Rating: 
Summary: Easy and excellent
Review: Just wanted to give my 2 cents. These reviews really help me. I carefully read the reviews for this book and I am glad I bought this book. I found it very easy. Most of the baby purees are probably common knowledge anyway, but I needed someone to spell it out for me and this book does. It has lots of good recipes for older babies and toddlers. Our family would eat several of the toddler recipes. I recommend it to everyone. Making my own baby food has been a wonderful experience. I find that it doesn't take much time. I will cook for about 3 hours on a weekend and it will last for 2 to 3 weeks and my baby is getting fresh preservative free food. The only reason I do this is because I didn't want my child to be a picky eater and I heard this helps him learn to appreciate real food. The book gives explicit instructions on everything from cooking to freezing, etc. I highly recommend it. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Easy and excellent
Review: Just wanted to give my 2 cents. These reviews really help me. I carefully read the reviews for this book and I am glad I bought this book. I found it very easy. Most of the baby purees are probably common knowledge anyway, but I needed someone to spell it out for me and this book does. It has lots of good recipes for older babies and toddlers. Our family would eat several of the toddler recipes. I recommend it to everyone. Making my own baby food has been a wonderful experience. I find that it doesn't take much time. I will cook for about 3 hours on a weekend and it will last for 2 to 3 weeks and my baby is getting fresh preservative free food. The only reason I do this is because I didn't want my child to be a picky eater and I heard this helps him learn to appreciate real food. The book gives explicit instructions on everything from cooking to freezing, etc. I highly recommend it. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful resource and inspiration.
Review: Mommy Made *and Daddy too! is just what a cookbook for families should be. If you are an omnivorous family, this is a fantastic resource for you. Unlike many healthy food cookbooks for families, it does not preach hard-core vegetarianism and offers several tips on preparing meats for babies. It includes extensive nutrition information that explains not only the USRDA for different vitamins and minerals, but what those vities and minerals do for the body. Additionally, they give dietary recommendations for babies and toddlers who are feeling under the weather (a better and more flexible version of the B.R.A.T.T. diet) and suggested menu items for children with allergies or aversions to certain ingredients. This is all alongside a very easy-to-follow plan for introducing first solids to babies and easy-to-prepare foods for every age thereafter. The ingredients are not odd or difficult to find. I would wager you that you could find all the ingredients listed in nearly every grocery store in North America.
Most importantly, the recipes are wonderful. While some of the recipes are indeed ones that you could easily figure out by yourself (as one reviewer stated) there is a very good reason for including them in this book. Sometimes you forget the simple things. Having instructions on how to prepare simple purees bound between these covers right next to the recipes for older babies and toddlers and adults reminds you how easy it is to prepare these foods. When you're tempted to go for an easy out and purchase a bunch of jarred baby foods, open up this book and you will remember that it takes nearly the same amount of time to prepare your baby's food alongside your dinner as it would to pop open a jar of pureed bananas. ...And I think everyone agrees that homemade fresh and frozen food tastes so much better than store bought prepared foods.
This book shows that you don't require a culinary arts degree to make fantastic food for your family. It's both an inspiration to those of us who have already introduced several children to solids and a great first resource for those just starting on the parenthood road. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful resource and inspiration.
Review: Mommy Made *and Daddy too! is just what a cookbook for families should be. If you are an omnivorous family, this is a fantastic resource for you. Unlike many healthy food cookbooks for families, it does not preach hard-core vegetarianism and offers several tips on preparing meats for babies. It includes extensive nutrition information that explains not only the USRDA for different vitamins and minerals, but what those vities and minerals do for the body. Additionally, they give dietary recommendations for babies and toddlers who are feeling under the weather (a better and more flexible version of the B.R.A.T.T. diet) and suggested menu items for children with allergies or aversions to certain ingredients. This is all alongside a very easy-to-follow plan for introducing first solids to babies and easy-to-prepare foods for every age thereafter. The ingredients are not odd or difficult to find. I would wager you that you could find all the ingredients listed in nearly every grocery store in North America.
Most importantly, the recipes are wonderful. While some of the recipes are indeed ones that you could easily figure out by yourself (as one reviewer stated) there is a very good reason for including them in this book. Sometimes you forget the simple things. Having instructions on how to prepare simple purees bound between these covers right next to the recipes for older babies and toddlers and adults reminds you how easy it is to prepare these foods. When you're tempted to go for an easy out and purchase a bunch of jarred baby foods, open up this book and you will remember that it takes nearly the same amount of time to prepare your baby's food alongside your dinner as it would to pop open a jar of pureed bananas. ...And I think everyone agrees that homemade fresh and frozen food tastes so much better than store bought prepared foods.
