Real Baby Food: Easy, All-Natural Recipes for Your Baby and Toddler Paperback – Illustrated, April 28, 2015

This. Is. My. Favorite! Seriously. I love this book. I bought it on a whim as I was in a food rut for the baby and the adults. I have cooked probably about half of this book and have enjoyed nearly every recipe. Two have been ho-hum, but most have become regular staples.For example, tropical pork, HECK YES. So easy and so good. My 11 month old at the time, carried around his pork medallion for over an hour, eating it and sucking on it, he was terribly upset when we decided pork was not the best thing to carry around the living room. We eat the mac n' cheese probably 2-4 times per month, and ricotta on toast, GENIUS! I don't want to ruin all the surprises, but what I can tell you is my guests with children probably think I am crazy, I have pulled this book down at birthday parties, dinner parties, and coffee dates, just to rave about it. Add cute pictures and great information, it is perfect.We bought it as a baby led feeding family, but it has delicious purees, wonderful family meals, and great advice for all types of diets. It certainly helps bring out the adventurous eater in our little one!UPDATE 7 years later!We've added one kiddo in 2017, but this is still a go to book! I still make all the recipes above as well as a few others. Still recommend it to all new and seasoned parents. It really is such a sweet little book, hope you find some recipes you love as well!

Since my daughter was born I wanted to and planned on making her baby food. I just didnt feel good about buying and feeding her jarred stuff that I really didnt know all of the ingredients on. I know it says "just peas" or what have you but there are hidden things like dairy and preservatives in them. I purchased a food processor that is mainly for making baby food, assembled my freezing trays, etc and lastly bought this book! It has such amazing recipes and suggestions, tips in it. At first I was a little intimidated about making my own baby food but this book helped ease those fears and made me feel even more empowered that I was doing what I felt was best for my baby. Shes loved all the recipes I've made and I love how easy they are and pictures are helpful too ;) I can adjust the recipes accordingly to if my daughter is eating a certain food or not or needs it thicker or more of a true puree. Thanks to this book my daughter has the best start with a healthy relationship with food that I could give her :)

I can honestly say that I didn't really think I could make my own baby food, but I'm the kind of person that has to try everything once. So I bought this book and I with it I have already put over a months worth of baby food in the freezer. It really is that easy! So why buy this book instead of just finding recipes online (which is a question I was asked by my sister)? Well here is my opinion:This book has recipes and ideas that follow through the toddler years making it well worth the purchase. The beginning gives you a nice schedule for your child's age, and key nutrients that your child will need. Each recipe has the nutritional values included and a way to add a flavor kick. The recipes are broken up by age (i.e.: first bites, to more advance …) Also, You know how they say "never judge a book by its cover"? Well I did, and I assumed this book was going to hound the organic food only topic, instead the author gave it as another option and was very unbiased. So far it's been a success and I have already recommended it to other new moms.

My baby just started eating solids, and I've used several recipes from this book. There is some good information in the front sections about starting solids more generally. I like the suggestions for added flavor. I think some of the recipes fall flat. E.g., the red lentils are a really funny texture for a little babe just starting out. And I also think most of the starting recipes are pretty self-explanatory (cook food until soft, then puree). But overall it's a fine recipe book for your collection. It also has helpful tips for making and storing large batches of baby food.

I bought this book after reading the Maple Graham Animals recipe online. No stranger to making our own purees, I was looking for something more to entice my toddler and broaden her horizons while minimizing the processed part of our snack and meal time. This book includes some really great recipes, as well as good, non-preachy advice for parents just starting to make their own baby foods. I was really pleasantly surprised by the creativity of the recipes for purees, and love the idea of the "kick it up" and "age it up" suggestions to make purees grow with your child. We also like the "Puree Playdates" - a huge chart of combinations of purees that will be useful as we start solids with our 2nd. The real winners for our family are the Family Dinners - great ideas that we as adults loved, and my toddler has eaten EVERY TIME! Since purchasing this book 2 weeks ago, we've tried Italian Bean Burgers, Butternut Squash and Pancetta Pasta (we subbed bacon for the pancetta), Egg, Avocado, and Tomato sandwiches, and Zucchini and Carrot Donuts as well as the Maple Graham Animals. The directions are super simple, and the prep is not complicated. Looking forward to making more recipes from this book with both our kids!

THE BEST!!!! I've been using this book since my daughter was 6 months old - she's now over 20 months old and it's STILL RELEVANT!! Great ideas for meals for the whole family. I absolutely cannot believe how often I pull this book off the shelf! It's become a staple in my cooking methods and a great way to ensure we have a little healthy eater! Making the tofu sticks right now (they are seriously awesome). And the pancakes - those greek yogurt pancakes are like heaven in your mouth! Such a great resource to create a healthy well-balanced eater from purees through adulthood!!! Can you write another, please?!?!UPDATE: so my LO is now 4 and I have had another baby. This cookbook is still AMAZING and my go-to for so many meals! It has absolutely lasted! Still enjoy making so many things!