Healthy Baby Meal Planner (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Many mothers feel that, once their baby is three months old, they should start feeling solids..." (more)
Key Phrases: double chicken breast, single chicken breast, adult portions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Start your baby on a lifetime of healthy eating

Although ready-made commercial baby food may seem just as healthy and more convenient, the most nutritious meal you can give your baby is home-cooked with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Preparing your own baby food is quick, easy, and much more affordable than you think, and it is the best way to cultivate healthy eating habits in your infant or toddler.

Now fully revised and updated, The Healthy Baby Meal Planner will show you that making your own baby food can be as easy as picking up a fork and mashing a banana. Leading cookbook author Annabel Karmel explains which foods are appropriate for each stage of a child's development from infancy to age five, and shows how and when to introduce fruits, vegetables, and other solids into a child's diet. She also provides valuable advice on how to feed infants and how to make appealing meals for even the pickiest of eaters.

With more than 50,000 copies of the first edition sold, The Healthy Baby Meal Planner is the definitive resource for parents, complete with new and improved recipes, time-saving preparation tips, creative serving suggestions, and the latest information on food allergies and infant nutrition.

About the Author

Trained at the Cordon Bleu School, Annabel Karmel is an accomplished cook and author. She has written six cookbooks on creating healthy and satisfying meals for the whole family, and writes a weekly column on cooking for children for The Times (London). She lives in London with her husband and three young children, and travels frequently to the U.S. for television appearances and interviews.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (March 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671750194
• ISBN-13: 978-0671750190
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

190 of 198 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lost My Trust in the Author, August 1, 2000

By	Julie A. Hager (Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would not recommend this book. First, in several recipes Karmel is adding sugar or maple syrup. One reason people make their own food is to avoid just that! Secondly, she has a recipe introducing peanut butter at age 6-9 months. Some experts will say not to feed peanut butter, peanuts, or even peanut oil until atleast 3 years of age; while others say the baby should be atleast 1 year. I must say 6-9 months is very early for such a highly allergic food. A reaction from peanuts is quick and could be deadly! Another thing that was troublesome was she doesn't mention that feeding foods like spinach and carrots can cause a form of anemia in children. I guess it is due to nitrates in the soil. Baby food companies are aware of this and test. Other baby food books I have read recommend you wait on making (and buying them already prepared) these ingrediants until a certain age. The American Academy of Pediatrics will back this one up. The book is pretty, it is simple to read. But I think the author needs to continue her research.

124 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great recipes, with reservations for young babies, October 26, 1999

By	Bookworm in WI (SE Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

I just started feeding my 5 month old daughter "solids" and wanted to do it in a healthy way. So I ordered this book and Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. This definitely is a more attractive package, with very interesting looking recipes I will try when my baby gets older. However, based on the research I have done on the subject, it doesn't sit right with me that some of her recipes for four- to six-month-olds include seasonings such as mint, peppercorns, cinnamon, and sugar. Also, the title of that chapter is "Four to Six Months and Weaning". As a nursing mom who plans to continue at least until my daughter is a year old, this sounds to me as if the author is pushing to get babies off of milk and on to solids as soon as possible. As stated before, the recipes for older kids (and adults) look very interesting--they should--the author is a Cordon Bleu graduate! But I will be getting the majority of my homemade baby food info from the other book mentioned in this review.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Recipes, February 21, 2000

By	JEANNETTE HALLERMAN "JH" (NH) - See all my reviews

This book has easy interesting recipes and a handy meal planning guide. However, there was little discussion of which foods could be introduced at what point and why. I also found that this book contradicted itself in many places. For instance it would talk about not offering peanuts or fish at a certain stage and then pages later for that same stage, would be a recipe using peanut butter or fish. As a new mom I don't know what to do with this kind of contradictory advise.