First Meals (New Expanded Edition) Reviews

• Pretty Presentation But Short on Substance

  
  By A3NIXZNOIRCFAT on 2000-08-16
  I've read most every baby food/nutrition book on the market. This book is by far the prettiest: it has beautiful color illustrations that make you feel as if feeding your baby will be an exciting and colorful journey. However, once the romance of the first feeding is gone (and after you've scrubbed dried brown banana off your child's tray for the thousandth time), I fear that this book will get lost in the dusty recesses of your kitchen bookshelf, as my copy has.

  My main criticism is that the book doesn't deliver what the cover promises: "Fast, healthy, and fun foods." The book should be subtitled "Fun foods to make if you are in culinary school and have a whole lot of free time on your hands." Check out these suggestions: vegetable croquettes, apple, mango & apricot muesli, paella, chocolate profiteroles & puff pastry mice. Even the purees are exotic and complicated: dried apricots with semolina, spinach, potato, parsnip & leek, tasty ground meat with rutabaga & tomato. Now if someone wants to really knock themselves out for a special occasion, I think that these menu suggestions could be very inspirational. But, the average parent just needs someone to tell them that they can steam carrots in the microwave with a little water then mash them with a fork.

  I really lost hope when I noticed that they devote an entire page to "making purees with a mouli." Where would I even begin to find a mouli, and if I did, where the heck would I find room to store it? Have these folks never heard of a food processor or blender? Why make life so complicated? I've got to imagine that the authors of this book live a very priveledged life or that they've never had small children clinging to their legs!

  I also think that the time estimates for the recipes are inaccurate. Many of the recipes involve quite elaborate decoration suggestions, yet the prep time is listed as only 20 or 30 minutes. Again, the pictures are lovely, and I really do wish my food could be so inventive. But the pictures remind me of the Christmas cookie covers of magazines that showcase all those elaborately decorated cookies that I could never hope to reproduce. Hey, we are not talking high art here, a good day for me is when there is more food in the baby than there is on the floor.

  Another complaint I have with this book is that it covers too much ground without much depth. This book begins at birth and goes to five years, and it's only 145 pages. With so much space taken up with glossy pictures and exotic recipes, there is not much room to cover any one topic effectively.

  All in all, I think this book might be a good supplement cookbook to have. You might pull it out some day when the sun is shining and you are feeling especially ambitious. But, on the average day, I can think of five other cookbooks I'd pull out before it.
  
  

• Are you sick of PB&J? Are you ready to actually cook?

  
  By A3OF4C5JW83ZKB on 2001-02-08
  If you are looking to move beyond the usual middle American repertoire of macaroni & cheese, fish sticks & fries, chicken nuggets, etc. then I think you will be very pleased with this book. I am a mother of two toddlers (ages 14 mos and 3 yrs) and I am sick to death of prepackaged foods. I checked this book out from the library before deciding to buy it because of the mixed reviews.

  It is very presentation-heavy, but that's what makes it fun to look at and gets you inspired. I wouldn't really make mini pizzas with vegetable toppings cut out to look like animal faces, but I would still use the same ingredients to top my pizzas. Just because the author makes her homemade chicken nuggets in star shapes doesn't mean you HAVE to do that too! But it's a good trick if you have a really reluctant or picky eater.

  Many of the recipes use "exotic" ingredients, like parsnips, shallots, etc. (OK, you foodies, stop snickering.) They are exotic to most mothers of babies and toddlers who can't remember the last time they ate something you wouldn't find in a school cafeteria. But part of the appeal of this book is branching out into new foods, almost all of which are available at your local Safeway.

  Another reviewer complained that some of the food choices were unsafe (choking or allergy hazards), but obviously you have to use your common sense and listen to your doctor's advice too. I found many references in the book where the author warns against giving berries, nuts, honey, etc. too early, marked prominently in the sidebars.

  The meal planners for the different ages were great. Most of all this makes you think about what you are feeding your child instead of slinging out just whatever you have in the cupboard. I don't have any of this fancy equipment (mouli, food grinder, etc.) but most of that is only needed for the baby food recipes. If you have a food processor and a blender, you're probably fine.

  If you're ready to move beyond Gerber pureed peas or Easy Mac N Cheese, give this book a try!
  
