Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the money...easy recipes...great pics...yummy!
Review: Best likes about this book - (1) There are some real winner recipes here that my daughter loved - and so healthy, too, (2) the emphasis was on stove-cooked meals, which helped me because I currently don't have an oven, and (3) the pictures made it easy to see what the meal would look like, not to mention that the layout was easy to read and the storage comments helped with planning. The downside - for 9-12 months, the recipes are heavy on leaks and carrots which make more meals than I expected turn out flavored close to chicken soup. But the book is a real winner and well worth the cost.
Rating:
Summary: Great for baby, with a few shortcomings
Review: First Meals seems to be about how a Cordon Bleu chef, obsessed with nutrition, cooks for her own kids. It is very healthful approach to infant's needs, challenging to the ordinary mom's cooking skills, and tends to yeild a few disappointments the more you use it.I started using this book for my 8 month old son about 5 months ago, with great results-- at first. The baby is in excellent health and spirits, after eating home prepared baby food that was easy to make. Ms Karmel's baby recipes are wonderful, resulting in foods far superior in smell and taste to what comes in jars. The first sets of recipes taste good: Ms. Karmel is dead on when she gives advice about the foods that babies like. My son really does enjoy parsnips, for example. I am grateful for the first sections of the book, where Ms. Karmel opened my family's world to a lot of new and healthy foods. In addition to this, the charts and suggestions I found dead on for my son's introductions to solids, as well. His pediatrician has approved of all the advice for feeding my son that was in this book, so for my infant's needs, this was a very happy fit. Ms. Karmel's recipes for toddlers and older children did produce some disappointments, unfortunately. While the time allowances for the baby foods and purees were accurate, it took me much, much more time to prepare foods in the latter sections than was indicated by the recipe. In addition to taking more time than she allows, many of the latter recipes simply didn't taste very good. This was particularly inconvenient, because many of the recipes in these sections are merely variations of each other, sometimes resulting in one flop after another. Ms. Karmel's Tomato Soup, for example, was a busy mom's nightmare. It called for three steps of proceessing and after two hours of cooking and a big mess to clean up, I ended up with soup that was less than tasty. Both of my sons refused to eat it (and I didn't blame them.) Other recipes suffered because they simply call for too much onion, in my opinion. For example, my whole family found the Turkey Balls and Pepper Sauce particularly objectionable, being too spicy and greasy. My final complaint is that the recipes are too fatty for the whole family to enjoy. I know that this is good for the baby, but it seems to me that a Cordon Bleu chef can invent some way to adapt the recipes for so that you could prepare meals for not only your baby, but for older kids and adults at the same time. Ms. Karmel should also become more aware of how much time her recipes really do call for, including clean up time afterward. Not all of us are trained cooks working in a well equipped lab kitchen. In sum, I like this book and use it, but I think it could be more realistic about the cooking needs of an average family. I don't want my children's memories to be of me slaving away at a stove. I want more time to play with my kids; I'd like to cook once for everyone and get it over with! That in mind, I'd like to see a revised edition of this book that includes more basic recipes for the whole family to enjoy. I would like to learn how to modify the recipes so that my baby can get the fat he needs, but in a format that can be modified for my husband, my older son and myself.
Rating: 
Summary: ALL 4 OF MY CHILDREN & FAMILY LOVE IT!!!
Review: I bought this book when #3 was 1 years old. I started making food from the 12-18 months section. I first made Chicken Sausage Snails. I thought the recipe looked so cute I invited my father-in-law over for dinner. I served the chicken sausage snails to the entire family. THEY ALL LOVED IT!! Before we started eatting I took a picture and emailed it to all of my friends. Everyone wants the recipe. I was so surprised to read a comment from someone else that they thought; "How could someone make these snails look like the picture"? Mine weren't perfect, but they looked like snails! And who cares if they don't look perfect. This not only gives you a great nutrious meal for your family but it allows you to "get on your childs level" and have some fun!! I would recommend this recipe book to anyone with children!
Rating:
Summary: so far . . . great recipes!
Review: I have a 10 month old and I bought this book about 3 weeks ago. So far we both love it! The recipes are very tasty and I'm looking forward to the "Family Meals" section coming in handy as our son ages. My only hesitation about the book - the recipes take longer than the estimates given. Nonetheless, I'm not an experienced cook, so maybe my speed will improve over time.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and helpful
Review: I have owned the previous edition of this book since my first son was born in 2000. The food ideas and recipes have all been well-received by my kids and, as many other reviewers have mentioned, the recipes are interesting, tasty and fun.
