Making baby food at home is actually incredibly easy. All you need is a food processor, a freezer tray, and
about 15 minutes. Save yourself tons of money and invest in one of these helpful baby food guides.
Here are the baby food books reviewed so far:
Super Baby Food: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know About Feeding Your Baby
Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby
The Petit appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler
The Baby Food Bible: A Complete Guide to Feeding Your Child, From Infancy On
If you have a baby food book that was particularly helpful, share your review with me and I'll include it here for other mothers to enjoy.
Super Baby Food Absolutely Everything You Need to Know About Feeding Your Baby
Written by: Ruth Yaron
Super Baby Food
is the book I used when I was just learning about making baby food at home. It's a smorgasbord of information. It has detailed
charts to help you know at which ages to introduce what foods. There is also a guide at the back that details each fruit and vegetable: when your baby
can eat it, how to prepare it, how to store it...I've used that reference regularly for years, and is practically worth the price of the book
in itself.
Besides baby food, Ruth goes into how to save money by making other items at home as well. From cleaning products to toys, she has left no stone un-turned.
What are the book's weaknesses?
As much as I love this book, it's a little overwhelming at first. There is just so much there. If you like to do everything from scratch
(including your own yogurt) this book has everything you need. The author is a vegetarian, but she does try to include some pointers about meat as well.
The layout, in my opinion, could use some improvements. It will take time to learn how to get around the book. The information inside is pure gold, but you will have do some mining to get to it.
Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby
Written by: Annabel Karmel
Top 100 Baby Purees
is a well-known source of healthy and in some cases, organic foods for your baby. Annabel's philosophy about baby food is to
introduce vegetables and fruits in a steady manner to prepare your baby for non-picky eating in the future. Most mothers surveyed about this book
reported their babies would gobbled up everything they made out of it. There are helpful "introducing solids" information and lots of pictures for
moms like me, who like to see what the end product should look like.
Unlike most baby food cookbooks, Annabel includes recipes with chicken, beef, and fish purees. That protein is a very important for growing babies!
What are the book's weaknesses?
This book is basically a cookbook. Although she does organize her recipes by age, they don't always follow the AAP's guidelines for food introductions.
She also doesn't pay much attention to allergy concerns, since many of her recipes use cow's milk, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. These are foods
generally not recommended to babies under 1 year due to allergy concerns. If your family doesn't have a history of these allergies, than this may
not concern you.
Overall, I would purchase this book for the recipes. However, I would use a different resource to help you know when certain foods are
safe for your baby to eat.
The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler
Written by: Lisa Barnes
The Petit Appetit Cookbook
(besides having a super-cute name) is another favorite resource for homemade baby food help. It branches out beyond
recipes and discusses milestones, safe food handling, how to read labels correctly, tips on pantry stocking for baby food supplies, freezing suggestions,
and help on turning your "family food" into "baby food".
Perhaps the best endorsement, is that babies and toddlers seem to be a big fan of this book as well! Most moms reported clean plates and bowls after dinnertime!
I loved the quotes from food-experts and moms just like us. It helped to see how you would implement her suggestions in a real-life crazy kitchen.
What are the book's weaknesses?
Some of the recipes are a bit over the top for moms trying to save pennies in grocery shopping. Recipes for "Portobello Burgers" and "Baked Ricotta Cake"
that require more expensive grocery items may need to be skipped over if you're trying to lower your grocery bills.
Also, similar to the 100 Baby
Puree book above, there is not much information about allergies. In the beginning she discusses some of those food hazards, but some of those
same ingredients slip into early recipes. If you have a history of allergies in your home, consider these recipes with care.
The Baby Food Bible: A Complete Guide to Feeding Your Child, from Infancy On
Written by: Eileen Behean
The Baby Food Bible
is less a cookbook than a feeding resource. I especially appreciated the sensitivity of listing foods that you really should
purchase organic, and those you can scrimp on and purchase non.
A detailed discussion about including your baby in your family meals
is also a unique chapter worth reading. It does have some recipes, but that is not the focus of the book. An easy chart details what you can expect
to be feeding your baby during the various stages of his life.
What are the book's weaknesses?
It's definitely not popular because it's pretty! There are no photos and few illustrations. However, this seems to be it's only fault. If you're looking
for information (as opposed to just recipes to try) this is a great buy.
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