Simply Natural Baby Food: Easy Recipes for Delicious Meals Your Infant and Toddler Will Love

by Cathe Olson

Book Overview

When feeding babies, parents need to think outside the box?or the jar. Infants develop more rapidly in the first two years than they will in any other period of their lives. Over processed foods containing chemicals, preservatives, pesticide residue, and genetically engineered ingredients cannot nourish a growing baby. Infants need fresh, natural foods just like the rest of us. Eating well can be easy, fun, and inexpensive. "Simply Natural Baby Food"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972469036
• ISBN13: 9780972469036
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Goco Pub.
• Length: 130 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

this book is great

I love this book. It was just what I needed to find out about making baby food. The recipes are easy and the author explains how to make the first purees and then move on to more texture and ingredients. The best thing is that the ingredients for all the recipes are whole foods - no refined flours, grains, or sweeteners. Our family meals have never been better now that we have nutritions soups, entrees, snacks and desserts. We have all benefited from these healthy and nutritious recipes. But yes - you will need to go to a health food store for some ingredients (thought that's where I prefer to shop anyway). If you are looking for a wholesome, non-processed way of eating, you will LOVE this book.

Will please the whole family well past babyhood!

Simply Natural Baby Food by Cathe Olson is a simply wonderful book. This little gem is a must-have for anyone wanting to give their baby or toddler the very best in whole, nutritious foods. Finally, here's a great collection of baby food recipes and ideas that go beyond traditional jar food and provide our babies and toddlers with exactly what they need, when they need it. Simply Natural Baby Food provides recipes for Starting Solids, Intermediate Foods, Older Baby Foods and Toddler Foods. There are many wonderful ideas for breakfast foods, snacks, soups, sandwiches, grains and vegetables, entrees and yummy sugar free desserts and beverages. Each section provides information about the nutritional needs of your growing baby with fun wholesome recipes. This recipe book is not just "baby food" as the title suggests. With lots of yummy recipes for snacks and meals, this is a book you'll continue to use well into childhood. Things like fig bars, zucchini cake, and carrot cake sprout cookies will please the whole family. Go ahead. Think outside the jar!--Ginger Carlson

great book but maybe not for the mainstream

This book certainly has some mixed reviews. It seems people either love it or hate. While I am one of the ones who LOVE this book, I can see why this book would not be for everybody. Here are my thoughts: "Simply Natural Baby Food" does not try to make you vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, a raw fooder, or a carnivore - however, it pulls aspects from many different diets. There are many vegetarian recipes, there are vegan recipes, there are some smoothies and treats made from raw foods, there are recipes that use alternative grains like brown rice flour for those with wheat or gluten allergies, there are recipes that use whole grains and sea vegetables that are common in a macrobiotic diet, there are recipes that incorporate dairy products, eggs, fish or poultry. While this may sound like it encompasses everybody, it does not. This book is for people who want to eat (and want their children to eat) whole foods. That means whole grains like brown rice, millet and quinoa; beans and legumes; fruit and vegetables; cultured dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese; more plant foods than animal foods; no white flour or refined grains; and no refined sugar. For many feeding your child fresh, organic, whole foods without sugar, articial colors and trans-fats may be too far removed from what they are accustomed to eating. If you expect to be able to find the ingredients for the recipes in this book at your local 7-11, you definitely have the wrong book - but if you prefer to shop at a natural foods store - or at least are open to checking one out (or even an online store), you will enjoy this book. I for one found it a refreshing change from the other books that offer recipes using jello, bisquick, and colored cereals. And that's not to say that the foods are bland-tasting health foods either. My husband, children, and I love the White Bean and Corn Chowder,Apple Oat Pancakes, Apple Bran Muffins, Quick Cheesy Rice, Banana Oatmeal Cookies, Pineapple Carrot Cake, Instant Banana Pudding, Smoothies, and the "Better Than Ice Cream" made in the food processor is incredible. I want a different way of eating for my children than I was brought up with. Look at the obesity rate of children in this country. Children are now suffering from previously adult only diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more. In fact, this generation of children is expected to be the first generation ever to live a shorter life span than their parents. Processed food laden with trans fats, chemicals, pesticides, artificial colors and flavors, sugar, and sodium found in our local supermarkets are not producing healthy, fit children. This book gives an alternative - and I see my children thriving on these recipes - and the rest of my family as well.

Great Little Book

I love this little book. I know a past reviewer criticised the book for being too thin but that's one of the things I like about it. I have always enjoyed cooking and bought quite a few baby cook books when my daughter was very young thinking I would potter around making her perfect gourmet meals but soon realised that there are many days when the thought of even leafing through the pages of those cookbooks is too much effort. I just find them too overwhelming and invariably reach for this book because the recipes are simple but still tasty. You don't need to be a great cook to be able to make these recipes, the instructions are very easy to follow.Despite being a slender volume, the book packs a lot of information into its pages, and still has a great collection of recipes. I never found it to be a problem finding any of the ingredients. I have to admit that even though I consider my cooking to be quite wholesome I had never used some of the items like dried seaweed (you only use a pinch) and ground seeds myself, but after reading in the book just why these things are included, I found myself adding them to my own food as well. They are incredibly nutritious and such an easy way to bolster your child's immune system which I found so reassuring during the winter. I'm sure you can order these ingredients online if you can't find them in a store nearby. You use such a small amount that they will last for ages. And you can always leave those items out if you prefer.The book is written in a very friendly manner and is a nice balance between educating and guiding you as to what your baby's and toddler's developmental needs are with easy to follow recipes. A reviewer below wrote that the last thing they needed was to be making their own baby cereal. Well I guess if that's your mindset then this book isn't for you because honestly it takes all of two seconds to make the cereal, and the jar lasts a very long time when you are using a couple of tablespoons at a time! Not that you can't find good organic packaged baby cereal, (I did try that myself but my baby would never eat it). And there's nothing stopping you from using the recipes as guides and substituting purchased products for some ingredients if it makes life easier. The book takes you right through to when your child is a toddler with tips that help you sneak vegetables into their diet and great snack ideas too. There are some lovely recipes for cookies and cakes as well, which is nice, it's very realistic in that although you want to feel that you are presenting your child with yummy healthy food, there's always a place for sweet treats in life. I'm not personally a fan of soy products which some of the recipes call for, but I just substitute the tofu or whatever with chicken,lamb or fish.I went online to check out the authors website and was happy to see that the adorable little girls on the website who I assume are the author's daughters look like very happy and healthy children

simply wonderful

Get your freezer space ready. Many of these recipes make large quanties, but it all freezes well. I found myself cooking a lot for several days, but since I can store the food in my freezer and use small quantities at a time, I then have a week or so off from cooking. If you already practice eating whole foods and buying in bulk, chances are that you will have most of the ingredients laying around anyway. I did have to pick up a few specialty items at the local food co-op, but I shop there all the time anyway! The food is good, and my husband and I eat it as well. I have seen an improvemnet in my son's sleeping habits since we began practicing the recipes in this book. This is not only a book of recipes, but also a book about lifestyle change. I have learned so much. I wish I had this book a year ago! It is now a must buy for anyone I know who is having a baby.