  

• Excellent Resource

  
  By on 2000-04-02
  I love this book and refer to it on a weekly basis. The book is in an easy to follow stage-by-stage format. This book provides wonderful, easy, delicious, and healthy recipes for your baby. Most importantly, it provides useful instruction on how to begin making your own baby food. My nine month old son loves the "Cheesy Stars" and "Fruity Chicken" recipes. I have followed this book since the day my son began solids and it has been an indispensible resource. This book also has beautiful and demonstrative photographs, making cooking for your baby fun. I am proud to say that as a mom with a full time job outside the home AND with the help of this book, my baby has hardly eaten commercial baby food! (I also liked this book much better than Ruth Yaron's overly hyped "Super Baby Food.")
  
  

• Fun Food that is healthy too!

  
  By A281NPSIMI1C2R on 2002-03-23
  Salmon Starfish on a bed of green bean "seaweed" sounds a bit exotic for children, however one wonders if a child will grow up to be a master chef if fed a healthy diet of gourmet food as a child. ;)
  
  While this is written to amuse children and parents alike, I could not help thinking some of the ideas were too good just for kids. The cucumber flowers on the Cucumber and Cheese open sandwiches looked quite lovely for a summer tea as did the salad and cheese cut-out butterfly sandwiches.
  
  As a cook who once used to make alligators out of pickles to serve with sandwiches to amuse my clients (don't ask), I can say, this book has some cute ideas. The chocolate profiteroles & puff pastry mice looked good to me! You have to see the "sleeping cannelloni" where they have a blanket of cheese, mushroom faces and black olive boots.
  
  The first thing you will notice is that this book is filled with really healthy food! Sure, there are cookies and pastries, but for the most part the food is made from fresh ingredients like vegetables and chicken breast, etc.
  
  Annabel Karmel is a leading expert on cooking for children and also happens to be a Cordon Bleu chef. It shows! Her three children are her inspiration. They don't care if the food is healthy, they just want it to taste good. Annabel has combined "child appeal" with sound nutritional principles. Parents can give their children the best nutritional start to life and encourage their children not to be fussy eaters.
  
  After a brief introduction, you will want to take a look at the kitchen equipment you will want to have on hand. An electric food processor, hand blender, metal-mesh strainer and moulis will be pretty common in many kitchen, however, you might want to invest in these items when purchasing this book if you are cooking for very young children. When preparing baby food, you will need to blend purees and a food processor will come in very handy. Of course, you can use a mouli to make the puree as my mom was known to do in Africa, where I don't remember bottles of baby food being very common.
  
  There is also a section on Food Allergies & Intolerance.
  
  The book is divided up into:
  
  4-6 Months: A guide to successful weaning, with advice on introducing solids, and featuring a photographic gallery of first purees and 14 simple recipes.
  
  6-9 Months: Expert information on introducing new tastes and textures, followed by a gallery of more advanced purees and 27 recipes.
  
  9-12 Months: A discussion of developing dexterity and encouraging self-feeing, with a gallery of suitable new foods, including finger foods, and 17 recipes.
  
  12-18 Months - Explaining toddlers' changing dietary needs and the importance of integrating into family meals. A gallery of appealing foods is followed by 25 recipes.
  
  18 Months - 2 Years: Creative and sensible strategies for dealing with fussy eaters. The gallery shows quick-to-prepare foods for active toddlers selected from the 28 recipes.
  
  2-3 Years: Constructive tips on planning easy meals for younger children with a busy day, with a gallery showing perfect party foods and 25 creative recipes.
  
  3-5 Years: Suggestions for ways to encourage your child to follow a varied diet. The gallery shows a cosmopolitan selection of dishes from the 20 recipes.
  
  Recipes that look delish:
  
  Pear Puree
  Rice & Apricot Puree
  Papaya & Cottage Cheese
  Mango & Banana no-cook puree
  Creamy Chicken & Broccoli
  Tuna and Zucchini Lasagna
  Apple, Mango & Apricot Muesli
  Banana Muffins
  Strawberry & Banana Smoothie
  Homemade Ice Pops
  Cheesy Bread Animals
  
  A cute cookbook with practical advice written
  by an incredibly creative professional cook!
  
  ~The Rebecca Review
  
  P.S. Look for updated versions of this book...
  
