The reviews of The Best Recipes for Babies and Toddlers below have been written by members of TheBabyWebsite.com. They aren't simply provided by the suppliers or manufacturers, but are a true impression given by someone who has used the product or service. If you own, or have used The Best Recipes for Babies and Toddlers yourself, please feel free to add your own review using the pink link above.
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"not recommended"
Book sounded great, nice attractive front cover tc
BUT
It all revolves around ingredients you don't usually haveand also the recipes arent "easy" as it says on the front cover. In fact they are quite complex
My baby also wasn't interested in the foods I made so I found this book a waste of time and have given up trying after 5 recipes were refused
Sorry not mine or my child's style.
Member review by KATE - mummy to keegan
- review date 15th March 2010
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"Disappointing"
When I heard I was getting this book I was really excited. I'm getting bored with feeding Alex the same old thing and thought it might inspire me. It looks really inviting and inside, it is nicely set out. At the beginning of each month section (eg. 9-12 months) it says what can be introduced and has an example meal planner for you to follow.
However, the recipes are really disappointing. It boasts the 'best/easy recipes' but they weren't easy, and to be honest, I wouldn't eat most of the stuff suggested. I'm all for getting my child to eat healthily, but I cannot afford to buy all organic. The extra pence makes all the difference. We already use lentils and beans because they're cheaper than buying meat but have just as much protein in them.
So, to be a good, fair reviewer, I decided to pick a recipe and make it. I chose "Cannellini Beans & Amaranth" (p.64), purely because I already 2 of the ingrediants - cannellini beans and lemon juice. I soon regretted my choice when I tried to discover what the heck amaranth puree was. I was directed to page 34 (actually, that's a typo and it was on page 32 - I hate poor editing, especially in a cookery book) and was faced with another recipe and more ingrediants.
I started by getting the ingrediants together. I wasn't sure where to buy amaranth, so I tried some supermarkets and then health food stores (one of which had no idea what I was talking about). By this point, I had such a bee in my bonnet that I ordered some off the internet (for £2.49 + £3.95 delivery - £6.44 all together) I got the rest of the ingrediants relatively easily. Except Kefir yoghurt. I couldn't face buying kefir grains and making my own kefir yoghurt (!!) so I just opted for natural yogurt (45p). I searched high and low for "kombu" in Sainsbury's and eventually found it (£3.69). All in, it was ridiculously expensive. £10.58 for 3 ingrediants!
It was such a headache to make this meal. It took me 2 days to make, due to having to soak things overnight for both recipes. At the end of it, I served up this puree to Alex, and she turned her nose up at it. She doesn't really enjoy being spoonfed anymore, so it was a long shot anyway, but she seemed to hate the taste and it was just not working.
I was really disappointed at the lack of finger food recipes. Alex adores feeding herself and I would have enjoyed making her something that she could fed herself. There was finger food for older children, but by that point in the book, I was beginning to doubt my own knowledge on what Alex could and couldn't have.
It's £12.99 in the shops, and I'm afraid, there's no way I'd buy it. The recipes are complicated and expensive, and I felt thoroughly told off by the end of the book for not buying organic, for cooking with non-stick pans and for using plastic containers. This book is definitely not for the working Mum who doesn't have time to mess around with recipes. I wish this review could be more positive! I'm sure it could be good for some Mums who do have the time and effort to make these recipes.
Member review by Amy - Mum of 10 month girl
- review date 12th March 2010
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"lightweight and fun looking"
I was very pleased to get this book, but to be quite honest I have to say that it is a very complicated and long winded book for a mother that has to cook quick, healthy food. The food may be healthy but I would have to say it would take a lot of time and patience to cook some of the meals. The ingredients are a bit far fetched, my kids will not eat things like guacamole I have no idea what spelt bread is, or Adzuki or where to buy it because I know my local supermarket has not got that, also Quinoa is something my kids will not even try The easiest thing would have to be the cheddar and watercress sandwich and even then I would have to leave out the watercress. For a mum with 1 child who is starting their diet off on healthy and unusual foods then this would be great as it has lots of great information such as meal planners and info on whats good to feed your baby or toddler. This book was not for my family im afraid, although I did like the Chicken & mushroom pasta and the berry and yoghurt porridge did look great as did all the pictures, but again there was an ingredient in there that if it had not had said Keifer or natural yoghurt I would have had no idea what to do. It is not a hulking heavy book and it is set out really nicely. 160 pages long including the index.
Member review by patricia - mother of a large brood
- review date 25th February 2010
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"Not my cup of tea"
I was so excited when I found out that I had a new recipe book coming out but when I received it I was disappointed..
The book has a really good front cover which is bright & shows different foods and throughout there are lots of really good, clear photos of the cooked meals, a picture for every other recipe.
The idea of the book is to get you cooking organic, healthy food for you and your baby. Each age range is in a different section with an introduction to each section, a meal planner and a list of new foods that you can introduce at that stage. The book goes up to 5 years of age & includes a section on party food.
The weaning section appears to be really good - my son is 13 months so not applicable to me - as it gives a meal planner for for the first 3 weeks and basically shows you how to make all of the purees. This would definitely help a first time mum who was unsure of what food to give & how to make it.
I found that some of the information given in the book contradicted a lot of things that I have previously read or been told. For example - Dont introduce wheat, oranges, sprouts or cheese until 15 months!?
My main problem with this book is that I dont know what some of the ingredients are! Millet? Amaranth? Quinoa? Kefir? Kombu? (Amongst others!) When making meals for my son I like to be able to make them from every day foods that I have in my kitchen. I would imagine that making most of the recipes in this book would work out to be expensive and most of the ingredients would need to come from specialised health food shops rather than your local supermarket.
The recipes for 12 to 15 months include: wholemeal spelt pancakes and grilled cherry tomato spaghetti. There are only 14 recipes in this section.
I feel that if you are someone who loves to cook with organic foods then this book is a must for you but for someone who wants to make quick and cheap, but still healthy, food there are better books out there.
Member review by Jennifer - Mum of 1 boy 13.5 months
- review date 24th February 2010
To continue on my voyage of discovery through Ford’s newest range I was to spend some time with the latest Kuga Titanium in its 2.0-litre diesel guise.
