Paper Palate

Originally posted by posted by Kelby Carr on Kids Cuisine.

At a recent bookstore shopping expedition, I happened on a great cookbook for parents.I’m always looking for meal ideas that are healthy, quick, and easy, and that are likely to actually get eaten. I found The Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers & Children, which is especially great if you have small children of varying ages.

The recipes included everything from homemade baby food to party food for older children. I loved that recipes mentioned when they were well-suited to preparing with kids.

The recipes are also not your standard chicken-nugget kids recipe book fare (although it does have a chicken nuggets recipe, but notes the recipe is tastier and healthier than the packaged variety). Think Teriyaki Orange Salmon Parcels, Creamy Leek and Potato Soup, and Fruity Couscous Salad.

There were a few more things I really liked about this cookbook.

• It doesn’t just include recipes, but also entire chapters on some of the unique issues of tempting kids to eat and eat well, such as “Essential nutrients,” “Coping with feeding problems,” and “Managing allergies and intolerances.”
• The book’s 365 recipes are broken down by age group, starting with first solid feedings and various stages of first foods, on through toddler meals from ages 1 to 2 years, and finally recipes for 3 to 6 years.
• Many of the recipes could actually be modified or even used to create a meal for the whole family.
• Many of the recipes are extremely simple, some with just three easy-to-find ingredients.
• Each recipe has icons indicating various aspects of the recipe at a quick glance, such as whether it is vegetarian, gluten-free, contains peanuts, or is high in omega-3s.
• Each recipe also states the preparation time and whether (and by what method and for what time frame) it can be stored.

I’ve already scoured the cookbook with my 4-year-old. She is eager to make the Chocolate Banana Pancakes. When she saw the picture for the First Chocolate Pudding with Fruit Fingers recipe, however, she informed me she planned to just eat the pudding and leave the fruit. Sigh!