Review
Contains sample meal plans and easy-to-make recipes with food combinations you might not consider on your own. (Sara Noel The Courier-Express 20071109)
An excellent way to give children a healthy head start in life. (Kids VT 200605)
Yummy feasts for your little one in no time flat... helps give parents their baby the best nutritional advantage. (Georgia Family 200607)
Recipes so simple that you may never buy jarred baby food again. (Brooklyn Parent )
Product Description
Making nutritious, homemade baby food has never been so easy!
Baby food doesn't have to come in jars, and making your own at home is not difficult. Baby food is strained, puréed or mashed adult food - just a different version of the food you prepare for yourself.
Here are three good reasons to make baby food at home:
- Knowing what's in it, therefore ensuring healthy and wholesome meals.
- Tailoring the texture to your baby's preferences.
- Shaping baby's tastes and helping him/her learn what fresh foods taste like.
Whether choosing to make all baby's food at home, or just some of it, the blender is a great way to offer new flavors in a baby-friendly texture. Once a child begins to eat table food, there is always an occasion for a fruit smoothie or a nutritious blended dip.
Here's a sampling of the deliciously easy recipes:
- Six Months and Older: Peach and Pear Bananarama, Melon Madness, Zucchini and Nectarines, Roasted Vegetable Purée
- Eight Months and Older: Vegetable Paella, Humus for Beginners, Chicken with Red Peppers and Corn, Beefy Broccoli
- Nine Months and Older: Lemon Raspberry Yogurt, Over the Top Applesauce, Spinach and Tomatoes with Ricotta, Fisherman's Pie
- Twelve Months and Older: Orange Banana Smoothie, Very Berry Pears, Broccoli and Cauliflower Melt, Veggie Cream Sauce
All the recipes in Blender Baby Food are accompanied by suggested age guidelines. Also included are lots of great tips for making baby food, storage and freezing guidelines as well as the appropriate way to thaw and reheat food. Plus, none of the recipes calls for any of the salt, sugar, starches or fillers found in many commercially prepared baby foods. Blender Baby Food helps parents give their baby the best nutritional advantage.
(200511)About the Author
Nicole Young is an experienced recipe developer and food stylist and gives regular seminars on making baby food. She lives in Toronto, Canada.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface
A month before I gave birth to my first child, I attended a birthday party for a friend's son. I observed the "veteran" parents escorting their toddlers to the table at mealtime and stared in utter amazement at my friend's son, who sat proudly in his high chair and proceeded to eat his first birthday meal of blanched broccoli and green beans, strips of red peppers and carrots, while the neighboring children pushed away everything but fish crackers. What had my friend done to produce this veggie- and hummus-loving pita eater? As I watched him eat his body weight in produce, I heard his mother's words: "I made all his food from scratch." I was sold.
Over the past five years, I have taught hundreds of classes to parents and caregivers about the merits of preparing their own food for babies. We discuss the issues of variety, quality, ability to graduate textures and cost effectiveness. I demonstrate the simplicity of preparing a variety of purees, even for sleep-deprived parents whose last wish is have an extra task added to their baby-dominated lives. All of these details are included in Nadine's comprehensive introduction.
While it has been many years since I had to make my own purees, the benefits are undeniable. I have two healthy eaters, who still enjoy treats but don't turn their noses up at a platter of fresh veggies. I am fortunate.
More than anything, I want this book to inspire you to give making your own baby food a try. May you and your child have many happy memories of the food from these pages...
