Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters

by Jenna Helwig

The popular and trusted guide to starting your baby on solid foods, newly revised with the most up-to-date information for today’s new parents.
What if you could skip the tiny jars and pouches of bland baby food in favor of a more natural, flavor-filled, and family-friendly transition to solid foods? Baby-led feeding (also known as baby-led weaning) is just that. Feeding your baby a variety of healthy, wholesome solid foods, rather than relying solely on purees, is thought to promote motor skills and establish lifelong healthy eating habits. Author, food director at Real Simple magazine, and former food editor at  Parents  and  Health Jenna Helwig gives parents easy-to-follow introductions for this popular feeding method. With more than 100 ideas and recipes, this bright, photo-driven book includes chapters on the benefits of this approach, when and how to get started, essential safety and nutrition guidelines, frequently asked questions, basic fruit and vegetable prep, more complex finger foods, and family meals. The newly revised edition contains updated information regarding common allergens and substitutions, helpful new content like sample menus, and new recipes featuring a wider range of flavors. All recipes have been reviewed by a registered dietitian and include nutrition information to ensure a healthy mealtime.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Reference, Adult

224 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2018

About the author

I'm the author of five cookbooks including the bestselling Baby-Led Feeding and the time-saving, stress-reducing Bare Minimum Dinners. I am the food director at Real Simple and, previously, was the food editor at Parents and Health.

I love to cook, bake, and eat, and am a giant cookbook fan. I also love to read fiction and am a particular fan of literary fiction and mystery novels. I live in Brooklyn, New York with my family.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wife pushed this on to me a while back. Basically, it's about feeding your baby people food. It's not a bad book but most of the advice is common sense. Don't feed your baby things they'll choke on and things of that nature. I wasn't planning on giving Miles any steak anyway.

The bulk of the book is recipes and that was the sticking point for me. I'm not going to go out of my way to shit on this portion of the book but I don't think I live in the same world as the author. Nobody I know with a baby has time to poach a salmon for him or her. Also, I don't know a lot of parents who keep teff in stock for their newborn to try.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a baby food "cookbook" may seem silly, I found it useful to have visual representations of portions, serving sizes, menu plans, and nutritional information. On the other hand, a lot of these recipes included ingredients that just aren't on heavy rotation in our house, so the combos featuring DIY hummus, turmeric, teff, etc. don't make sense for us.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started as an ebook, then bought a paper copy, because I think this is going to live in our kitchen for the next several years. Great intro into solid foods for wee ones, plus the later recipes all sound delicious. Theo and I will be eating well in the coming months!

[Katie Gainey-West · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped alleviate some of my fears with baby-led feeding, especially when it comes to allergens. There are also a lot of great, healthy, recipes to try too!

[Mara Ihrcke · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book did contain some very helpful information about baby led feeding, and broke down the developmental phases well with corresponding recipes, some of the recipe ingredients were a little far fetched. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be spending the money on feeding my child smoked trout anytime soon. However, everything was well laid out and explained clearly!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to learn something new, learn a little bit more than what’s all over Instagram, but mainly got a reiteration of the basic facts of BLF. And a lot of recipes. I copied a few, but the majority of them had a lot of impractical ingredients, at least, for the grocery stores in my area. The writing was very conversational and enjoyable to read, so there’s that. Recommend for those who’ve never heard of BLF or not sure where to start.

[Amy Bobryk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a solid resource on all things baby feeding and something I’m keeping on my shelf. The author really breaks down something that’s super overwhelming for new parents into manageable bits and pieces better than Pinterest. New parents, parents to be - get this!

[Peyton Goyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

was looking for an intro & reasoning & practical help for starting solids but it was a legit cookbook oops! I’m not cooking full blown things for our 6mo old so it was a little bit of a missed expectation for me

[Deepti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, love the basics on BLF and nutrition value of various types of food. Having said that, the advanced recipes are not time efficient in my humble opinion.

Also, liked the smashed food guide and the family recipes.

[Presh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful guide and easy to make recipes I can't wait to try with my littles! 😊

[Kaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful charts and easy recipes that involve ingredients I already keep around the house!

[Kayla Frank]

I’d come back to this book. The bulk of the book contains recipes broken down by age. I glanced through the 6 month ones and got a couple ideas but would definitely look at the 8-9+ month recipes later when we reach that stage.

[Rin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to note that this book is a cookbook, as well as a book that provides tips on how and when to feed your child. If you do not eat any of the foods in the book, it may affect your take on it. However, the written information is very valuable and gives you a lot of insight on how to prepare solid foods for a child that is just being introduced to them. Jove's dad's a physician of psychosomatic medicine. So we've been looking up a lot of information about introducing your child to different sensory experiences that will help them acclimate to everyday life. It's also time to eat, so this book came at a perfect time.

