Yum, yum, thanks mum. (Feeding Your Baby and Toddler - Annabel Karmel)

Member Name: chucklepants

Product:	Feeding Your Baby and Toddler - Annabel Karmel
Date:	03/08/06 (1218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Many meal ideas you wouldn't have thought of yourself.

Disadvantages: None.

Annabel Karmel is a well known cookery author for children and a trained Cordon Bleu cook. I have often seen her recipes for babies and toddlers in parent and child magazines, which promted me to buy this particular book. I wanted to get some sound advice and some different ideas on what to feed my baby once he was starting solids and beyond.

I purchased this book from WHSmith in 2002. It was £12.99 and worth every penny, in my opinion.

This book really stood out for me, when I was looking for a comprehensive guide to feeding my son. It has a bright cover , depicting a child enjoying his food, some food photos, and the title couldn't be clearer!

"FEEDING YOUR BABY AND TODDLER. The Complete Cookbook"

In her introduction to the book, Annabel Karmel points out that the recipes in her book are 'designed to combine "child appeal" with sound nutrirional principles.' This is what attracted me to the book, along with the fact that it is very clearly set out into different age groups. It is extremely easy to read and to follow.

She also writes about her very personal experiences of losing her first child to a viral infection at the tender age of thirteen weeks. This, she says, although her child's illness was not food related, made her more determined to give her subsequent children the best possible start in life. Her second child, a son, was a very fussy eater which made her more interested in child nutrition. I think that her introduction really gives a new parent confidence that this is 'the book to have' because it is borne out of Annabel's own experiences.

The layout

Before the advice and recipes for the different age groups, Annabel gives a lot of very useful information regarding the following:

Early Nutrition

The 'building blocks' of child nutrition are introduced, and vitamins and minerals explained, along with some notes about food allergies and intolerances.
Advice on your baby's milk , and water are the first things discussed.

Store Cupboard

A guide to foods that you will find useful to have in your cupboard so you can whip up a good meal, even if you haven't been shopping. There is useful advice included, such as choosing full fat dairy products for children under 5, and to be aware that processed foods can sometimes contain annato and tartrazine which have been known to provoke allergic reactions in children.

Equipment

Equipment highlighted that will help make food preparation easier and to aid the child to feeding himself when ready. I must say, that before I had my food processor which I have used with my second baby, I looked for a mouli, an example of which is shown in the book. This is a type of hand operated food puree device which holds back any indigestible husks or skins. My parents and parents-in-law all said, oh yes, we used these, so I thought they would be easy to get hold of. I was wrong! I couldn't find one anywhere and came to my own conclusion that they must be an antiquated piece of equipment now, with most people owning food processors!

Preparing Baby Food

This shows a variety of ways to blend and puree, again, showing the evasive mouli as well as a food processor. Annabel also points out the cooking techniques, boiling, steaming, microwaving and baking. ( since writing this review, I have realised that Annabel has included some addresses of Kitchen suppliers, who may sell moulis, but when I was looking for one, I did not find one easily without this information).

Freezing and Reheating

Useful tips featured here, such as freezing batch cooked purees in ice-cube trays and freezing, so you only need to use a couple of cubes of food at a time. (for tiny tummies)

Food Hygiene

Basic hygiene advice such as sterilising methods and food safety tips.


