Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods: More than 200 Recipes for Feeding Babies, Young Children, and Their Parents

by Cynthia Lair

“An excellent primer for whole-foods cooking at home.” —Booklist“A classic family favorite.” —ParentMap“A must-have for the family kitchen.” —425 MagazineThis updated edition of the bestselling whole food cookbook for families offers over 200 healthy and delicious recipes that you and your kids will loveFor over 15 years, Cynthia Lair’s classic cookbook has been the best source for parents who want to cook one healthy meal for the entire family. With more than 200 recipes, this revised fourth edition teaches the basics of introducing a balanced whole foods diet—from grains and beans to meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables—to your home. Feeding the Whole Family includes information on breastfeeding, beginning babies on solid foods, food allergies and intolerances, raising healthy eaters, and the importance of sharing nourishing meals as a family. Each recipe comes with instructions on how to adapt meals so that babies who are just starting solids—as well as older babies—can enjoy the dish, while children and adults eat a more complex version to satisfy their palates. Parents will also find simple solutions for packing healthy lunch boxes and involving kids in the meal preparation process. Informative and full of practical advice, Feeding the Whole Family will help take the stress out of finding healthy recipes everyone will like—so you can sit down, relax, and enjoy mealtime with your loved ones.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food

429 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2016

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book after reading that each recipe had a suggestion on how to serve that recipe to your baby / toddler. Unfortunately the suggestions are not for the dish, but usually just one ingredient from the dish with a preparation suggestion that is completely separate from the meal, i.e. still a completely separate preparation for your baby from the adult meal steps.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

These "whole foods" recipes include suggestions for what to give a baby or toddler from the full recipe. They always seem simple, but helpfully show how to incorporate more table foods into the baby food diet. Admittedly, I don't use that part of the recipe book very much now--my toddler has special needs and is still working on grainy textures. The introduction also has tips on how to get children involved with food preparation and ideas on how to make vegetables appealing to them that haven't worked with my picky eater (or maybe I gave up too easily). However, this book is full of nutritious recipes that aren't necessarily "health" food, if that makes sense. I've good over 15 recipes from this book, and the latkes and Mediterranean quinoa salad are ones I've returned to multiple times.

There are a few recipes that include iron-rich vegetables that are especially important for pregnant and nursing women. The A+ Avocado and Arame salad was my first time using seaweed in a salad! It is a little slippery, but it works! It just doesn't leftover very appetizingly. Two other recipes use dulse, which is another iron-rich seaweed that was fun to try out. Watch out: the recipe labeled "yakisoba" did not resemble what I know as yakisoba from Japanese cookbooks. I also would have liked more photos.

[Kristen Nickels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this cookbook for the home chef who is passionate about whole foods cooking. Cynthia Lair is an invaluable resource in that arena. If your primary goal is education on how to feed your baby or toddler, this book would not be my first recommendation and I’d warn that you might be disappointed. For general cooking and whole foods education though, this has been my go-to resource for 10 years.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great whole food recipes. Real food, real ingredients and made from scratch. The recipes are all easy to follow. There are some pictures, but not for every recipe. My kids are older now, but I made a lot of their baby food from scratch using guess work so it is nice that they have included ways to make the recipes/meals for everyone.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve really respected Cynthia Lair ever since I took a nutrition class from her through Bastyr when in grad school in Seattle. I’ve checked this book out from the library probably 5 or more times cause there’s always another recipe I didn’t get around to trying or one I want to make again. Some solid content on Whole Foods and feeding little ones in the beginning narrative chapters.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy to see this revised edition on the shelf as I used the original when my son was little many years ago. It is full of healthy recipes that just happen to be good for babies and kids too.

[Kaley Ide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful tips on nutrition for both families and moms during pregnancy & nursing. Includes ways to feed solids to babies using portions of the meals. Wish there were more pictures and more simple recipes!

[Alisa]

I was primarily interested in this cookbook because even though my family is just two people, we easily eat the portions of double that and I am overjoyed if there are leftovers. So I am on the hunt for nutritious, bountiful, yummy, and interesting recipes that don't ask for too much work.

Actually, this cookbook is "for the whole family" because every recipe includes modifications for a baby and most have ideas for younger kids as well. Many of the recipes have suggestions for making the meal vegetarian, which I think is an added bonus. These recipes are modern, colorful, and flavorful, and the contemporary adult would be proud to use these to serve guests. Like most American household cooking these days, recipes are mostly Southwest, Middle East, or Asia inspired.

A whole section on baked goods and most of the breakfast section is lost to me (gluten allergy, hey-oh), but I am more than game to try some of these other dishes.

[James Carmean, Jr.]

This is an excellent cook book. It contains all kinds of recipes of every type. Many things I have looked for are now in a single book. Many Recipes have a children's version with milder ingredients.

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not the target audience for this, I think -- somehow the recipes just don't overlap at all with my tastes.