Super Baby Food: Absolutely everything you should know about feeding your baby and toddler from starting solid foods to age three years.

Highly Recommended if you are looking for a book with the right information!

DO NOT get overwhelmed by the size of this book. It is large and packed with INCREDIBLE information!!! The author, a mom herself, wrote this book knowing how difficult it is to actually find time to...well...read a book. She instructs the reader what to read and where to stop. Some of her comments are quite entertaining. But in all seriousness, she includes all that a healthy Mom would want to know in regards to what she should be feeding her child. The day and age everyone is looking for convenience, well good things take time. We all need to go into the cobwebbed filled "common sense corner" and think for a moment...if you are buying food for your children that requires you to peel back the plastic top and toss it to your children as you are driving down the road, something is wrong...good food doesn't come in shrink wrap. The book is packed with information...isn't the health of your children worth it?

A complete food reference

This book gave me all the information I needed to make all of my own baby food, but it also is a helpful food reference I use to plan meals for my whole family. It includes a section that lists the most commonly used fruits and vegetables with information on at which age to first give to baby, cooking instructions, when it's in season, and more. It also lists the top sources of each vitamin, mineral, fatty acids, and healthy fats. Don't be discouraged by the fact that the Super Food diet does not include meat. This tells you everything you need to know about preparing all other types of food. And the author does (grudgingly) include a token section on meat that gives you the basics.

A lot of info

I am currently using this book and I will keep using it for my future children, unless I find something better. This book offers a lot of detailed information and would not be a good choice for a person who is looking for a quick reference book.

Pros:
1. Beginning solid foods
2. Month by month food guide
3. How to prepare homemade baby food
4. Preparing homemade "super porridge"
5. Healthy recipes
6. Food reference appendix

Cons:
1. Her opinions and biases (which are stated throughout the book) may conflict with your beliefs
2. There is a lot of other information (i.e. crafts and homemade products) that may not interest you
3. The section on meat is too brief
4. Some of the info is outdated (information is only current up to the copyright date)
5. She contradicts herself in a few places
6. The books seems a little scattered

This book is not absolute, but what book is. I have been happy with this book even though I haven't followed her recommendations precisely. As the author states, you should consult with your pediatrician before using this book. I am the kind of person who likes to get all the information I can and then pick out what is best for my family. With the information I have received from this book, my pediatrician, and current research, I feel I can make the best decisions for my child's nutrition.

Essential for your library

This book is clear and easy to read. There is a lot of information about food in general such as how to choose, store, clean, and appropriatly cook produce for baby or yourself. I especially liked the sections that outline what kinds of foods to introduce at different months. There are also a ton of recipes for baby or toddler. Overall, a useful and practical book for feeding baby.

VERY EASY RECIPES

TRIED SEVERAL AND WERE ALL EASY

Would like to read as ebook

I am interested in reading this book and have heard great things about it. I would like to read it right away and download to my nook, but it is not in eformat. Does B&N have a link to suggest adding titles to their ebook collection? Please add this one!

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book for first time mom

This book has been an amazing resource, helping me to wade through all the useless and silly information that the baby food companies put out there. I learned how to prepare very nutritious (organic) meals for my little one for a fraction of the cost of store bought food. The author takes you through how and what to feed your baby month by month. Bravo!

The author also includes lots of other helpful kitchen and baby info. Its nice to have this all in one resource.

The best book for learning about baby's early nutrition

This has become my Bible as I introduce foods to our first child. I LOVE knowing that I'm providing the healthiest of foods AND saving money. And it's very easy!

The structure of the book is helpful in that it suggests monthly foods to introduce to baby starting at four or five months. It also tells how to prepare the foods, which is extremely helpful. We've especially loved the "food cube method" of pureeing fruits and steamed vegetables and freezing them in ice cube trays, then bagging the foods and keeping them in the freezer for easy to use portions. We buy organic fruits and veggies, and even with those premium prices, we're saving tons of money by not buying much traditional baby food in jars.

The book does not have a large section on meat, but the author suggests alternatives to get baby her protein. It also doesn't mention organic foods much, but that may be because it's 10 years old and that wasn't often an option then. We don't take all the advice she gives - for example we haven't completely incorporated the "super baby porridge" into baby's diet - but so much of the info is extremely helpful.