  

• Great for baby, with a few shortcomings

  
  By on 2002-12-27
  First Meals seems to be about how a Cordon Bleu chef, obsessed with nutrition, cooks for her own kids. It is very healthful approach to infant's needs, challenging to the ordinary mom's cooking skills, and tends to yeild a few disappointments the more you use it.

  I started using this book for my 8 month old son about 5 months ago, with great results-- at first. The baby is in excellent health and spirits, after eating home prepared baby food that was easy to make. Ms Karmel's baby recipes are wonderful, resulting in foods far superior in smell and taste to what comes in jars.

  The first sets of recipes taste good: Ms. Karmel is dead on when she gives advice about the foods that babies like. My son really does enjoy parsnips, for example. I am grateful for the first sections of the book, where Ms. Karmel opened my family's world to a lot of new and healthy foods. In addition to this, the charts and suggestions I found dead on for my son's introductions to solids, as well. His pediatrician has approved of all the advice for feeding my son that was in this book, so for my infant's needs, this was a very happy fit.

  Ms. Karmel's recipes for toddlers and older children did produce some disappointments, unfortunately. While the time allowances for the baby foods and purees were accurate, it took me much, much more time to prepare foods in the latter sections than was indicated by the recipe.

  In addition to taking more time than she allows, many of the latter recipes simply didn't taste very good. This was particularly inconvenient, because many of the recipes in these sections are merely variations of each other, sometimes resulting in one flop after another. Ms. Karmel's Tomato Soup, for example, was a busy mom's nightmare. It called for three steps of proceessing and after two hours of cooking and a big mess to clean up, I ended up with soup that was less than tasty. Both of my sons refused to eat it (and I didn't blame them.) Other recipes suffered because they simply call for too much onion, in my opinion. For example, my whole family found the Turkey Balls and Pepper Sauce particularly objectionable, being too spicy and greasy.

  My final complaint is that the recipes are too fatty for the whole family to enjoy. I know that this is good for the baby, but it seems to me that a Cordon Bleu chef can invent some way to adapt the recipes for so that you could prepare meals for not only your baby, but for older kids and adults at the same time. Ms. Karmel should also become more aware of how much time her recipes really do call for, including clean up time afterward. Not all of us are trained cooks working in a well equipped lab kitchen.

  In sum, I like this book and use it, but I think it could be more realistic about the cooking needs of an average family. I don't want my children's memories to be of me slaving away at a stove. I want more time to play with my kids; I'd like to cook once for everyone and get it over with! That in mind, I'd like to see a revised edition of this book that includes more basic recipes for the whole family to enjoy. I would like to learn how to modify the recipes so that my baby can get the fat he needs, but in a format that can be modified for my husband, my older son and myself.
  
  

• Simple and Healthy
  By on 2003-03-11
  Being a new mom I didn't know a lot about feeding a baby. I, of course, started with jarred baby food because I didn't know any different and I thought that these women who made their own baby food were a little overzealous in giving their baby's "only the best". I thought it was a great waste of time since everything I'd read said that the jarred stuff was perfectly fine. Then I had a friend send me this book and everything changed.

  I didn't even open the book until my baby was 8 months old (right around the time I started getting really bored with the jarred baby selection) and now I regret that move. I discovered how easy these 6-9 month recipes were to make and it opened a whole new world of foods for myself and my baby. My baby had no problem adjusting to the new textures that went from strained jarred food to mashed/pureed homemade food. The recipes are great mixtures of fresh ingredients that jarred companies would never dream of putting together. My baby especially liked the avocado/banana puree.

  I was still a little skeptical about some of the foods that were introduced in the 6-9 month section until I went to my pediatrician at my baby's 9-month check-up. I asked the doctor what kinds of food I should be feeding my baby and he gave me a list of books that I should get to help ease my confusion. Wouldn't you believe that of the 15 books recommended one happened to be "The Complete Baby, Toddler, & Child Cookbook:A Parents Guide To Healthy, Tempting Foods for Babies, Toddlers and Young Children" by Annabel Karmel.

  I would highly recommend this book and am extremely grateful to my friend for introducing it. My baby likes almost everything I've made and I am no longer bored with my selections. All you need is a steamer and a blender and you're on your way! I am now moving on to the 9-12 month section and am really excited about the new recipes. Can't wait to get through the rest of this book!
  