My niece eats so many nuggets that I'm afraid she'll turn into one. And my nephew had a phase last month where he refused to eat anything but pizza. I thought kids tended to like starches because they are bland, full of readily available energy, filling, easy on the tongue. A friend of mine told me about baby-led weaning, and I found the Americanized philosophy of baby-led FEEDING. These are two different things so if you are looking for information about the former, this is not for you. Baby-led feeding is less strict and focuses on introducing the child to everyday foods that you will be preparing in the house. Fortunately for me, I use most of the ingredients and food in this book so I am looking forward to trying different recipes, freezing meals for later and so on so that they can be reintroduced later.

The first half of the book focuses on the introduction of foods, how to steam and roast, certain emergency signs that show your child is not ready to eat, how to store and rotate foods. In the middle of the book, they introduce beverages. The book did mention sippy cups, which I flatly refuse to buy, but they encourage the use of a cup. So that was great too. The second half of the book has meals that the whole family can eat, that are healthy, as well as tips on how to organize and cook ahead so that you're not spending your time after work over a stove for so long. The authors of this book are both in the food science industry so I trust that they know what they are doing.

The meals do not look like what you would normally feed kids but I still find them to be amazing and I can't wait to try them out. FYI I may not follow the recipes exactly and may add or substitute items where preferred.

[Isabel Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby-Led Feeding is a must-have resource for parents curious about and interested in introducing finger foods along with or instead of traditional baby food purees. Written by a pair of moms, one a culinary instructor and the other a dietitian, this book offers up a wide variety of nutritional and fun food options for babies who are ready to start eating solids along with their breastmilk or formula. The authors make it clear that baby-led feeding is different from the baby-led weaning method that has recently boomed in the U.K. With the latter, no store-bought or house-made baby purees are allowed. With the former, however, a more flexible and easygoing plan is put in place: milk, purees, and finger-foods all play an important role in your baby's feeding routine. Let's face it, that's a lot less pressure and restriction for both the baby and its caretakers.

This book starts out by explaining the advantages of the baby-led feeding approach, gives readers a run-down of how to start the process, and continues with three chapters offering recipes for babies 6 months +, 8 months +, and beyond. There are plenty of recipes and ideas that I plan on using for my son and my family in the very near future. I'm so thankful for such a simple and well-researched guide to baby nutritional needs.

[Bridget Hanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview on baby-led feeding. I like how it allows room for more ‘traditional’ feeding choices alongside finger foods right away. Some reviewers didn’t like that Helwig had recipes for foods they had never heard of in a cookbook for babies, but that didn’t bother me. Just because I haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it’s complicated or isn’t tasty. Isn’t the whole point to introduce your baby to new tastes and textures? Why not introduce yourself to new tastes and textures at the same time? That being said, I felt like I wouldn’t necessarily cook a lot of this stuff for my family. This is a colorful and interesting book but not a resource I think I would return to over and over.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book! The page layouts were so cute and aesthetically pleasing, and the photos of the recipes were great. I would have liked a little bit more information on exactly how to do baby-led feeding, but I’m sure if I just reread that part, I’d be able to have a better idea as to how to get started. It contains a lot of (delicious looking) recipes for baby as he/she progresses, as well as recipes for the whole family. Vegan and vegetarian recipes are also included! I would definitely recommend this book, and I would also not hesitate to buy it on my kindle, despite the fact that it’s a cookbook.

[Shayla Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a practical way to feed not only your baby, but your whole family. Clean eating foods. I love that there is no added sugar to the recipes, salt is optional, and for the most part they’re fairly simple recipes to execute. I also appreciate that she has ideas for “aging up” the recipes. They are all tasty seeming, and so far I’ve tried two of the recipes. They were delightful! I’m planning to use this cookbook for years to come, with my baby and our family!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is too much information out there on baby led weaning. Power to you, if you want to read it all! I appreciated this book becuase it was succinct and non-judgmental. As a new parent, I appreciate brevity. There are also age-based recipes as well as family meals meant for baby and everyone else. I loved the tips on how to prepare foods so your little one can easily grasp without sleeping. If you want more “meat” and heavier science based-data, I could see how another book might be better for you. Good overall!

[Lisa Gusewelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What says "family" more than food!

This book offered me a lot of easy to understand information to ease my worry of when and how I should start introducing my daughter to food. The recipes make me so excited for her 6 month mark to get to the grocery store and see how this will all work.

Being seated around the family table for dinner was so important to my parents when I was growing up with my siblings, so I'm happy to get to continue this tradition.

[Maranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters by Jenna Helwig is a non-fiction book about one way to approach introducing solids to your baby.

This easy-to-follow introduction to baby-led feeding (aka baby-led weaning), includes more than 100 ideas and recipes, with bright, photos. The book includes chapters on the "benefits of this approach, when and how to get started, essential safety and nutrition guidelines, frequently asked questions, basic fruit and vegetable prep, more complex finger foods, and family meals."

