Rating: Summary: This book could make you crazy! Review: I borrowed this book from a friend and found it not an easy read. With a baby and little time to read efficient writing is best. I found some good information in the book but thought the author went a bit over the edge and could really scare people with her rantings about pesticides and other deadly lurkings in our food. I also found it interesting that the author had no medical personnel help with the writing of the book, only a nutritionist from a .com. For now I will continue to look for a simple, well written, non-scare tactic book to make my child healthy meals.
Rating: Summary: Not the best but has some helpful things Review: I got this book because I wanted to make my own baby food for my daughter. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in it but it had a few things that were helpful.The Good: Lists of what you can feed your infant at each new month. Index of fruits and vegetables with directions on how to prepare and store them (this is the only thing I refer to in the book). I did get some ideas of things I could feed my baby that I normally wouldn't have thought of - like tofu and avacado. The Bad: She is very long-winded (it could probably be 1/4 the size it is) and it's not organized very well. She recommends nut products for infants. Her opinions are just that - opinions - and not medically backed. I don't know anyone who would have the time to follow all the advice in this book - for instance, she says you should boil water for sippy cups and then use it within 2 hours and then boil some more. The recipes in it are only for older children - nothing that would work for babies. I bought "The Organic Baby and Toddler Cookbook" by Lizzie Vann and "First Meals" by Annabel Karmel which both have great recipes. I use these books almost daily. They are also much easier to read and have great pictures.
Rating: Summary: Some good tips, but... Review: I love to cook, especially nutrious foods, so preparing my own baby food is a natural step for me. I was looking for a book to help me learn about preparing baby foods, in addition to some sound advice on what to feed when. The book did provide that, but I probably could have done with the clift notes version. Most of the book reads like a cooking for dummies book. And the money saving tips were riduculous - like "save your freezer bags and dry them on a bend wire hanger." Anyone who's been in a kitchen before knows most of these tips. I also didn't get the feeling all the advice was medically backed, but just what worked for the author. So I basically am torn about this book - it did provide some good recipes, but if you already know your way around a kitchen, you can skip 2/3 of the book.
Rating: Summary: Yaron needs an editor Review: I am really surprised that so little editing seems to have been done to this book. There is some really great information in here, but it is surprisingly disorganized. Also, this book really focuses on raising your child a vegetarian. For serving meat to children you will probably have to turn to another resource.
Rating: Summary: Here's how to tell if you'd like the book: Review: I am shocked at all of the poor reviews this book was given, and I hope they don't turn people away from a book that I really appreciated. When I first opened the book, I read instructions on how to prepare and store almost every fruit or vegetable you can imagine (what a great resource!), but also saw things like grinding your own millet for cereal, making your own yogurt, adding kelp for nutrients and I thought, boy am I in for a long read! But what I thought would be terribly complex wasn't complex at all. Her directions are very simple and easy, and I felt she always kept the idea of less time and less money is best. I was consistently surprised how easy it was to put my baby on a wonderfully healthy diet, and it gave me such a sense of pride to do this for my daughter. Still wondering if it's for you? This is for mothers who want to make their own food, but is also aware of the extreme importance of nutrition. Friends of mine who had and had not made their own baby food would gasp at the time and energy they thought I put into my baby's food, without realizing that it wasn't very time-consuming at all and was very rewarding. If these are your thoughts, stay away from this book. If you aren't willing to really read and learn about nutrition, stay away from this book. If you roll your eyes at "tree-huggers" and think organic farming is nonsense, you may not want to buy this book either because there is touch of this attitude. . She never sounded "preachy" to me, she just sounded well-educated, however I personally have strong views on human nutrition and how we treat our bodies AND communities by the food we consume. Also: I'm pretty sure that the comments about the nuts and nitrates in carrots and spinach ARE mentioned in the book. I think some people read only some parts and were ready to ring the alarm bells. If you read further, there are warnings for issues such as those. On a final note: After I bought mine, it came with me EVERYWHERE so I could read a few chapters whenever I got a chance. I bought it for a friend and I laughed because she was carrying it with her in the diaper bag. For those of us who loved the book, we know it's worthwhile. I recommend checking the book out from the library first, and then buying a copy if it seems like something you would really like.