  

• Beautiful pictures, sound advice, but how practical?
  By A3DFH4CKPIT0N9 on 1999-12-20
  I have mixed feelings about this book. The advice about nutrition is heartfelt and sound, the pictures as in all books by this publisher are great, and I certainly got some wonderful ideas. However, I really wonder how many busy mothers of today (and that includes mothers at home, as I am) have time for many of the recipes and ideas in this book. When you have a young child ready for lunch, do you really have time to make them Chicken Sausage Snails that really look like snails, or Sleeping Cannelloni that look like little sleeping girls? I understand that some recipes would be for a special day, but so many of the recipes in this book are quite complex. And maybe that's fine---maybe I should be making more things like those! And I very well might try after being inspired by this book.
  
  
• Not as hard as it looks!
  By on 1999-07-20
  This book is by a Cordon Bleu trained chef, and the illustrations look it. Gorgeous meals, but would I really cook this stuff? For the most part, yes. Most of the recipes are simple, though when the author whips out her food processor and grinds her own meat, I don't really think the typical busy mom will follow! There are some recipes with ingredients I don't pick up by habit at the market, but nothing that isn't readily available.

  Definitely buy this book for "party food", if you want gorgeous meals or snacks to tempt a toddler. It probably won't be your everyday cookbook, though.
  
  

• A little short on practicality
  By A27CJO3CS6SHYJ on 2001-08-26
  I agree with many others who found this book interesting, even enjoyable, but not very practical. As the mother of a very finicky 3-year-old and a super-eater 1 year-old, it has not been practical for me. I was given the book when my daughter was about a year old and tried a number of the recipes right away. She did *not* like every recipe, and I ended up throwing away quite a few special meatballs and sausage "snails". The majority of recipes are too toddler-oriented for me to make them for the entire family, but too time consuming to make as an entirely different set of meals for the kids ( and I work only part-time!) I think the nutritional advice is sound, if not always erring on the side of caution (which is fine in my book). The illustrations are helpful and attractive. There are just more things I need to get done in a day than making many separate meals for children allows - so our kids eat what we eat, or an easy, kid-friendly alternative ( and sometimes that is chicken nuggets.)
  
  
• I Returned This Book!
  By A27FO0DBLK9Q8I on 2000-04-20
  Although the illustrations were lovely and there appeared to be some good nutritional information, I felt that it offered suggestions that were unsafe; e.g., offering babies things like raw carrot sticks, which commonsense as well as my pediatrician says is a choking hazard. Additionally, I felt there was a little too much emphasis on presentation than is necessary for a baby. (I know my 9 month old really didn't care if the bread was cut into a star shape or square, although this would undoubtedly be of importance to an older toddler.) To me, the book just wasn't what I was looking for; i.e., easy, nutritious, safe and tasty recipes for my 9 month old.
  
  
• It's pretty good
  By A22AAXKR6KZK45 on 2003-01-17
  This book seems a little daunting at first, especially if you're on the fence about making your own baby food or not. Some people object to some of the recipes having butter or onions. But I took a second look and decided to try some things. The early recipes are very easy. The second-stage ones are easy too, I found out. Most things are simmered til soft, then pureed in a blender. True, there is some butter and onions included, but when I realized that each recipe made several servings, the amount of butter my baby was receiving in each feeding was nearly negligible. Also, I simply cut out the butter, oil, onions, and the like when I didn't feel it was necessary. A lot of these have carrots and potatoes as a base for introducing other things like fish and cottage cheese, so the diet gets changed gradually. Recipes are indicated to be suitable for freezing or not, a big help.

  The author seems a little too cutesy with the presentation. I can't imagine myself making litle animal faces at each meal for the next 5 years. They're just suggestions I guess. So don't think you have to do this whole book or else. Some recipes seem unnecessarily complicated, like poaching fish in a flavored broth. Plain water is fine. Simplify where you like to make it manageable for yourself, and really it's not too hard to make your own baby food.
  
  

• Great "First Meals" for first time mom
  By AR7RB9KN1P0DL on 2000-01-28
  As a first time Mom I wanted to start my baby out right with good nutrition, but did not want to pay the price of jar food. Annabel Karmel's book easily displayed directions for starting the process of making your own baby food. As a mom working full-time, I had my doubts if I could do this. However, I was surprised how easy, and fast this was. The book has wonderful illustrations, examples, and nutrition tips. It aslo gives recipes, the the older baby, toddler, and child would enjoy. A great book--a great resource.
  