The book has a lengthy and excellent bonus section about finger foods, crafts, activities, fun recipes kids love, etc. Great resource!

I wish they would release a newer version because every parent would enjoy this book! Even though it's older, it's still a fantastic reference and guide. Enjoy!!

I loved this book and so did all my friends!!!

with my first two children I read it from cover to cover, and would spend more time reading this book than anything else. it is sooo helpful!! - gives you info on when you can introduce each type of food, how to cook it, i loved the recipes. Now with another child on the way, going to purchase another copy (gave mine away to a friend).
i'm sure you will find it helpful!

FULL OF IDEAL

yes, it's full of ideal but i try some and it not work at all. The book don't have any color photo, all the photo is in black and white and in bad quality. i prefer many book by Annabel Karmel, it's have very good recipe and easy to follow. the two I got is "Supper food for baby and children" and "The healthy baby meal planner", love it.

Super Baby Food

This book was recommended to me by another first time mom. Its a terrific reference book. Super Baby Food is full of ideas, recipes, charts, and nutrition guides. I have not, nor will not, be making some of their staple recipes in the book, super porridge or fruit leather. (The mom that recommended this to me did make the fruit leather and did NOT recommend that recipe.) Luckily, there are many companies out there now that take much of the work out of needing to cook baby food. (ie Earth's Best Organic) Please check with your pediatrician first before using some of Super Baby Food's recipes recommendations. Our doctor does not recommend honey until a child is 2-3 years old, but the book has a recipe that includes honey for a 1 year old. There are more examples like this one, so please be careful.

WAY TOO MUCH INFO

All I wanted was a basic book and this book has way too much info scattered every where. You just end up getting a bit confused the books recipes are NOT listed user friendly either and all I wanted was to make homemade baby food...I suggest another book Blender Basics simple and to the point.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Poorly organized, Not too many recipes

Even though there is some helpful info, the book is too disorganized and diluted to be useful in the long run. For a busy parent (and aren't we all) it is a waste of time and money. Look somewhere else.

Here is why:

1)It's very poorly organized, you have to keep jumping pages back and forth. One section tells you what foods are age appropriate, but then the recipes are 100 pages away, and the safety guidelines somewhere totally different. Not efficient at all.

2)Too much fluff, she could have easily omitted 90% of the book. The money saving tips are purely commonsense. And some of the instructions are downright insulting, even for parents who don't usually cook.

3)Misleading title - super foods, except meat, that is. The author is full of baseless conclusions about the qualities of certain foods and meat is "the worst, most dangerous food". While I don't eat meat myself, I wanted to at least introduce my baby to some healthy types. Apparently I am buying another book.

4)Not enough starter recipes - there are no creative recipes for first foods (like blending different types of veggies or fruit), just the basic instructions for a single type of food. But hey, there is an entire chapter on colored food, funny shapes cutout cookies & sandwiches, because that is so nutritionally important.

Needless to say I had to buy another book.

A great start for anyone seeking a healthy, wholesome diet for baby

When I was expecting my daughter, I took a trip down the baby food aisle of the supermarket and became dismayed at the dull colors of the foods and the limited selections for vegetables so I decided to do some research about making my own baby food. I realized that I should write a review of this book when I recommended it for the 5th time tonight. My mom called me for the author of the book because she was telling someone she knew about this 'amazing diet' that my sister and I followed for our children. This is a great book and an excellent reference. I should say that I'm not a vegetarian though I do try to eat a wholesome, plant based, healthy diet. My daughter is 18 months old and I've used this book as a reference since she was born. She is an amazing eater and (thankfully) a very healthy little girl. I bought this book for the information on feeding babies and I didn't find Ms. Yaron's suggestions for arts/crafts, etc. particularly appealing. (that's the only reason I gave this 4 out of 5 stars) That said, the information about feeding your baby and how to make the food is priceless. Now that my daughter has moved into toddlerhood, I have given her some more mainstream (non veggie) foods but I must say beans are by far her favorite food. She could easily be very happy, and nutritionally satisfied, following a vegetarian diet. She asks for lentils! Knowing that I was giving her the most wholesome, unprocessed food possible, I found the process of preparing and freezing her 'cubes' to be very fulfilling. I am a working mom and I don't have tons of time but if you set this system up in batches and do a veggie a weekend it is really do-able. As an added benefit, it's a lot cheaper than buying commercial foods. Also, I don't know many children my daughter's age that can't wait to eat their broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, spinach - you name it, she eats it. (fingers crossed that she keeps it up.) I realize that nuts are a highly allergenic food and may not be for everyone but my daughter loves, loves, loves nuts. Whenever I give her yogurt, she says, 'Walnut-sh?' Also, the Super Porridge that Ms. Yaron recommends is a WONDERFUL base for any healthy diet. We typically make ours from brown rice and barley and my daughter absolutely loves it. The first person to whom I recommended this book was my sister and she has followed it for my nephew who is 11 months. He too is a very good eater and extremely healthy. I am so, so glad that I decided to give my daughter the best start possible and hopefully pave the way for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Poorly Named. Poorly Excecuted