This book shows that you don't require a culinary arts degree to make fantastic food for your family. It's both an inspiration to those of us who have already introduced several children to solids and a great first resource for those just starting on the parenthood road. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for every new parent!
Review: Mommy Made is a wonderful book! It not only talks about the reasons why to prepare your own baby food, but also gives detailed, step by step instructions, helpful tips and recipes for how to do so. Thinking it would be easier and more convenient, I fed my first child commercially prepared baby food. It was extremely costly, the meats were horrid, and when it was time for her to eat table food, she rejected my cooking because it wasn't what she was used to. I vowed to not make that same mistake with our second child. In only 3 hours every couple of weeks, I am able to prepare HEALTHY & DELICIOUS food for my baby. Mommy Made has given me the knowledge and confidence to do so. It's a great resource!
Rating:
Summary: Moommy Made and Daddy Too: Home Cooking for a Healthy Baby@
Review: The best help for all Moms but specialy the first time Moms. Helpful, simple recepies,easy to follow calendar for introduction of solid foods. I tried every single recepie and my baby loves it and now my three years old, picky eater still loves this healthy , simple meals.I am a working Mom and I use this book over and over again. The best book out there for providing your kids with good, nutritious, simple and tasty meals. A must for all Moms.
Rating: 
Summary: Helpful, but not top notch
Review: The instructions in this book for making baby food purees were very helpful. I'm using a blender, rather than a food processor or food mill as they recommend, so my purees don't turn out a fine as they probably otherwise would, but that's ok. Another plus is that their recipes are not overly complicated or strange, so you might actually be willing to cook them and be able to get your child to eat them.That being said, here's what I wasn't as happy with:
* Some info was just plain wrong, which made me question the reliability of the other info where I didn't know if it was right or wrong. For instance, they recommend you just use tap water because all water that isn't well water is fluoridated. That is incorrect. I have to use bottled water (and make sure it has fluoride) because our city water has some naturally occurring fluoride so none is added, but the naturally occuring level is well below recommended fluoride levels for children. So if I hadn't known better, I might have accepted their advice without checking myself. * They do provide a suggested schedule for introducing foods, but they don't explain why they schedule particular foods for a particular age. Knowing whether it falls that way on the schedule because the food should not be offered earlier or because that's just the way it worked out in their hypothetical schedule would have been helpful. * They use sugar more than I expected in their recipes for older babies and toddlers. I'm not an anti-sugar zealot, but even molasses would be a preferable choice for baby food. It's a good book, but not a great one, and I certainly wouldn't use it as my only resource for baby food.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful, but not top notch
Review: The instructions in this book for making baby food purees were very helpful. I'm using a blender, rather than a food processor or food mill as they recommend, so my purees don't turn out a fine as they probably otherwise would, but that's ok. Another plus is that their recipes are not overly complicated or strange, so you might actually be willing to cook them and be able to get your child to eat them. That being said, here's what I wasn't as happy with:
* Some info was just plain wrong, which made me question the reliability of the other info where I didn't know if it was right or wrong. For instance, they recommend you just use tap water because all water that isn't well water is fluoridated. That is incorrect. I have to use bottled water (and make sure it has fluoride) because our city water has some naturally occurring fluoride so none is added, but the naturally occuring level is well below recommended fluoride levels for children. So if I hadn't known better, I might have accepted their advice without checking myself. * They do provide a suggested schedule for introducing foods, but they don't explain why they schedule particular foods for a particular age. Knowing whether it falls that way on the schedule because the food should not be offered earlier or because that's just the way it worked out in their hypothetical schedule would have been helpful. * They use sugar more than I expected in their recipes for older babies and toddlers. I'm not an anti-sugar zealot, but even molasses would be a preferable choice for baby food. It's a good book, but not a great one, and I certainly wouldn't use it as my only resource for baby food.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Information - A must have book!
Review: This book contains an excellent chart on food introduction and how to prepare them. It also addresses various concerns that Mom's and Dad's may have regarding allergies, serving sizes, breast feeding (the book states on page 65 that breastfeeding is recommended for the first year of life), and other concerns. A food guide is included and examples of how much protein, iron, etc. can be found in foods. There are examples of food combinations for babies and the recipes for older babies sound great. For anyone needing information on when to introduce certain food, how to prepare them and recipes for older tots, this is the book to have! It is filled with excellent information and is an easy and enjoyable reading book. This will become a definate baby shower gift in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Feeding your Baby
Review: This book explains in detail how and when to introduce certain foods to your baby. It is based on some of the latest studies about feeding your baby. I particularly liked that the directions were easy to follow. I appreciated the checklists that helped me track when and what I was feeding my baby. If you think making your own baby food is hard, think again. This book is a must for parents who want to make their own baby food.
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