Kimberly Aime - Homemade Baby & Toddler Food

Homemade Baby & Toddler Food

by Kimberly Aime and Natalie Weiss, RD

A member of Penguin Random House LLC

Publisher: Mike Sanders

Associate Publisher: Billy Fields

Executive Acquisitions Editor: Lori Cates Hand

Development Editor: Ann Barton

Cover and Book Designer: Rebecca Batchelor

Production Editor: Jana M. Stefanciosa

Indexer: Johnna VanHoose Dinse

Proofreader: Virginia Vasquez

Photographer: Stephanie Kelley Photography

PRODUCTION, LONDON

Digital Producer: Alex Valizadeh

Senior Digital Producer: Miguel Cunha

DIGITAL OPERATIONS, DELHI

Head of Digital Operations: Manjari Hooda

Producer: Rahul Kumar

Assistant Editor: Etika Kapil

Operations Assistant: Tauhid Nasir

introduction

Congratulations! You have decided to make your own baby and toddler food. In a time when fast and convenient are often considered better, this is a huge deal, and I applaud you.

Here is the good news: making the food is the easy part. For the first year, the hardest part about feeding your little one will be the cleanup afterward. Once you move into the age of the toddler, youll discover your cherub is as fickle as they come. One day shell love black beans, the next day she wont touch them. Then shell love them again, and then shes back to hating them. Its a whirlwind to keep up!

The solution? Making meals and snacks your entire family can enjoy so you are not a short-order cook for a temperamental toddler. This book provides recipes, tips for feeding, meal plans, nutritional information, and pretty much everything else you need to know to make delicious and easy meals for your baby or toddler.

Here are some tips for getting started:

• For all of the baking recipes, you need to track down whole-wheat pastry flournot whole-wheat flour or white whole-wheat flour. The recipes will not work well with other whole-grain flours.
• Seek out shortcuts. Your time is valuable and you should do whatever you can to make this as easy as possible. The easier it is, the more likely you are to succeed.
• If you have the time and the resources, sign up for a knife skills class in your area and invest in a good chefs knife.
• Be prepared for setbacks. It can get discouraging when your little one refuses to eat your homemade goodies. I recommend keeping a picture of your little one eating something you made. Its a nice reminder of a time when she was less picky.

helpful icons

If allergies are a concern for your family, look for the icons on each recipe indicating if a recipe is nut, egg, or dairy free. Freezer-friendly recipes are also marked.

	egg free		nut free
	dairy free		freezer friendly

part 1

feeding and nutrition basics

As mothers, we know that transitioning your baby from breast milk or formula to baby food can be both exciting and nerve-racking. You want to do everything just right.

To make the transition as easy as possible, this section covers all the basics: when to start feeding your baby solids, how to introduce new foods, what you need to know about food allergies, how to develop a well-rounded eater, and the hot topic of baby-led weaning.

part 2

to 6 months

Fun times are ahead! Starting solids is one of the most exciting milestones in babys first year. When your baby starts eating food, you have a great new way to interact together. At first, your baby wont eat very much, so its easy to start making your own baby food. In this section, youll learn what baby should be eating, as well as everything you need to know about making your own pures.

part 3

to 8 months

At 7 to 8 months, eating has become part of your little ones daily routine. Babys appetite is increasing, and shes working up to three meals per day. Now that youve tried a bunch of simple pures, you can begin to create some combination pures. If baby seems interested in feeding herself, its also a great time to try some age-appropriate finger foods. In this section, youll find suggestions for finger foods to try and some tasty pure combinations that baby will love.