When it was time to start weaning Crevette six years ago, a friend recommended Annabel Karmel’s New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner. As soon as I opened the book, I knew I would love it. It read well, the images were bright, the babies happy and the food looked incredibly appetising.
I found the information about the best foods to give a baby at the start of the book really interesting. It gave me the confidence to get started. As soon as I opened it, I knew would find out everything I needed to know to start weaning my first born. I loved the meal plans, which I used and adapted for my first three children. It was like being held by the hand but having flexibility as well.
The recipes are really nice, simple to follow and some of them have become staples for the whole family, like Annabel’s cottage pie or the chicken and apple balls. The book is covered in food stains and does not get put away with my other cookbooks. Instead, it takes a place of pride in the kitchen on my cookbook holder.
Whenever one of my close friends has had a baby in the past six years, I have bought this book as a present. As you can imagine, when I was asked whether I wanted to review Annabel’s latest book, Quick & Easy Weaning, I jumped at the chance. It follows the same format as my much-loved meal planner.
I wish the section on Allergies had been in the first book as it would have saved a lot of heartache a couple of years ago. I had no idea about allergies at the time, and it would have helped me recognise the signs of food allergy in Jumpy.
First and foremost, the book is informative, well-written and interesting, with headings such as: No-cook purées, Milk, Offering fist foods, Raw or cooked, etc.
Until she was six months old, Wriggly was breastfed exclusively. On the day she turned six months, I bought her a couple of beakers and tried giving her some water. She spat it all back.
The following day and for three days after that, I tried giving her a couple of teaspoons of mashed organic carrots her big brother had proudly peeled for her, but it did not go down well. My initial attempts at weaning were a complete and utter flop. Every single time I was offering a spoon of purée; she would gag, and at times vomit if anything at all had made it to her throat.
That was followed by three days of mashed pears. Still no luck… A stick of cucumber brought more gagging and vomiting. Sweet potatoes? Well, I will let you guess.
I gave up for a bit as she was sick and was struggling to breathe as she was so congested, and kept vomiting. Despite her disgust towards any food I was offering, she was breastfeeding more and more regularly and sleeping less and less. She clearly needed more bulk in her diet.
The following sentence in the book struck a chord: “if they are really resistant to trying the food, take it away and try again another time – it should not become a battle.” She simply was not ready and I stopped stressing about it. She would eat eventually.
When Hubby gave her two small pieces of satsuma and she sucked the juice before she asked for more, we knew she might be ready. I resumed using Annabel Karmel’s weaning guide when Wriggly turned seven months. We tried puréed carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes, but my little girl was still gagging after each mouthful. Apple was the only purée she seemed to like. She was not a huge fan of baby porridge either, but she was eating a couple of spoons of the sticky mixture most mornings. She quite enjoyed plain rice cakes and feeding herself.
At nine months, my little girl now tries everything I give her. She really likes to be independent and loves eating steamed vegetables, yoghurts and biscuits. I still make some purées for her, and the ones combining fruit and vegetables are always a hit, like my mashed butternut squash, sweet potato, pear and rosemary. She also loves Annabel’s butternut squash, carrot and broccoli purée.
I have one copy of Quick & Easy Weaning by Annabel Karmel to give away.
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I started with mixing baby rice to my baby milk and then onto custard and porridge (so milk based solids at first).
I did the same with baby rice with my first three. I started with carrots for Wriggly, and she wasn’t impressed!
I think it is best to start with milky solids then introduce new flavours. My sister wanted to ‘jump the gun’ and she went straight from milk to potato and carrot puree with her first baby and he hated it! So with her next two, she stuck to milk with rice, porridge or custard! 🙂
I agree with you. The only reason I did that was because her big sister was allergic to milk and I didn’t want to go through the same thing as I did a couple of years ago. Turns our Wriggly is fine with milk, yippee!
That’s great! All my kids are fine with milk too though I have a lactose intolerance now and cannot have dairy, unless it is lactofree! So frustrating as I only developed it when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and then developed a bad stomach infection that wrecked my immune system!
Oh that sounds awful, Tracy!
sweet fruit & veg, mine loved parsnip & carrots
Weetabix – if you warm it up with milk it gets very soft.
True! My little man used to love it as a baby, but I stopped buying it when my third was diagnosed with a wheat allergy.
Pureed fruits and veg xx
I started my kids off with baby rice and rusks
Baby rice
Baby rice
Well mashed sweet potato x
soup, lots of veg 🙂
Baby rice and the puree vegetables
Baby rice went down well with my first
Baby rice and weetabix
Baby Rice
Weetabix
We’ll be starting weaning in a few weeks time and plan to start with purees – we have Annabel’s 100 puree recipes for all stages so can’t wait to get stuck in to that!
Her purées are yummy!
Baby rice!
Less sweet vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower
You have a point there!
Mashed vegetables
i’m not sure we have a few week yet but some of the ideas sound good
I was always using carrots and other root vegetables, in the blender with a little formula milk.
rice pudding or custard 🙂 I think it’s important not to be discouraged build it up
I did baby led weaning with my second, she enjoyed well steamed butternut squash that went really mushy when she put it in her mouth 🙂 i think any soft root vegetable is a good starter food for babies
Butternut squash was a favourite with my four little ones, too!
Carrot puree was a big hit here, also mashed banana was very popular. We skipped baby rice.
Same here this time round!
fruit purée, I think pear something like that, that’s what I did.
Def.baby rice 🙂
My first baby is due anyday now so the book would be perfect I am taking note of all comments
Life doesn’t get much more exciting!
baby rice or rusks
Baby rice and Farley rusks at about 4 months
Thanks for this post! I can’t give any good advice on weaning, as I’m only just approaching this next step with my little fella…(terrified at the thought, so glad I read this book review! One for the wishlist I think)
Thank you 🙂 reading all the comments with interest now!
The book is brilliant. I really could not recommend it enough!
weetabix
I’m so pleased that things are going better in the weaning department, it can be so tricky. All three of mine have been difficult in some way or other, and none of them would let me spoonfeed them in the earliest days. I had to make my peace with the mess of BLW a long time ago 😉 xx
This time round, it is certainly not mummy-led, ha ha! Wriggly loves being in charge. Messy, but worth it!
Baby rice
Mushed Root Veg
Carrots
cauliflower
PARSNIPS AND CARROTS 🙂
Rice with milk or soy formula went down well with both of my kids. Money-saving tip: if you go to an Indian or Asian grocery store, you can buy ground rice in large bags at a fraction of the price per kilo of the identical product in the baby section of your supermarket. Just remember to store the contents in an air tight jar after you’ve opened the bag.
Great tip!
Definitely a mcdonalds big mac and coke. Just kidding. Baby rice and mushed banana!
He he!
My little one’s first three foods were banana, avocado & sweet potato 🙂
Puréed pears. My grandson loves this and chews/sucks on breadsticks
Baby Rice is alway the best to start with then start flavouring in with taster sample of some baby friendly fruit or veg then work up to using potato mashed with the same fruit and veg, introducing different tastes one by one
Porridge
Baby rice and stewed apple
I’m pregnant with my first baby and due this summer, so I look forward to seeing what my likes the most!
Exciting times!
Custard or ready brek.
I really found the baby porridge easy to do and you can use baby milk in it too which is great, especially if you’re starting early xx
Mashed banana 🙂
sweet potato (puréed)
Banana and Baby Rice
baby rice did the trick for me
mashed Banana
baby rice
Baby rice
baby rice or rusks mushed with milk
think I’ll be trying baby rice
baby rice
baby rice