I’m in the throes of thinking about how to begin solids this month, so my reading list has related mostly to feeding the little guy. I’ve been a bit obsessed by the idea of feeding your babies the French way because cooking and food is so important to me and I’m terrified of raising a picky eater. That being said, here is my list for the week:
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman – This book was a great guide to French parenting culture. Written as a narrative, Pamela Druckerman manages to entertain as she spells out the differences between the American and French styles of child rearing. If you get only one book on the topic, I would choose this one because it provides solid advice without being a bore.
French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billion – This book focuses more specifically on French food culture and how it differs from the relationship that North Americans (an important distinction, since the author is Canadian) and their kids have with food. The observations in this book are perfectly aligned with Bringing Up Bebe, and it approaches the topic by outlining 10 rules for eating French, also providing a few recipes. The prose was a bit denser, but I liked reading about the topic from another viewpoint.
Start Fresh: Your Child’s Jumpstart to Lifelong Healthy Eating by Tyler Florence – I was surprised that I liked this cookbook as much as I did. It’s not an exhaustive guide to baby recipes and the recipes are pretty simple, but there are some good ideas for starter recipes and recipes for the whole family when baby gets a bit older. I found it to be a good supplement to the other baby food cookbooks I had, and I liked his attitude when thinking about baby food.
Everyday Baby Food Cookbook by Sophia Hamilton – This cookbook is more about the basics. How do you make and store a basic puree? How do you mix purees? How do you advance your child to higher level foods? There are a lot of great ideas here, and the book continues through recipes for the whole family when the child is eating finger foods and beyond. Very happy with my purchase here, as it has been very helpful during the early stages of food preparation.
Little Foodie by Michelle Olivier – This cookbook is for more advanced tastes, and while I have not made anything from it yet, it has given me plenty to think about. My goal is to have a kid who will eat diverse flavors, so I’m happy to see recipes that are a bit outside of the normal puree box.
First Vegetable Purees from the French Foodie Baby Blog – A continuance of my interest in the French food philosophy for kids, this blog includes recipes for Littles and how she fed her baby. This post on first food introduction has made my best hits recently.
Nitrates and Homemade Baby Food – As I began reading about making your own baby food at home, I ran into articles about foods to be careful of due to high levels of nitrates. As a PhD scientist myself, I was interested in learning more, and this article does a good job of explaining what science really says about concerns regarding nitrates. There is so much misinformation on the internet, and I wholeheartedly appreciate an article that has its facts straight.
This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.
Looks like some very interesting reading for mums looking to feed baby well. Thank you for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime
My son is well and truly on solids now. I think the only book I read was baby led weaning (we didnt follow this method) and weaning made easy. He turned out to be very easy to feed when he was a baby, now he’s a toddler he has opinions and preferences, but he will try new things from time to time.
Anyway, I’ve been meaning to read Bringing Up Bebe sometime, sounds interesting. #stayclassymama
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I really liked Bringing Up Bebe. Quick read with interesting points. Makes me wish we had much better support for moms in the US. Thanks for commenting!
Great reading list, definitely a few I will add to my own!
#StayClassyMama
Wow some great reads. Please do not put too much pressure on yourself. My third refused food that was not puréed until 1 then ate everything. But sounds interesting #stayclassymama
These are great books, I read Everyday Baby Food when I ran my home daycare- I made all the baby food myself. #DreamTeam
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Some great suggestions here! A friend of mine was talking about Bringing Up Bebe a few months ago, it was the first time I’d heard of it but its obv a popular book! #stayclassymama
Thanks for this post. We are at a similar stage and I was looking for some books on this. #DreamTeam
I admire your dedication to working out how and what you are going to feed your little one. We ended up with just one book (Annabel Karmel) which I stuck to like glue. It’s great being able to prep and make your own so you know what’s actually in the food itself. Thank you for sharing with the #Dreamteam xx
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I haven’t heard of her, but since it’s the second comment about her today, I’ll have to check her out!
When I was getting ready to start making my twins’ baby food, I relied heavily on Annabel Karmel books and recipes. Not sure if she meets your criteria for french style but I liked her first couple of books.
Second comment on her today, so I’ll have to check her out. I’m definitely not sticking to French recipes, but I do like their philosophy on getting kids to eat everything and have a better approach to food.
There is so much to think about with weaning it’s nice to do some research so that you are focused when it comes round. Our best advice would be to enjoy the funny faces, even food Baby D didn’t like to begin with he loves now, it takes a few tastes! #globalblogging
These books look very interesting, I have made all my kids food by hand. Nothing store bought. As littles they ate everything I gave them… Except #4, when she turned two and realised she had an opinion, everything we put in front of her was pushed aside, and I am embarrassed to say she ate cheese for almost every meal 🙂 … Luckily that has worn off and she is back to eating normally … You never know if you’ll get a picky eater … Wishing you everything of the best and I look forward to reading on how it goes. Thanks for sharing with us! #globalblogging
I know. That’s what I’m afraid of! So far, so good, but it’s still too early to tell. Thanks for stopping by!
I spoonfed my son, because even as a baby he had some sensory issues with touching food, still has it, totally rubbish with eating, only wants pizza and cheese. But I smuggle all sorts of stuff into his meals, even kale gets into his daily smoothie. As long as it’s purple overall, he eats it 🙂
With my second we started baby led, but I wish I’ve read some books too on thr topic other than reading a few blog articles, as she didn’t get enough in so I started to give her purees too. Now she only wants pures
Now I advice everyone that read a few proper books on the subject. #globalblogging
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Definitely. I think reading as much as you can is important. I thought about BLW and read the book, but he seems to be quick to gag whenever anything isn’t pureed, so I think purees were the right way to go for us. He’s really good at eating from the spoon and seems to enjoy it.
This is a really interesting reading list. Starting on solid foods can be such a minefield, I think it’s great that you’re getting prepared and I can’t wait to see how you get on! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
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I relied on Annabel Karmel and Gina Ford to wean all 3 of mine 🙂 #blogstravganza
I wish we’d read these while we were weaning! Thanks for sharing with the #coolmumclub
x
Ah weaning is a minefield. You always worry if you are doing it or did it right. Like the link to French cuisine. #coolmumclub
An interesting read! I’ll be weaning myself in a few months so thanks for the pointers #coolmumclub
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