Baby Love: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler

Prior to purchasing this book, I had very little knowledge on the world of baby food. I loved to cook, but had never made food for a baby. All I knew is that after my son was past the initial stages of learning to eat solids, I wanted to make all of his baby food from fresh, organic ingredients. I turned to Amazon to find out which books were the top rated books on baby food and I fell upon this book as well as  Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months . I can say that I love both books equally and I would purchase both of them again. Below are the reasons why I recommend purchasing Baby Love:SIMPLE APPROACH. This book is all about how to make the process of making baby food quick and easy. Although the book provides the "freshest" approach to cooking baby food, it also provides little tidbits to making the process easier for you. For instance, Chef Geoff mentions different fruit and veggies that he recommends to purchase frozen (peas) or pre-processed (baby carrots) that can make the prep work easier for you. Purchasing frozen peas instead of fresh keeps you from having to shell the peas. In addition, baby carrots keep you from having to do the peeling! I'm a busy working mom and appreciate this insight.VARIATIONS. Although in the early introduction of solids it is recommended to stick to one fruit or veggie at a time, when your child is about 6 plus months of age you can start to mix and match flavors. Baby Love provides alternatives to the classic purees that allow you to introduce new flavor profiles. For instance, the "Perfectly Basic Apple" and "Perfectly Basic Pear" recipes have variations that include 100% pomegranate juice. Yum! Even I would love to eat that.UNIQUE RECIPES. In addition to the classic baby food recipes, there are some unique recipes that we your baby will love once they are 8+ months! For instance, the P.E.A. (Pea, Edamame, and Apple) and Carrot and Ginger recipes look very promising.ADVOCATE OF LOCAL AND ORGANIC PRODUCE. If you are a parent like me, you are very mindful of what you feed your child. I was so glad to see that Chef Geoff recommended using local and organic produce if it is within your means. There was also a quick rundown on how to read food labels. This is great for parents that are just starting to learn about organic produce. I did a comparison of purchasing conventional vs. organic produce for making baby food. Even though the organic produce was more expensive, I was still saving a lot compared to purchasing jarred baby food. Plus, the baby food I cooked was only peas, no preservatives additives. Plus, they were actually green!This book along with  Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months , has allowed me to cook food for my son that is unique, fresh, and easy. I believe that by feeding him the recipes provided in this book, I will be able to keep him from becoming a picky eater when he gets older. The more I expose his to new foods and unique flavors, the more foods he will enjoy!

This is a fantastic book! We have made many of the recipes and our baby enjoyed what we have made so far (he's only 8 months old). There is a nice intro with suggests on what supplies to buy, cost breakdown of pre made food vs homemade, and their family experience with baby food. The book moves onto fruits, veggies, proteins, and even has a nice section on meals for mom and dad.The recipes are easy to make and usually fill two ice cube trays full of food to freeze. Each recipe also has an age suggestion when we have followed. It takes all the guess work out of proportions of liquid to food ratio and most take only 10 minutes to make. The chicken soup recipe is delicious and I saved a few bowlfuls for us for dinner before pureeing for baby. The photos are beautiful as well as many of the tips peppered throughout the book. MUST BUY!

I know its not rocket science to make baby food, but I found it really helpful to have a book to get ideas and also to tell you exactly the best way to steam/poach/roast/puree. I bought a different baby food cook book for my first kid, but when I saw this one, I decided I needed another one for my second. This one is the best, since her husband is a chef, I think it brings that extra touch in making sure that things are cooked the best way. There's more of an emphasis on roasting than in other cookbooks, which typically steam. I think roasting brings out the flavor so much better, and retains nutrients better too.My youngest is now almost 2, but I still have this book on my shelf because I like to look at their kids food recipes towards the back.

I LOVE this cookbook. I saw the authors on the Today show and immediately went and ordered my own copy. I was the best decision I made as my baby was nearing the baby food stage. The recipes are easy, make a lot of portions to freeze, and are delicious! My baby has LIVED off of the P.E.A. (Peas, Edemame and Apple) puree as well as the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. I really like their ideas to add a little fruit juice to the purees. The butternut squash is incredible as is the cranberry applesauce. His favorite food out of the cookbook is the zucchini muffin! He'd eat one every meal if he could. Now that my baby is a little older, I'm trying some of the protein meals. He's still "warming up" to the textures, but Mom and Dad are sure enjoying the food! Last night I made the Ginger Beef, doubling the recipe, so we'd have enough for dinner. I will make it again and again. If you plan to make your own baby food, buy this book.

I highly recommend this book if you want to start making your own baby food! It has the perfect amount of recipes and instruction to be helpful without being intimidating or ridiculous. Other books on the subject have hundreds of pages, which may seem like a good thing but is entirely unnecessary. Making baby food is easy, but it is nice to have someone walk you through the process. After you learn the ropes, you will find you don't actually need recipes to create your own flavors; you can use the techniques and proportions provided and substitute or add different fruits/veggies. This book provides a practical, fuss free approach that allows you to use whatever equipment you have on hand (no need to buy a baby bullet or beaba---DON'T!). I bought this and "The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet" based on reviews, and have barely touched the other book...no need except to get more ideas for flavors, and honestly, the best way to decide on flavors is to go to the produce section and use what is in season!

This book is wonderful!!!! It is informative, and easy to follow. There are tips and tricks, measurements. The food is great, and there are even recipes for the parents. Everything for the children can be cooked without any special tools.

Tiene buenas ideas y algunas recetas muy básicas que si no cocinas nada te ayudan. Lo recomiendo mucho! A mi bebe le encantó la de edamames con manzana!

It's a good thing I bought this while on sale for 5$ on Amazon because I felt ripped-off by the author. More than half of the book is "Mix water with some sort of fruit or vegetable and bring to a boil"!! Duh! I know that but I want recipes not how to cook pasta! Anyways...Very disapointed. There are some recipes for the whole family at the end but really, I can just find some free ones off the internet...Some reviews were saying it was a great book for first time parents: I am(was)a first time parent of twins and I still didn't find this helpful after reading so many FREE recipes off the internet. I was looking for HELPFUL.