Tracey Murkett - The Baby-Led Weaning Family Cookbook: Your Baby Learns to Eat Solid Foods, You Enjoy the Convenience of One Meal for Everyone

Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a wonderful way for your baby to share healthy family meals right from his very first taste of solid food. He will gradually discover what different foods look like and how they feel, smell and taste; he will learn how to hold them, get them to his mouth and chew them all by feeding himself at the family meal table.

This natural, commonsense approach to introducing solid foods is a hugely rewarding and enjoyable way for babies to move on to family meals. They learn to love good food and it gives them a solid foundation for healthy eating as they grow up. BLW is great for parents, too, because it takes the stress out of introducing solid foods. This book explains why it makes sense, how to get started and what to expect, and then offers delicious everyday recipes to suit the whole family.

Shared mealtimes can be among the most enjoyable experiences of being a parent and, as more and more families are finding out, the baby-led weaning approach is easier and more fun for babies and their parents than conventional weaning. Theres no need to spend time and energy preparing special pures or persuading your baby to accept food from a spoon and theres no need for mealtime battles. Instead, your baby can explore food when hes ready and go at his own pace, meaning that everyone in the family can eat together and enjoy relaxed, stress-free meals.

Its important that the food you share with your baby is as varied and nutritious as possible, so that he can experience a wide range of different flavors and textures and develop a taste for healthy eating. Thats where this book comes in. It will help you to prepare a range of dishes, quickly and easily from simple spicy beans to rice pudding made with coconut milk providing him with lots of BLW learning opportunities. All the recipes are tasty, nutritious and wholesome. They are easy to follow and quick to prepare, so theyll soon become tried-and-trusted favorites for all the family.

Baby-led weaning felt natural and easy, and it was hugely beneficial to our baby.

This book starts with an overview of what baby-led weaning is and why it appeals to so many parents (and babies). If youre new to this approach, or need a quick reminder of what it involves, youll find a guide to getting started and what to expect in the early weeks. The basics of a healthy diet are followed by some tips for supporting your babys developing skills and the golden rules of BLW. If you need more information on baby-led weaning, go to our first book, Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods, which has more detail on both the reasoning behind the approach and the practicalities involved.

Family mealtimes and sharing the same food are at the heart of BLW. Babies are able to copy what everyone else is doing, feel included and enjoy learning about food in a relaxed, social way.

We know that finding time (and energy) for cooking can be a challenge when you have a baby, so all the recipes are straightforward and quick to prepare. Some take only a few minutes, while others can be done in stages. Weve also put together a dishes and snacks to make in advance, which are easy to carry without being too messy. Note: Recipes suitable for freezing are shown with this symbol on the recipe page; those suitable for taking out are marked with .

Weaning is the transition from milk-only feedings to family meals. It starts with a babys first mouthful of solid food and ends with her very last feeding of breast milk or formula.