This book is full of judgmental opinions and extraneous information. It is a good resource on cooking and freezing baby food, but much of it is common sense. Mash the food? Really? The good information on that topic is only 20% of this book. The author is very against meat saying it is the most dangerous thing in your kitchen. So be warned. It was not really worth my 13 bucks for the food reference. I ignored the majority of the writing. Don't feel bad if you don't follow her advice! Your Dr. is your best resource!

A reviewer

Good tips on when to introduce what and terrific detail on specific fruits and veggies. However, tremendous author bias is apparent and I have yet to make the baby porridge with dessicated liver. Plus, the author's style is pretty scattered because she is going off on many other topics not at pertaining to baby food but touting her beliefs and how she raised her children.

A worthy effort

In summary, the not so good review below sums it up. I was really disappointed on a lot of levels by this book. I expected something dedicated to making baby food-a wealth of information and what I got was a book with a lot of things that don't really apply to my reason for purchasing this. Arts and Crafts??? in a babyfood book. The title should read something like-'Adjusting,Learning,Coping and Feeding Your Infant or Toddler' There are really no good infant receipes, she pretty much refuses to cover meats because of her beliefs, and although the fruit and veggie section is great-it's missing some pertinent information-such as how to cook or not cook items. I found the internet to have as much information as the book and the information was more complete.

The only book on this subject you'll need!

I have never written a review of any product online before but I feel compelled to do so in support of this book. Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron is the only book on this subject you'll need. If you are a new parent who is looking for advice on how to start feeding your baby solids, then this is the book you are looking for. I felt overwhelmed as a first time mom when trying to figure out what to feed my baby. Yaron does a thorough job of outlining what foods your baby can eat at different stages. There are instructions on how to select fresh food, how to prepare it, and how to store it. There are lots of recipes too. I admit that it does not have pretty pictures like a lot of the other books out there but it is packed with useful information. I refer to it several times a week when making nutritional choices for my baby. If you are thinking about making all or even some of your baby's food, it is a must have. Happy reading!

This is the gift I buy for all the new parents I know, and they love it.

