[.ca] Mommy Made and Daddy Too! (Revised): Home Cooking for a ... (ISBN 0553380907)

Helpful, but not top notch:
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.

Wonderful resource and inspiration.:
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.

Really wonderful book for baby food:
I went through a few different baby food books before I happened upon this one, quite by chance, but boy am I glad I did. The recipes are so quick and easy to make, very healthy, and they're encouraged me to try new foods I never would have thought I liked! The layout of this book is fairly good: simple, clean design and easy to follow. The only thing I would change is to list the recipes by age rather than food group, but that is really just a minor point. This book has a great deal of information about starting solids with your infant, and even has a great little schedule for when to introduce what foods. There is also just the right amount of background nutritional info in this book: no information overload or boring repetitiveness. Definitely the best baby food book I've come across in my search, and the recipes are fantastic!

Easy and excellent:
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.

Awesome.. Just Awesome!:
I just got the book, and let me tell you... it is absolutely fantastic! The recipies are simple enough and my daughter loves them.. and so do we! I love the fact that , now, I know exactly what she is eating. You have to get this book if you are considering the benefits of home cooked vs store bought baby food.