Now the main chapters of the book are set out in age groups.

~~~~~~~~~~ 4-6 months ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think this is the chapter I read and re read with my first child. I think most new parents are obsessed with 'getting it right' , and this is in a really easy to read and understand format which is encouraging to the new parent, rather than purely instructive. Annabel's style is very precise with the health aspects, such as pointing out not to introduce possible allergy inducing foods too soon. She does, however, instill a sense of confidence that you, as the parent can trust your instincts, for instance, not to be rushed into introducing solids too soon. Take it gently, and don't be too anxious.

There are a lot of interesting health and safety points in this section. For example: Do not add any salt to foods as immature kidneys can be strained and cause dehydration. Do not add honey as it carries a slight risk of botulism infection to babies. Do not save half eaten food as bacteria from the saliva on the spoon will be present.

Ideal first foods are clearly presented with lovely bright pictures of the foods and what they look like as a puree on the spoon! This includes vegetable and fruit purees as well as baby rice. My children never liked baby rice. I just started them on the fruit and vegetable purees from the start. There are very simple recipes for puree blends in this section which couldn't be easier to follow. Annabel highlights the nutritional benefits of each food and gives ideas on which blend nicely with each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6-9 months. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moving on from purees. This chapter shows how baby's diet can become a little more exciting, as fish and meat can be introduced, along with bread and cereals, dairy products, eggs, and lumpier, or hand-held foods.

There is also advice for parents who follow a vegetarian diet themselves, which I think is a very good section to add. There is sound, nutritional advice on how to give your vegetarian child the best from their food.

A few recipe examples from this chapter are: Dried apricots with semolina, (which my son loved) , fish with carrots and orange (my son refused to eat!), and butternut squash and apple (loved by both children).
When my son was little I was quite excited to try out these recipes. However, I was quite disappointed when he refused to eat my fish and orange creation, after lovingly preparing it for him! I haven't actually made that since, but now I have more confidence in my abilities, I tend to create my own. He is three now, and both he and my daughter love fish pie, so I make that quite alot! I tried not to worry about my children refusing things to start with, but kept offering them different tastes and textures. Luckily my son is not fussy at all now and eats more of a variety of foods than my husband!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-12 months ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annabel explains that at this age, the main focus of your child's meal are solid foods. Chopped or mashed foods can replace purees and he may insist on feeding himself. (not my lazy boy though! My daughter is more independent on this one!)

It is highlighted in this chapter that iron is important in the diet more now because the baby's initial iron store is depleted after 6 months of age. Iron rich-foods include egg yolk (well cooked), oily fish, lentils, dried apricots, cabbage.

Teething and dental hygiene is also mentioned. Finger foods may be more appealing now because teeth are coming through, but do not leave your child alone with any food for risk of choking.

There are lots of ideas for more inventive meals in this chapter to include meals and also finger foods. My son loved the cheesy pasta stars, and he is a big fan of red, yellow and orange pepper sticks for dips or on their own. I have always loved peppers so I always have some in the fridge. I remember going round the supermarket with my son once, buying a red pepper.He took one from the shelf and took an enormous bite. What a lovely juicy grin he was wearing too!

More exapmles of recipes from this chapter are: Fruity baby muesli, quick chicken couscous, baby's bolognese.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12-18 months ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From this age it gets easier for your child to eat the same meals as adults. The recipes are intended to appeal to children but also suit the taste of the whole family. This appeals to me because we can all eat the same thing but have some fun with it too. Annabel points out that children do have different nutritional needs to adults so you still need to be aware. For example, adult fat and fibre advice would not apply to a child. This is well explained here.

Foods during illnesses, consipation, and regression, are also explored here.

This is the chapter where the food positively bursts from the page to tantalise your tastebuds. There are loads of lovely glossy pictures of the foods which really make it tempting to try out for yourself. The foods are exciting looking but very easy to create.

Some ideas from this section are: Root vegetable chips (a great favourite in our house with young and old!), Bow-tie pasta with ham and peas, chicken sausage snails (haven't tried these, but I might do now as the picture is so cute!), Jelly boats.

My son, daughter and I had so much fun making jelly boats. They are so simple and tasty and look fantastic! Ours were a little different to the featured boats. Instead of putting triangles of rice paper on cocktail sticks for sails, we put in Cocktail umbrellas! (Del-boy boats!) Annabel suggests using the juice from the oranges as a drink, but I made some shaped, orange juice ice-cubes with ours.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 18 months - 2 years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still encouraging new tastes so your child has a varied diet, as tastes are decided early in life. This chapter tries to give some creative ideas because, as the author knows from personal experience, there may be periods of faddy or erratic eating. There are ideas for 'fast' foods which should encourage a reluctant child to try new foods. I personally, really like these later chapters because your toddler can join in with the creations. This is definitely a way to help them try out new things as they will always want to try their own creation.

Annabel highlights that as your child becomes more independent, you may need some 'strategies' and there is advice here for coping with tantrums, fussy eaters, sociable mealtimes, and limiting sugary foods.

There are loads of photos of food made in to funny faces, pinwheel sandwiches (which are a great hit in our house), and usage of colour at mealtimes which is a big deal. If your food looks attractive, then your toddler will be more likely to eat it.

My son loves making his own sandwiches using different shaped pastry cutters. He also likes rolling up jam sarnies and cutting them up into pinwheels, like a quick swiss roll.

A taster of recipes from this section: Mini pizzas, Sweet and sour vegetable stir-fry, Multi coloured rice with kidney beans, salmon starfish, crunchy chicken fingers, banana muffins, and many more tasty ideas. The colourful pictures really make an impression and give instant ideas, even if you don't have the time to create a whole menu! I find that I often browse through, just to get some ideas and then create my own versions with what I have in the house at the time.


~~~~~~~~~ 2-3 years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are lots of ideas here on how your child can join in with food preparation which will develop a good interest in food. There are ideas for quick fix energy foods for a growing, active child, and also advice on obesity.

Foods to make you smile are always a hit. What a simple idea: A 'mock fried egg', which is some vanilla yoghurt on a plate with half an apricot on top!
There are lots of fantastic bright photographs of the food, with the children joining in and enjoying themselves. Here we see some ideas for party cakes and savoury nibbles. Also more meal ideas. Eg: Heart shaped chicken nuggets, chicken caterpillar kebebs (not made with real caterpillars!), hungarian goulash, tasty meatballs.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 3-5 years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At this age, you may have a little less control over what your child eats, if they are at Nursery or school. This chapter encourages to stick with a varied diet and to give your child a good breakfast.
Annabel points out that parents need to practice what they preach as far as food is concerned!
International tastes are introduced, with tasty ideas such as beef tacos, paella, and 'sleeping canelloni' which you will see how to make in the book. (they have little mushroom faces and olive feet.. cute!) There is a recipe for Chewy apricot and chocolate cereal bars which I think I will have a go at soon.

~~~~ Menu Planners ~~~~

At the end of the book, there are menu planners which are really handy little charts. They are separated into the various age groups and give a 'quick glance' suggested weekly menu for your little one. They are intended to give you help with varying your child's weekly diet. I have found these quite handy when in a rush, but more useful for the early weaning stages rather than toddler age.


There are some useful addresses on the last page of the book:
Action Against Allergy
The Anaphylaxis Campaign
British Dietetic Association
The Coeliac Society
The Food Comission
The Vegetarian Society
Cooking For Children
Lakeland ltd
Squires Kitchen

Annabel Karmel's Feeding Your Baby and Toddler, is published by Dorling Kindersley Limited.

I have found this book to be the most useful baby and toddler cookery book I have in my bookcase. I refer to this the most because it covers such a broad range of ages and offers what I believe to be sound nutritional advice. As I have previously said, there are many ideas I get from the book, even if I do not follow the recipes to the letter. Annabel Karmel writes in a style that is extremely informative, but you can also believe what she says because she is a parent of three herself, and has written this book using her own experiences.

I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone with a baby or toddler.

Thank you. Joanna.

Please note: This review has appeared on Ciao.co.uk under my username lipsalve. It is my own work about my own experiences.

Summary: Annabel Karmel helps you feel confident about feeding your child.