The Baby & Toddler Cookbook: Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start

by Karen Ansel, Charity Ferreira

More than ninety easy recipes for fresh, delicious foods designed to help children between three months and three years grow up healthy, happy, and strong. Making homemade meals for babies and toddlers is the best way to ensure they’re getting the nutrition they need for a great start in life. Packed with more than ninety recipes and loads of nutritional information, The Baby & Toddler Cookbook makes cooking healthy meals easy—even for busy parents. With Karen Ansel’s meal planning tips, you can make and store an array of nutritious foods to keep baby happy and fed. Each chapter begins with detailed information about the child’s nutritional needs. Organized by age, the recipes show how to introduce new, appropriate foods at every development stage—from starting solid foods and introducing new ingredients, to easing into toddlerhood with plenty of ideas for fun meals, snacks, and desserts. Selected recipes

-Sweet Potato Puree

-Creamy Pumpkin Risotto

-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

-Tofu, Rice & Avocado

-Almond Butter & Banana Bites

-Chicken & Veggie Pockets

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Parenting, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[S. Garland · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like most about this cookbook as compared to others is that it has many "how to" and informative sections; also, the cookbook is more comprehensive in terms of the serving sizes by age, including some "do's and don'ts" for items such as sweets--which I appreciate.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good ideas for the later months such as 9+. Will definitely keep this in mind when that time comes.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I didn't make everything, the cookbook had good ideas of spices to introduce and what seasonings could be coupled with which fruits and vegetables.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, helpful, and aesthetically pleasing. Between this book and The Wholesome Baby Food Guide: Over 150 Easy, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes from Purees to Solids, I feel like I've gone from uninformed to completely covered, with a stack of good recipe options.

[Susiane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This probably sounds weird but I read a lot of cookbooks. I love to read cook books even though I don't cook. I've read a lot of baby cookbooks because I make my daughter her baby food. This is one of the better ones out there and its one of my favorites. I've made the apple cinnamon oatmeal almost everyday this week. Love this book!

[Heather M L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastically good cookbook for babies. It has so much great information, and I find that of all the books on baby food that I have that I reference this one the most. It has some really creative, and healthy recipes, some you would not think up on your own. It's very well done and laid out/organized. It's such a fun, bright book.

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really amazed at how much information is in this book, from basics to advanced it really reads and instructs well.
One flaw, if I can call it that, the quantities of the food that you end up with are generally small- but some of the more advanced recipes should have assumed you might be cooking for the rest of the family and baby.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy to read and helpful toddler cook book. I was having a hard time feeding my toddler and this book really helped me focus of balanced nutrition and what my kid can actually eat at each stage. It is also filled with helpful tips and hints to get your kid to actually eat the food.

[Brenda Christiansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a First Reads copy of this book and am so glad I did. This book has lots of great ideas for feeding little ones. The pictures are fantastic - they make the food look delicious. I am looking forward to trying out many of these recipes.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very bright so it is interesting to read/follow along. It really draws your attention to the pages, it is easy to follow, and it has pictures for some of the recipes. I won this book free through a goodreads giveaway, I would recommend this book!

[robin marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photography, layout and presentation. I wanted to own the book just for that reason! However the recipes were pretty common sense if you already cook from scratch with fresh ingredients and I couldn't justify purchasing the book.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed having a book to help me navigate feeding my first baby solid foods. The homemade baby food recipes were a hit. The toddler recipes are quite involved... I've made a few for the whole family, but they're a bit bland for adults. Overall, I've enjoyed this resource as a first time parent.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay...nice layout, lovely photographs and good info....but nothing new really. Excellent starter book though if you are just beginning to make your baby's food.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT was good, but a lot of the recipes are hard work. While making purees are easy, these take an extra step that a busy mom can't handle~

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book but far less useful than other baby food books I've used

[Andrea Zabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites: Apricot and Coconut Milk Rice Pudding, Indian-Spiced Lentil Stew, Baby's Chicken Chili, Chicken for Baby, Cucumber Yogurt and Milk, Roasted Gingery Plums

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an amazing book! Love the recipes and helpful tips throughout.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good- I read over and over again with my daughter

[cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for chefs of all ability levels. My ten-month old son has loved everything I've made out of this book so far. A must-have for every new mom.

[Rae Hellums · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got so much good stuff from this book! My daughter LOVES the recipes for the 12+ months!

[Floyd Larck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book purchased as a gift. Our daughter is a real do-it-yourselfer when it comes to cooking. We bought this book for her when her daughter was born and she just loves it.

[Suchi Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book useful being a first time mommy. Food purées recipe by months, serving and preparation details was key thing I really liked about this book.