I wanted to point out that Ms. Karmel also offers a wealth of advice for first-time parents. Many new parents wonder when they should be starting their child on this or that, and she does a nice job of guiding the parents through culinary development. I have had friends ask when they should start their little ones on a sippy cup, and this book suggests a cup at about 6 months. I used this book as a helpful guide to when I could/should consider starting my sons on particular foods or utensils, etc. She also offers sample menus for each age group, so you can get a general idea of whether your child is eating within recommended ranges or not. She offers comprehensive information about food allergies and intolerances, choking and other hazards, and it's up to you to use your common sense and doctor's advice on how to proceed.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for parents looking for new recipes and ideas and also for new parents looking for a little advice on feeding their little ones.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: I love this book and refer to it on a weekly basis. The book is in an easy to follow stage-by-stage format. This book provides wonderful, easy, delicious, and healthy recipes for your baby. Most importantly, it provides useful instruction on how to begin making your own baby food. My nine month old son loves the "Cheesy Stars" and "Fruity Chicken" recipes. I have followed this book since the day my son began solids and it has been an indispensible resource. This book also has beautiful and demonstrative photographs, making cooking for your baby fun. I am proud to say that as a mom with a full time job outside the home AND with the help of this book, my baby has hardly eaten commercial baby food! (I also liked this book much better than Ruth Yaron's overly hyped "Super Baby Food.")
Rating:
Summary: Clear, simple recipes are invaluable
Review: I own both this and the famous "Super Baby Food"; I refer to this book much more often. I find the color photos to be helpful in determining food consistency and the book is organized clearly and simply--by the age of the child (e.g. 4-6 months, 6-9 months, etc.)--without a lot of useless information interferring. I also like the creative ideas on which foods combine best--offering both good taste and good nutrition. I especially appreciate that it includes foods for children younger than 6 months--my 16-pound 4-month old obviously didn't read the books that said he wasn't ready for food!! Thanks to Annabel Karmel's tasty recipes, my baby screeches in anger when the bowl is empty.
Rating:
Summary: the toddler of the house hasn't turned down a dish yet!
Review: I picked up this book because I needed to come up with creative ways to get my underweight one-year-old daughter to eat. So far, I've made a handful of dishes, like the Cheesy Pasta and the Butternut Squash puree, and she hasn't refused a single thing yet! Prior to the book, I was giving her jar food and single item purees, and we were both bored with the lack of choices. Ms. Karmel's book has helped me make mealtimes more fun, and I'm looking forward to making future meals.
Some of the recipes in the book may be a little disconcerting to American readers because of its fairly liberal use of butter and other ingredients considered unhealthy or unsafe for babies in this country. But because we got the go-ahead from our pediatrician to include more fats (butter, cheese, olive oil, etc.) in my daughter's diet, this book was helpful in incorporating them into each meal.
Recommended for those with a good grasp on children's nutrition and who are looking for inspired meals. You will find yourself nibbling off your child's plate.
Rating: 
Summary: Some Good Ideas, But Not Enough Allergy Information
Review: I received the previous version of this book. It is indeed beautiful to look at and easy to use. However, the author suggests lots of recipes for young babies, which contain foods that should be avoided if your family has a history of allergies, like fish and tropical fruits. Our daughter broke out in hives after eating one of her fish recipes recommended for babies under 12 months. We later found out that many doctors recommend avoiding fish until well after 12 months (sometimes not until 2) because it can be highly allergenic in babies. I know it is not the author's fault that our daughter is allergic to fish, especially since our family has food allergies. But I believe a baby cookbook should include warnings and information about which foods might cause allergic reactions - especially those with higher risks. Our daughter is also allergic to mango (another fruit high on the 'avoid for allergy kids' list), and Karmel recommends introducing tropical fruits at a very young age. If your family has a history of allergies, be wary of these baby cookbooks and do not trust that the ingredients are safe.
Rating:
Summary: Life saver
Review: My 14-month-old son has been eating recipes from this book since 5 months old. So far he loved everything that I made excpet the avocado dip. He eats all vegetables, meats, fish, basically everything but will suprisingly not touch any of the prepared gerber-style foods that you find in stores. I love this book and highly recommend it. Yes, some recipes will take longer to prepare but you can freeze them in little containers and use them days, even weeks later.
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