There are not enough ways for me to praise this priceless book for the gift it has given my son and our little family. If not for this book, it wouldn't have occurred to me to offer him such a complete, healthy menu in this way. I would have taken the route of nutritional trial and error, making the latest in 'good food' based on what he happens to enjoy. And I would have made the mistake of being guided by my tainted mature taste buds (developed in the heart of the midwest). All the while I'd be questioning if I was actually providing him a complete healthy diet. Afterall, unless you have a degree in nutrition, so much of what we think we know is actually unproven or even hearsay. Sorry, but that's not quite good enough for our babies and toddlers who are currently growing the amazing brains and bodies that they will be relying on for the rest of their lives. {¶} The alternative that Super Baby Food offers is so complete that it gives parents a terrific gift . . . peace of mind! Just imagine, starting your baby's day with a breakfast of swiss chard, broccoli, squash, whole grain oats and rice, tofu, and seeds rich in omega-3's, . . . all in one delicious dish. I was skeptical and had very low expectations as I began trying the recipes on my son. But to my amazement, it has worked out extremely well. I've been feeding my son this healthy super porridge since he began eating solids, and now he is nearly three years old. He loves eating his super porridge to this day, as well as all of the other recipes I've offered him from this book. Plus, these great healthy flavors are now what his developing taste buds have come to know. And when he has a choice of foods, these are the foods he asks for. And what a great thing it is to hear, 'Mommy, can I have more broccoli please? Can I have some cauliflower, too?' Music to my ears! {¶} Peace of mind is multiplied by the fact that my son is the one person in our family who doesn't get sick. The time I put into planning and creating the meals is nothing, compared to the time saved by having a healthy child! He didn't even get his first diaper rash until the age of 14 months. Think of all the things we have to do later in life to fight off disease, and the aging process, often due to a lifetime of inadequate eating habits. As a parent or caretaker, you are in charge of what your child eats while he's under your care. This food plan provides the best method for prevention we could ever want for our children. And it became so easy to cook everything in batches once I got the hang of it. {¶} This book is a terrific resource even if you don't want to try the nutrition plan at all. There is an appendix of specific fruits and veggies, and it will answer those questions you have about what is the best way to select, store, prepare, cook, and freeze each fruit or veggie. For example, did you know that you can avoid the gas problem with broccoli by slightly undercooking it, to retain the natural chlorophyll? Also provided is the age that your baby must be when each specific veggie or fruit is first offered to his developing digestive system. There are some great chapters on parties, crafts, and fun food decorating. And another appendix offers the reader a mini course in the how's and why's of nutrition. This book is a smorgasbord, from which you can select the ideas that appeal to you. I found it helpful to apply tab labels on the pages I refer to most often. {¶} Think of the best pet you've ever had. If you knew there was a book you could follow that would give him everything he needed to be strong, healthy, fight off disease, and live longer, would you think twice about buying it? Well our pets rely 100% on us for their nutrition, and guess what, our precious children do too. Gradually, this book has taught me how to make it the priority that it deserves to be. {¶} We are the first generation blessed enough to have such an amazing res

Wonderful concept, poorly executed

comprehensive guide to feeding your baby, loaded with misinformation, arrogant tones, and no credentials. Ruth Yaron is a mother of two. She decided to write a book about what she fed her children. She has some very good ideas for parties, healthier versions for fruit snacks, great manners in which to prepare baby food and offers loads of information about each fruit and vegetable. The advantages for making your own baby food are you can control what goes into the food. This is wonderful if you have children with allergies. Also, you can control the texture. When I fed my children homemade baby food, they seemed to adapt quicker and easier to new foods and table foods much easier than their friends who ate from store brands. Despite that my children are picky like everyone else's, they love fruits and vegetables and I get comments all the time on how well they eat. Unfortunately, despite the wonderful potential this book has, it is also loaded with extra misinformation. Ruth Yaron recommends feeding nut butters as early as ten months of age. Most pediatricians (if not all) do not recommend giving children any food considered a high allergen until they are older. Imagine having an infant suffering from an anaphylactic reaction? Would you be able to identify one? Or would you feel safer following your doctor's advice and wait until your child is older where the symptoms would be easier to recognize? Also, she suggests feeding spinach and carrots early as well. Depending on where you are getting your spinach and carrots, they can be loaded with chemicals. What adds to all of the misinformation in this book is the fact she writes with a patronizing attitude and has absolutely no official training outside of parenting. She is not a nutritionist, nor is she a dietician, and she is not even a doctor! Then, as if that was not enough, she strays off topic from her book's title, Super Baby Food and suggests tie dying stained onesies, not owning an iron in the house as it may be too dangerous, making your own crayons, a section on bibs, and how to clean your house. Some readers may find this extra information as a bonus. I found this to be an annoyance. If I wanted a book on how to clean my house, I would have bought one. I wanted a book on feeding my baby. What she may have considered was renaming this book to suggest that these types of suggestions were included in this book, or come up with a second book. Parenting is a tough job. No one wants to be told that what they are doing is wrong. Each child does not come with his own instruction manual. Then, you get this book where Ruth Yaron preaches her beliefs and basically infers if you do not raise your children her way, then you are not being a good parent. After reading this book, it would be really hard for any mother not to take her tone personally. If you are an intelligent person who can sift through the information in this book, listen to your doctor and use your instinct for raising and feeding you child, than this is a good book. But, if you are a person that believes everything in print, and you plan to follow this book like it is the Bible, then this book could be dangerous to you. My suggestion is for someone who is a registered nutritionist get together with a pediatrician, and revise this entire book. There are too many people out there that take everything at face value and do not research on their own. Having a book like this on the shelves was a wonderful idea yet it was poorly executed.