I know, this is not one of my normal reads. I don't usually review a lot of non-fiction, mostly because I don't usually make it through a whole book unless it is a biography or written more like a story. I tend to browse. But I have a 6month old who has a voracious appetite and a friend recommended me this one as something to consider.

I personally, am too nervous to go the whole BLW method when with comes to introducing solids. The gagging is just too much for me and I am a ball full of nerves every second of the way. So with my first child, we went totally puree and waits quite a while to introduce anything more. But my second pretty much drools whenever anyone eats or drinks around her, so we are doing a hybrid approach this time.

This is a very forgiving book. I love that the writer is totally on the side of the caregiver and promotes a "you do you" approach. She recognizes the struggles with both methods and urges patience and... basically not killing yourself to conform to one approach or another.

The recipes she includes are great. Some seem a bit much for little ones, but then again, I want to make all of these for myself--sorry baby, these are for mama!

Overall, this is a nice middle of the road book, with easy tips and easy to read and understand. This one gets 4.5 stars from me.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because I’m a nanny, but it kind of made me want a child of my own. The book makes eating as a family with a little one seem fun. I’m fully aware of how messy and frustrating it can be, but many of the foods they suggested were exciting and made me want to try more things with my charge. I see some reviews saying some of the ingredients are unusual, but… isn’t that kind of the point? If you have a child, I would think part of the fun of it would be trying new things with them. At least, I wouldn’t have a child any other way, and I appreciate that the book makes recipe suggestions that an average person may not think of. On the other hand, I didn’t personally feel that most of the recipes were very outlandish.

Other than that, I appreciated the tone of this book - the author did a good job of ensuring the reader that there is not one right way to start solids while reinforcing the most important points throughout.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The visuals and organization of recipes are helpful. Some of the recipes are very simple for quick meals. For those with allergies, several recipes contain dairy and eggs. It's unclear why whole peas are included in a recipe for beginning eaters (6 months) when round foods can be a choking hazard unless smashed or cut to an appropriate size. Another recipe for 8 months+ includes ham while the Solid Starts app recommends avoiding store bought deli meats until 24 months of age. While there are some good recipes, I primarily use other sources for meal ideas.

[M Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to baby led feeding techniques (giving your baby soft sticks of steamed foods rather than purees) and some of the research behind it. But I was left wanting a bit more detail on the texture of the foods to be confident that I was doing it safely. Pictures of sticks of food with smooshed ends would have helped more. There were other good details, though, like a crinkle cutter makes sticks easier to hold, as does coating sticks in panko, flax, or nutritional yeast.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we prepare to start solids and at the advice of my pediatrician, I am interested in self-feeding and skipping some of the baby purées. Ultimately, one of the main reasons I’m interested in this is that I’m lazy and was looking for a book that would show me how to make food for the whole family that was still safe and healthy for the baby. I borrowed it from the library, and I liked the explanations and recipes (most are fairly simple!), so I’ve bought a copy of my own.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple and informative read. As a new Mom just starting out with BLF I had a plethora of questions and anxiety over the potential for choking. This book does include recipes but for me the simple tips for how to prepare foods for better grasping by baby, introducing varied food textures and the science behind food allergens was more of a selling point. A great read if like me you need some piece of mind before diving into BLF.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

This book contains useful basic information and recipes for parents interested in feeding their infants solids instead of or in addition to puréed nutrition. Some of the suggested foods in the images won’t be suitable for beginning eaters (such as solid cooked peas or raw cucumber widgets), but as a whole this book provides some useful information and recipe ideas. Nutritional information is also included.👍

[Kyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby-Led Feeding is an informative cookbook with lots of information on how to introduce solid foods to babies. I liked having the visuals along with useful information. And I can't wait to start trying out some of the recipes. There's definitely recipes in this book that I just won't be making as some of the ingredients are just not ones that are in our usual grocery rotation. But nonetheless, it was a very good and quick read, and we will be referencing these recipes a lot.

[Kaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great! I read Baby Led Weaning and liked it but wanted more food ideas. This book was perfect. The recipes are things we would all enjoy eating and I’m really excited to try. The photos are super helpful too. Our doctor tried to explain about leaving part of the peel on a banana but I didn’t know what she meant until I saw the photo in this book. Brilliant!

[Esmeralda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good recipes

It's an ok book. Not too clear of size of foods and when appropriate to feed. Not enough pictures if it's supposed to be more of a cookbook. The recipes look great but they don't address food allergies which are very common in babies being exposed to foods for the first time. Doesn't provide ideas on substitutions for many allergens.

[Erin Stuhlsatz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how this book contained some simple guidelines for baby-led-weaning in general. She had a framework for daily meals with about how much food you can expect your baby to eat of different food groups at different ages. Additionally, she had full page diagrams of good finger foods to start with and to give once baby has mastered the pincer grip.