First Meals: The Complete Cookbook and Nutrition Guide

I love this book and have used it a lot. I love the format and pictures. It was very helpful having this when I wanted to make food for my son rather than buy it at the store. I used my own judgement as to what foods he should and shouldn't have at different ages and I found no problem with feeding him pureed meats at 8 months. He never had a problem with any foods in here either. This book is perfect for the novice baby food maker and is fun with lots of good pictures and easy to read format.

I purchased this book when my daughter was 6 months old as she was not happy with the smooth consistency of baby food. This book has been a lifesaver. There is a wide variety of easy to make recipes with items (such as parsnips) that I would not have thought that my child would like, but does. As she gets older, there are recipes and suggestions for up to the age of 5, including tips for reluctant eaters. She walks you through preparing your own baby food and how to freeze them. She tells you which recipes you can freeze, how long it takes to prepare and some nutritional information. I love this book and my daughter loves the recipes too.

Salmon Starfish on a bed of green bean "seaweed" sounds a bit exotic for children, however one wonders if a child will grow up to be a master chef if fed a healthy diet of gourmet food as a child. ;) While this is written to amuse children and parents alike, I could not help thinking some of the ideas were too good just for kids. The cucumber flowers on the Cucumber and Cheese open sandwiches looked quite lovely for a summer tea as did the salad and cheese cut-out butterfly sandwiches. As a cook who once used to make alligators out of pickles to serve with sandwiches to amuse my clients (don't ask), I can say, this book has some cute ideas. The chocolate profiteroles & puff pastry mice looked good to me! You have to see the "sleeping cannelloni" where they have a blanket of cheese, mushroom faces and black olive boots. The first thing you will notice is that this book is filled with really healthy food! Sure, there are cookies and pastries, but for the most part the food is made from fresh ingredients like vegetables and chicken breast, etc. Annabel Karmel is a leading expert on cooking for children and also happens to be a Cordon Bleu chef. It shows! Her three children are her inspiration. They don't care if the food is healthy, they just want it to taste good. Annabel has combined "child appeal" with sound nutritional principles. Parents can give their children the best nutritional start to life and encourage their children not to be fussy eaters. After a brief introduction, you will want to take a look at the kitchen equipment you will want to have on hand. An electric food processor, hand blender, metal-mesh strainer and moulis will be pretty common in many kitchen, however, you might want to invest in these items when purchasing this book if you are cooking for very young children. When preparing baby food, you will need to blend purees and a food processor will come in very handy. Of course, you can use a mouli to make the puree as my mom was known to do in Africa, where I don't remember bottles of baby food being very common. There is also a section on Food Allergies & Intolerance. The book is divided up into: 4-6 Months: A guide to successful weaning, with advice on introducing solids, and featuring a photographic gallery of first purees and 14 simple recipes. 6-9 Months: Expert information on introducing new tastes and textures, followed by a gallery of more advanced purees and 27 recipes. 9-12 Months: A discussion of developing dexterity and encouraging self-feeing, with a gallery of suitable new foods, including finger foods, and 17 recipes. 12-18 Months - Explaining toddlers' changing dietary needs and the importance of integrating into family meals. A gallery of appealing foods is followed by 25 recipes. 18 Months - 2 Years: Creative and sensible strategies for dealing with fussy eaters. The gallery shows quick-to-prepare foods for active toddlers selected from the 28 recipes. 2-3 Years: Constructive tips

I love this book and refer to it on a weekly basis. The book is in an easy to follow stage-by-stage format. This book provides wonderful, easy, delicious, and healthy recipes for your baby. Most importantly, it provides useful instruction on how to begin making your own baby food. My nine month old son loves the "Cheesy Stars" and "Fruity Chicken" recipes. I have followed this book since the day my son began solids and it has been an indispensible resource. This book also has beautiful and demonstrative photographs, making cooking for your baby fun. I am proud to say that as a mom with a full time job outside the home AND with the help of this book, my baby has hardly eaten commercial baby food! (I also liked this book much better than Ruth Yaron's overly hyped "Super Baby Food.")

As a first time Mom I wanted to start my baby out right with good nutrition, but did not want to pay the price of jar food. Annabel Karmel's book easily displayed directions for starting the process of making your own baby food. As a mom working full-time, I had my doubts if I could do this. However, I was surprised how easy, and fast this was. The book has wonderful illustrations, examples, and nutrition tips. It aslo gives recipes, the the older baby, toddler, and child would enjoy. A great book--a great resource.