recipes that can be prepared under 10 minutes. This has been a life saver! Some of the recipes include a "Speedy Chicken Pie" and "Four Fast Fishes."

Furthermore, the book goes beyond just being a standard book of recipes. Sara Lewis is extremely helpful regarding practical matters, such as freezing food, creating balanced meals, dealing with fussy eaters, and how to cook a meal for both adults and children without having to cook twice. Most importantly, Sara Lewis advises parents on the importance of dining together and enjoying meals. Her style is just right. Not too academic, opinionated, or at all preachy. Just good common sense.

I think this book is amazing. After all the books I have read this is the only one I will use for now. It is simple and broken out by the months, each new month I can see what food I am supposed to feed my two twins.

One person did mention that are recommendations for some unsafe foods that is true but if you are educated you just skip these, like the peanuts, eggs etc... just ask your peditrician if they have not told you already to list you out the unsafe foods avoid them in the book and move on! It is great!

This book came at a time where I was still feeding my son pureed peas and carrots with no flavor. Now what an appetite! He loves the broccoli and ham with pasta, the peach melba yogurt. He's such a good eater now. The recipes are great, the only downfall, I like to make bigger recipes. This is geared more towards a 2-3 serving meal. I use the recipes to get an idea and then perpare bulk sizes of the meals. I mean really who uses 2 oz. of peppers or celery? The only one so far my son didn't like- chicken and celery supper. I just added some pasta and he liked it fine. Buy the book and use your imagination!

This is a great book full of good ideas, easy and fun recipes and lots of pictures. It has been an excellent resource for me and my husband. It's very useful if you like to cook and believe homemade baby food is a good nutritional start for your baby.