New Vegetarian Baby

by Sharon K. Yntema, Christine H. Beard

An all-new edition of America's favorite guide to bringing up baby as a vegetarian, this book incorporates all the latest information to answer questions and lay to rest any lingering doubts about a vegetarian regimen for infants.

Genres: Parenting, Food, Vegetarian

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the 1991 edition of this book and the information is surprisingly still really relevant. Lots of useful little facts to help raise a healthy baby.

[Allie Sanfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book while I was pregnant and though I read most of it during my pregnancy, most of the information got "lost" in the first few months of my sons life. Now that he is eating solids, it's become more important to me to read this book (since we are raising him vegetarian).

I have yet to try any of the recipes, but a good bulk of the book is actually information on health and nutrition as well as some historical information on various villages/etc. that are strict vegetarians. What's more, it's very positive towards long-term breastfeeding, which I haven't found in a lot of books (Also, especially helpful since I plan on letting our son "self-ween").

Great, so far and I look forward to making some of the recipes (which can be made for family, too, not just babes.)

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read. There was lots of good nutritional information and cited research to back up the facts. I've been vegetarian for over 15 years but I didn't want to try raising my daughter that way until I brushed up on my nutrition knowledge. After reading this book I am more confident starting my daughter on solid foods. I REALLY wish there was new edition but luckily with the internet you can take the research that was done a few years back and check it against current medical journal articles, etc. Also, this book leans heavy on choosing veganism (as opposed to vegetarianism). The only other book I have found that has related content is Super Baby Food. I give that one 5 stars because it has more practical applications (recipes, how to make baby cereal, other fun things of interest), however you really need both because NEW Vegetarian Baby has better research.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little bit dated, as some of the thinking regarding allergies and food introductions has changed since it was last updated in 1999. I like that there are chapters for specific nutrients and how to get them, but this whole thing was a tiny bit vegan propaganda-ish for my liking. I mean, every single testamonial in it was parents who were weaning their babies to a vegan diet. Also, I feel like it over-relies on soy a bit, and I try not to do too much soy because of the estrogen issues. I'd love to see a similar book with a more recent publication date and less pressure to go vegan.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading New Vegetarian Baby when our daughter was a few months old. My wife and I had been happily, healthy vegetarians for a decade and were trying to decide how we would feed our little girl. When I started, I thought I was keen to read about all the nutritional facts and figures, but to be honest, this book scared me off. I didn't actually finish it. Although it's not New Vegetarian Baby's goal, it left me feeling that doing vegetarianism responsibly when the baby's not old enough to think for herself was all too hard. We chose to feed her meat instead.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the definitive books on vegetarian diets for babies and toddlers. Most of this book is sort of a "why you should do this" and "how you can tell family and doctors that yes this is possible" which is less what I needed out of it. There's essentially one chapter that I found useful, and that was the one on what foods to feed your baby when they start eating solid foods and how to prepare them.

I bet if I didn't have this book then common sense would have served me well, too.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would only recommend this to someone who is thinking of adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet, or debating whether to raise a child that way. For long time vegetarians, or those already fairly steeped in the nutritional basics, I did not find it very useful.

[Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, so informative and helpful, but a bit too researchy/education focused and not quite easy enough for a late night mom to little ones book. I love it, but haven't finished yet because it was just too dense for my exhausted mama self to finish sometimes.

[Emily Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly quick read (would be quicker if I wasn't so busy with this vegetarian baby ;) and contains good information. I liked the examples of meal plans for babies under a year and short examples of families raising their children veg.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Still a bit outdated, but good info.

[Angelica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for getting the basics on how to feed your baby a vegetarian diet. I think I like "Super Baby Food" better though.