  
• Clear, simple recipes are invaluable
  By A1BK3SJSHDFE3B on 2001-06-11
  I own both this and the famous "Super Baby Food"; I refer to this book much more often. I find the color photos to be helpful in determining food consistency and the book is organized clearly and simply--by the age of the child (e.g. 4-6 months, 6-9 months, etc.)--without a lot of useless information interferring. I also like the creative ideas on which foods combine best--offering both good taste and good nutrition.

  I especially appreciate that it includes foods for children younger than 6 months--my 16-pound 4-month old obviously didn't read the books that said he wasn't ready for food!! Thanks to Annabel Karmel's tasty recipes, my baby screeches in anger when the bowl is empty.
  
  

• Glossy But Disappointing
  By A3DE8HMJW812PD on 2003-03-03
  There is no question that this is an attractive book -- filled with large, glossy photos of foods cut into fanciful shapes and arranged into whimsical tableaux. (Canelloni in a sleeping bag, anyone?) But if you're looking for solid, medically-approved information on what to feed a child under a year old, this is not the book for you.

  There are some dangerous shortcomings to the advice here. A lot of the foods are recommended for ages commonly considered not appropriate. Berries, fish and shellfish, egg whites and citrus fruits are all allergenic and should not be served before a year old. Many of these items are suggested in recipes for babies as young as 6 months. The author also suggests dairy at 6 months old -- my doctor, at least, only just gave the OK at 9 months, and some doctors prefer to wait even longer.

  That said, if you take the advice with a grain of salt and consult your pediatrician first, then the book may serve you well. It provides interesting ways to combine and present foods, which for a picky eater, and for older children, may make it worthwhile.
  
  

• Don't waste your time or money
  By on 2004-03-13
  My kids love variety and have always had really healthy, balanced diets, so this seemed perfect. However, I have to agree with the earlier reviews of this book, pages back. I really wanted to make this book work as I loved what she wrote about the nutrition of it, so I made more than a dozen of these recipes over a 4 week period. Therefore, I feel I gave it morer than a fair shot. I threw away more than a dozens meals. They were disgusting, time consuming (the estimated prep times are way off) and called for small amounts of several perishable ingredients. The remainder of the produce was wasted, my grocery bill went through the roof, I spent more time preparing these meals than playing with them or reading to them, and no one would even eat it. I could definitely see the value of the purees, but the recipes for a toddler and preschoolers were very disappointing. I found her information about nutrition and feeding very interesting, but I think she needs to come up with more simple, flavorful recipes.
  
  
• Terrible baby cook book for busy moms!
  By A33Z8Y6U4WTJU8 on 2007-07-24
  This book was given to me as a gift, and as an extremely busy and exhausted mom with 2 infants, I was immediately put off with the images of the food prepared. Here's a list of what most busy moms do not have time for:
  
  * Bread cut out with cookie cutters omitting crust
  * Hard vegetables and cheeses cut out with cookie cutters
  * Julienned vegetables made for wiskers and tails for animal shapes
  * Faces and feet added to multiple dishes using fresh vegetables, etc.
  * Toothpicks added to Jell-O Boats with triangular wax paper (what mom gives their toddlers toothpicks?). Text says put on child's plate, then remove the toothpick sail. Please, what a waste of time and kids do not like things given and then taken away immediately.
  
  This author, who appears to have written quite a few books, doesn't seem to know pediatric standards on when to introduce certain foods to babies. Many of the dishes for under 12 months include cow's milk, citrus, strawberries, orange juice, etc, that are known to cause terrible allergic reactions in kids and can cause a lifetime allergic condition if introduced too early.
  
