Hiya I'm a busy mum to my 3 year old and 4 month old, so i've tried many babe products. Thanx for re...
Hiya I'm a busy mum to my 3 year old and 4 month old, so i've tried many babe products. Thanx for reading my reviews!
Member since:30.04.2005
Reviews:12
This author has had 4 children, and states like any other parent she wants the food she gives them to be the best it could possibly be. And you too can achieve that with this book. It allows babies from weaning through to toddlers to sample a wide range of fresh, nutritious and flavoursome food, that sets their taste buds in good stead for healthy food choices later in life.
the book itself retails at about £13 although is obviously better value second hand. It's chapters are clearly labelled, easy to read through and full of great advice and tips to help start your child on the healthy food route. What's good though is its not goody goody in-your-face preaching but honest good advice that really works - my child demolishes any bowl from this we put in front of him!
i read once that the sign of a well used, successful cookbook is the number of food splashes on it - the more you see, the better it is. Let's just say mine is covered! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first chapter covers the weaning process, explaining when and how to achieve the smoothest and safest transition from bottle to the introduction of solids. Annabel explains safe and unsafe fods at this age, shows the nutritional value of each food, and discusses issues like preparation, allergies and freezing advice. It''s at this point that you'll probably invest in a blender (if you haven't already and ice cube trays -trust me, you will)
Chapter 2 gets on to each new food in turn, caling them first tastes. she works through a variety of fruit and veg, including ones I'd never even attempted to cut before - this is where her paragraph on each food and how to prepare it comes in very handy. Then when first tastes are accepted you can move on to combintations, and she helpfully includes symbols to show if it can be frozen, and also a tick box with a smiley or sad face - this is so you can keep a record of your child's likes and dislikes - Fab idea!
at the end of that chapter she includes some weekly planners to help plan out the meals, and times of day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- chapter 3 - second stage weaning - gives great advice on tthe introduction of protein and gluten based food, and the recipies are yummy - I've quite often been caught by my hubby finishing of the bowl (that is on the rare occasion there's some left) again there's a timetable for meal planning included.
chapter 4 is 9-12 months, and includes advice on finger foods, including a great recipe for homemade rusks - far healthier than sugar based ones. great recipes include bang bang chicken, creamy chicken pasta, and strawberry rice pudding.
Chapter 5 is for toddlers, and has the most fantastic collection of child friendly foods, designed with even the most stubborn in mind. she includes advice on how many adult portions it's equivalent too, as the food is good enough to be shared.
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finally there is a detailed and helpful index to find that favourite dish quickly.
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so why do I recommend it? well, I have a child who'll readily eat anything, including things with garlic, basil and fresh fruit in. He tried jars at about 4 months into Annabels book, and suddenly woke all night and was refusing food - now we're back on Annabel he's demolishing his food and absolutely thriving.
By the way, you'll know if your friend is an annabel karmel fan..check out their freezer...it'll be full of ice cubes of the different recipes just waiting to be defrosted.
mmm that reminds me, where did that creamy pasta go....
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Great review of a great book! I swear by it these days! I have two little ones, Amber who is 2 1/2 and Finn who is 8 months, so I cook from both ends of the scale! I find it particularly useful, as my eldest doesn't like meat, and there is a reallly good selection of fish and veg meals! Kerry x
solamarie 07.05.2005 13:53
This sounds a good book, good review of it, Sue
RClure 07.05.2005 13:21
I used this alongside NCT's First Food's book. It was great to give me ideas and get me started but I tended to just throw things together after a while. Ideal for someone like me who didn't really have that much of a clue. LOL. Cx
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