The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook: The Very Best Purees, Finger Foods, and Toddler Meals for Happy Families: 1

Loved making some of the recipes in here. As a first time mom and not the most creative, it was nice to have recipes made out without having to think of things to make

I’m reviewing this as a cookbook, as it’s not a guide to baby led weaning. That said, I found some of the recipes to be inappropriate (like hard corn tortilla taco shells) for the recommended age, our pediatrician told us to avoid corn chips for a few years. Some recipes we’ve needed to portion differently/cut smaller, like the tofu sticks, fritatas and muffins. So use your own judgement about what your babies can handle. Generally I’d say the book is good, but not perfect about this. With that out of the way, the recipes are fantastic. I’ve made dozens of them, from 6mo-1yr and only 1 has been a hard miss (beef puree haha). Sometimes the recipes are so good, I end up making versions for the parents as well. Freezing leftovers in ice-trays has been a game-changer. It’s reassuring to have lots of options available and has been saving us money. Highly recommend!

Most of my cookbooks sit in the cabinet and collect dust, but I’ve actually used this one quite a bit. It’s great, I love that every recipe has a picture. I also love the family meals section- only wish it were bigger. We have made quite a few of those and they all turned out great. I didn’t get much use out of the purée section (you don’t really need a recipe for one ingredient purées and my son wasn’t a fan of their combo ones), but I think it was worth it for finger foods and the family meals. I could see us using this cookbook more in the future.

The recipes aren’t over the top or necessarily super creative but they are mindful of sugar and salt content and they grow with your child. Everything I’ve tried out of this book has been a hit with my kid

I make recipes from this cookbook all the time. Not only did I like the purees for when my baby was small, but the family meals are just phenomenal now that he's a toddler. We also made the Smash Cake recipe from this book for his first birthday. My favorite thing about this book is that they clearly test all of the recipes to perfection, hence the name--I feel like every recipe has very specific directions. The flavors are balanced and great. I love cooking and that precision means a lot to me. I love this cookbook so much I think I'll end up getting another America's Test Kitchen cookbook at some point.