  For example:
  * Pediatricians advise no cow's milk until 12 months of age, but many recipes are in the book calling for cups of cow's milk such as in the Creamy Chicken & Broccoli dish for ages 9-12 months, Flaked Cod with Tomatoes & Zucchini, Filet of Fish Mornay with vegetables, as well as numerous other dishes before age of 12 months. The book even tells you to give cow's milk at 6 months in the recipe Flounder in Leek & Cheese sauce. Also Flounder is known to often have small bones. I would not give my 6 month old such a dish!
  * Raspberries and strawberries are recommended in this book before age 12 months as well, which are foods NOT recommended by Pediatricians until over a year of age. They are known to often cause severe allergies and rashes.
  * Raisins for a 9 month old? - potential choking hazard recommended in the Fruity Baby Muesli. Not a good idea. My kids, at 9 months of age, would have gagged on this dish for sure.
  * Tablespoons of whole butter (with no suggestion of perhaps a butter substitute) in just about every other dish.
  * Lentils for a 6 month old in the Lentil & Vegetable puree recipe? Babies have enough digestion problems, then give them these kind of beans too?
  * Strawberries for a 6 month old in Peach, Apple and Strawberry Puree? Pediatricians say wait until 12 months, or even 18 months before offering a baby strawberries, blackberries or raspberries or citrus of any kind (oranges, grapefruits, etc).
  * Egg yokes are featured on page 53, Ages 9-12 months, and our pediatrician said no to egg yokes or egg whites until at least 1 year of age.
  
  This book isn't all bad. If you have abundant time away from your infant/toddler, or if your infant sleeps a lot, then many of the recipes are ok, but babies/toddlers probably will reject many of them, like the busy dishes with too many ingredients mixed together in sauces. Also, my kids liked being introduced foods separately that are finger friendly (not sticky), so they can recognize and even talk about them. From my experience, an 18 month old does not like plates of numerous mixed-up foods like the Sweet & Sour Vegetable Stir Fry. I sometimes mix up to 3 items in a dish, but no more (like chicken, broccoli & carrots over a bed of rice).
  
  Personally, I didn't find this book helpful at all as a mom with an infant and a toddler, although a lot of effort went into it. The author should have worked with pediatric standards and experienced moms, and perhaps the results would have been more helpful. I do like the Egg-Fried Rice dish, although the shrimp made my 3 year old throw up (think allergic). I learned from our part-time nanny, who is married to a chef, that it's faster and easier to make fried rice by browning uncooked rice in a pan, then add the onions, thin pieces of sliced ham, carrots, etc, then add water, then simmer (cook scrambled egg in separate pan). Our kids love our nanny's recipe for fried rice and much faster.
  
  Also, the layout of the book is also confusing with essential information hidden in a preface or random spots, recipes overlapping or running onto another page, and pictures scattered about. I like recipe books that dedicate a 2-page spread to a single recipe (with no overlap), and include a section at the top that lists the ingredients, then the total prep & cook time, suggestions for what to prepare in advance to accompany the dish, and lastly suggestions for substitutions. This book is laid out more like an editorial magazine for someone to sit and read while on the sofa or while getting a pedicure, and not for a busy mom or dad who needs to run into the kitchen and make something fast and healthy for their child.
  
  In summary, this baby/toddler recipe book is for a mom who has the luxury of telling her professional chef on staff which recipes to make without concern for allergies, choking hazards, or what children actually like to eat.
  
  
  
• An attractive book, but be wary of the advice
  By AQPHHJC3V91WP on 2005-04-25
  This is an attractive book that offers inspired fare for young eaters. A variety of foods are introduced. The photographs are clear and helpful. The recipes that I have tried are tasty.
  
  However, the author is ignorant of what types of foods may be safely served to young babies. She ignores medical advice and suggests feeding berries, eggs, tomatoes, fish, leeks, mangoes, cinnamon, cheese, yogurt, onions, spinach, and garlic to babies eight months of age and younger. She adds wheat, miniature meatballs, and raw vegetables for babies nine to twelve months of age, ignoring the respective allergy and choking hazards. While her recipes are appealing, I think the age categories should be treated with skepticism by any parent concerned with following current guidelines. The author even advocates peanut butter for babies as young as a year.
  
  I am serving some of the 6-month recipes to my nine-month old. This book is helpful but must be read very critically, as the author's timeline for introducing foods is unsafe, unscientific, and flouts medical guidelines. The section on allergies is cursory and slapdash. This author is too uninformed to trust.
  
  This is a good book for a parent who is positive that their child does not have, or is not at risk for, food allergies.
  