Rating: Summary: Some good information, but MAJOR issues Review: I have never written a review of a book on amazon, but based on my experience with Super Baby Food I feel compelled to submit a review of this book. While this book has good tips on how to make and prepare your own baby food at home (and I found these to be very helpful), there are several major flaws that parents should be aware of: 1) This book is not well-organized and could be written with 1/3 the number of words utilized by this author. It is also chock-full of extraneous information and helpful "tips" on completely unrelated topics. 2) Alarmingly, this author promotes nuts and nut butters and recommends introducing these at 10 months of age. Peanuts are SEVERELY allergenic and can even cause anaphylactic shock, which can lead to throat constriction and even death in children and adults. The information on nut allergies is mentioned in a completely separate allergy chapter of the book and is not discussed in the chapter on nuts and nut butters. Because this book is incredibly dense, it is easy to forget about this reference by the time your baby is 10 months old and it is time, according to the author, to introduce nuts. Early introduction of nuts can reduce the likelihood that a child will outgrow this allergy. Most pediatricians now recommend waiting until 2 years to introduce nuts. 3) This author recommends home-prepared carrots, which I learned from another source contain nitrates and are dangerous for newborns. 4) This author has a superior attitude about her methodology, which is a little annoying. Her only scientific support for her approach is that she has two kids and they seem to have been sick less than other kids. I would buy this book for the useful tips, but go in with eyes open to the flaws
Rating: Summary: Great Advice & Reference Review: It's a little daunting at first glance! But Yaron gives pointers on where and how to start -- 5 pages here, 10 pages there. Next thing you know, you'll have the basics of good nutrition. You'll be ready to feed your baby well, and you'll probably even improve your own diet in the bargain. I've used this book non-stop since my baby started solids, more than a year ago. Yaron very wisely suggests some foods that may seem unorthodox to your grandma, but make sense when you stop and think. And her instructions for making it yourself are great.
Rating: Summary: Doctor-recommended! Review: My pediatrician recommended this book to me when my son was about to start solid foods. He did give two caveats: no dairy, and no nuts, until at least one year (we will probably start dairy a bit earlier than one year, as I haven't been able to substantiate that particular prohibition!) I haven't gotten through the whole book yet, but I am looking forward to starting to make my own healthy, inexpensive baby food. We are vegetarian and are in absolute agreement with the author's advice on diet. We've been duped by the meat industry, not the soy industry...
Rating: Summary: A little over the top, but a great reference Review: We all want only what's best for our babies. I just moved and am remodeling our kitchen, so I can't cook baby food right now. I breastfeed and serve Earth's Best along with Gerber rice cereal with formula ingredients (pumping is a hassle and she still gets 8-10 breastfeedings a day). Unlike the Sears books, which are loathsome and patronizing, however, this one doesn't make you feel any less of a mom if you don't go all the way with what seems like an inane amount of work. And it's really a great reference for what, when and how much at each age. Take what you want, leave the rest. For instance, my cousin purees frozen organic veggies and puts them in her empty baby food jars and skips all the fuss of peeling, shelling, etc., putting food in ice cube trays and then transferring them to baggies.
Rating: Summary: It's Worth the Wading Review: Being thick and text intensive, this book is a little daunting at first--but it's packed full of such useful information that it's worth wading through. It doesn't just tell you how to make the food, it explains the reasons why you should and shouldn't feed certain foods to your baby. This is the only book I've found on baby food which shows you how to make your own baby cereal. It's not very hard, and so much healthier. My only criticism would be that it makes feeding solids seem more complicated than it is. Although it bills itself as the only book you need on feeding your baby, I recommend reading as many as you can. They all give slightly different timetables of when to start which foods. I found it much less stressful when I realized there was no one right way. A bonus: Ruth Yaron has a web site with updates and corrections for her book. She also answers FAQs and you can email her with your own questions.
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