One Handed Cooks

Allie Grant, Jessica Beaton and Sarah Buckle

Penguin Random House Australia

Viking

ISBN: 9780670079018

 

Description:

Giving your child the best possible start in life includes offering nutritious, varied food every day. This comprehensive book provides a wide range of simple, enticing recipes that deliver the nutrients growing children need, as well as plenty of practical advice to help you successfully navigate their journey with solid foods. Setting your child up with appositive relationship with food and healthy eating habits is a gift that will last them a lifetime. This book will help you:

– avoid the trap of fussy eating

– overcome spoon refusal

– deal with common issues, from teething to throwing food

– prepare nutritionally balanced meals and snacks

– create positive associations with mealtimes and eating

– cater to food allergies and intolerances

 

My View:

This is an extremely well thought out and presented book – the book is colourful, informative and is divided into sections to reflect the various stages of introducing solid foods to children; starting with Mixed Purees, then Textured Meals, Early Finger Foods and then offers variety with Herb and Spice Based Meals, progressing to Family Meals. There is even a section on Baby Led Weaning (or Sensory Weaning) a term I have just recently discovered…and there is so much more.

 

A section I particularly like is “Spoon Fed Breakfasts”. There are some great recipes here that will please even the fussiest adults (and children) 🙂   No Soak Quinoa Bircher, Creamy Chia Bircher Muesli and even a recipe for the very trendy Smoothie Bowl…

 

One of the best things about this book is that a lot of  the recipes may appeal to other members of the family – I mentioned some of the yummy breakfasts and then there are recipes for things like Kale and Mushroom Omelette, Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa, Cheesy Baked Beans on Toast, Savoury Veggie Slice…there is even a specific section to help you feed all the family from the same recipe, One Meal Three Ways – meals to cook that can be adapted to suit babies, toddlers and adults  – a great idea!

 

The author provides nutrition notes, some hints for ingredients substitutions (if trying to exclude certain ingredients) and each recipe identifies if Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Wheat Free or Vegetarian and indicates if suitable to freeze.  What more could you want?

 

This is a great family centred cookbook.