  
• Perfect Solution for "What am I going to feed my child?"
  By on 2000-03-11
  This book is the perfect solution for Moms who need ideas on what foods to introduce to a child, how to prepare them, and illustrations that make you want to fix them. I never considered making my child's babyfood, but if that floats your boat, this book is full of techniques and food purees to try. I'm the Mom that needed the help in transitioning from babyfood, to fingerfoods. I'm still trying out different foods that will give my child a fun food experience and at the same time test the waters of her palate. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. . .a lot of Moms in our playgroup have bought the book as well. You buy cookbooks to use on your family, why not a special cookbook for the newest addition to your family? I highly recommend it!
  
  
• Wonderful book
  By A2WS9TN89Y422P on 2006-02-17
  I loved this book. It has beautiful pictures and easy to follow instructions. It also contains valuable information that other books leave out, such as which recipes are suitable for freezing, how to modify recipes with different ingredients, and how long to store foods in the refrigerator and freezer.
  
  The meals are delicious (I've tried them) and easy to make. They do call for some ingredients that are probably more mainstream in England (where the author is from), such as parsnips and rutabega, but I've either been able to find the ingredients or just left them out.
  
  I agree with one reviewer, that once your child is starting to eat regular table foods, this book might be overkill. But it's wonderful up to about 10 months or so. To address some other reviews -- if you're looking for a book that tells you to "steam carrots in the microwave with a little water then mash them with a fork," why do you need a cookbook?
  
  
• Transitioning Away from the JARS
  By A2RVTRPYZRDM93 on 2001-06-09
  Starting out on solids is both exciting and scary - baby cereal and organic jar food was the way I chose to begin w/my son at 6 months. At 8 months, with a boy who would eat everything, it was time to escape the blandness of the Jar and move to homemade cooking. This book is fantastic. You realize it's not that hard to give your child fresh food if you can freeze it. In fact, for my second child I hope to skip the jar food completely. This book teaches you what to feed your child and when (ages). I love the color pictures. Some recipes are pretty complicated and some directions are not detailed enough but in general this is the idiot's guide to cooking for a child. For me, a working mom (55 hours a week) and a terrible cook, this book was the confidence builder I needed to escape those terrible jars. I hate to think about feeding my son jar food now. And if you have a full-time caregiver, this is a great tool for her too! My nanny now cooks a bunch of meals each week and freezes them for our meals.
  
  
• Bye-bye Gerber, Hello Great Dining!
  By on 2002-10-10
  I made all of my son's baby food ever since he started solids at six months old. After you've made all the standard veggie and fruit purees, you start to wonder "What should I feed him now?" This book is great! I have a 14 month old kid who will happily scarf down a sweet potato/carrot/broccoli mix, who will devour a bowlful of Baby Bolognaise, who eats a healthy muesli for breakfast, and who shuns tater tots and shakes his head NO at the boxed macaroni & cheese. If only WE ate that well! :D

  I sincerely believe that feeding him fresh foods early on gave him an expectation for fresh foods; feeding him pre-packaged foods would have given him the expectation for pre-packaged foods. This carries on through toddlerhood; what are they used to? I'm VERY pleased with the book...my only complaints are:

  (A) The timetable assumes you are starting your baby on solids at four months. TOO SOON! The AAP recommends not starting solids AT ALL until six months. So you're making food for your six month old and looking up recipes under the "Four to Six Month" section. I would like the AAP's recommendations taken more seriously, as it reduces the chances of food allergies for Baby.

  (B) Parsnips? Hey, my grocery store doesn't even CARRY parsnips! Some of this stuff seems pretty exotic, especially to those of us who can't (or don't) cook.

  Most of it is OK, though, and I'm often surprised at how easy the recipes really are.
  
  

• poor nutrition
  By on 2003-08-18
  The author has no clue about the current AAP guidelies for feeding in the first year. She recommends eggs, whole milk, nuts and citrus at very early ages. As someone with food allergies, I am following the doctors guidelines carefully. This book has very little to no use for someone interested in following medical guidelines.
  
  
• Healthiest way to feed your baby
  By on 1999-11-15
  Not only is it easy to follow, by the time I am ready to feed my baby I know he will eat it. I love the fact that thanks to this book, my 10 month old is eating healthy, nutritious, and tasty meals. I would recommend it to any parent who is willing to spend a little effort and time to prepare something right for their baby.
  
  
• Annabel Karmel isn't very wary of berries... ; )
  By AB4IYVSBNXI7U on 2000-11-10
  I love almost everything about this book. From the photos to the detailed directions it's an amazingly helpful book. However, many American doctors disagree with her choice of first foods for babies. For example -- should broccoli be a first-stage food? Should strawberries be given to a six-month-old? Should you really be giving cow's milk so early? All the advice I've been given tells me to be much more cautious about many of these highly allergenic foods. But if you've done your research and asked your pediatrician's advice, the recipes and information in this book are EXTREMELY helpful! I would still recommend this book to all of my friends!
  
  
• Fresh ingredients = Healty & yummy mealtimes!!
  By A3GNLRJDY6JKS9 on 2002-08-26
  I first saw this book at a friend's place where I leafed through it. I love cooking and all the recipes looked so appetizing - even for an adult palette. It wasn't surprising then, to find that Ms. Karmel points out at the end of many of the recipes, how to adjust the seasoning (i.e. adding salt/spices) to suit an adult palette! (This publisher, DK, always has a great way of laying out the text and photos for the greatest impact, too.) When I got home, I immediately ordered it.

  I made many of the recipes, and my daughter loved each one...and so did I! The nice part was that many of the recipes could also be frozen for later, which helps with little ones' smaller appetites. The recipes were easy to follow and took relatively little time. For busy moms I would recommend making one or two dishes over the weekend and then freezing them in portion sizes for the week. All the ingredients were readily available at my local grocer's too.

  Overall a great purchase for those who prefer to offer fresh & tasty food over bland jarred or canned baby food. Yum!
  
  

• Don't buy this book!!!
  By A1SNV2P54JHQAR on 2002-08-30
  I try some of the receipts for my twins. They don't like it. I know that you should not feed baby under 12 months, leeks, onion, heavy butter cooking. If you follow the book, your baby may endup with choking hazard. Please watch out. Don't buy this book. The receipt is not good for the baby. They are not suppose to eat those food.
  
  
• Still using it after 4 1/2 years!
  By on 2003-02-11
  I bought this book when my first child was born in 1998 because I wanted to make all her baby food. The recipes in this book are really good! From the time she was 4 months old she started eating many recipes from this book. Same thing with my now 2-year old son. I'm proud to say that I didn't have to resort to jarred baby food for either of my kids! Of particular interest to me were the tips on freezing baby food. I would make several batches of different things (especially the 9 months and under sections), freeze them in ice cube trays, then transfer to a heavy-duty ziptop bag and place in the freezer. Then I just would take 2-3 ice cubes' worth of food, defrost and feed. We still use many of the recipes from the book. All the nugget and croquette recipes are just absolutely delicious!! Even my husband and I have enjoyed them (particularly the chicken "snails"). Now I rely a lot on the age-by-age menus in the back of the book to get ideas on what to feed my kids every week.

  O.K., maybe I wouldn't recommend this book for those who don't enjoy cooking. All the recipes are "from scratch". But if you're an average or better cook and want to give your children a great start nutrition-wise, this book's for you. I didn't find that the recipes in the latter sections were more time consuming than what the book indicated.
  
  

• Not worth it
  By A43B0V3EG447G on 2006-01-16
  I wouldn't buy this book if your child is past the pureed baby food stage. Much of the book is dedicated to that stage and the recipes for older babies and toddlers just aren't enough to make it worth the money.
  
  
• I barely have time to shower, let alone make these recipes!
  By A2XGV0TDMTU49T on 2001-01-31
  I am the mother of a 8 month old who insists on feeding himself. He won't use a spoon, only his hands, this book has recipes I would expect to find at a 5 star restaurant, but not in my kitchen. There are not many suggestions on easy to make, finger foods. Everything is very complex & really needs to be eaten with utensils. Yes this book is beautiful, but not realistic for me & my family.
  
  
• Both helpful and fun
  By A145JIAR9QMSYI on 2003-06-21
  My sister had this book for her children, and liked it so much that my mom got it for me right before I had my son. I absolutely hate to cook but I find these recipes easy and fun to make. I never thought I'd be making my own baby food in a million years, but this book is a big help. Also note that the recipes for older children can be made for the whole family, and they're very appetizing.

  Many of the meals, especially the sauces, are suitable for freezing, so the criticism that the meals are too elaborate is not justified, in my opinion. You can prepare one batch and divide it up for freezing. You don't have to create the faces, etc., if you don't want to, but for those of us who are less than inspired or creative in making meals, the ideas are great.
  
  

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