Karmel begins with an extensive section on early nutrition, pointing out that while grownups are often encouraged to follow a high-fiber, low-fat diet, "the under 5s need significantly more fat and concentrated sources of calories and nutrients to fuel their rapid growth during the early years." Continuing her "Basics" chapter are sections on keeping a well-stocked pantry; the equipment you'll need; illustrated, step-by-step instructions on preparing your first purees; and notes on freezing and reheating food. Close-up views of spoonfuls of puree are especially helpful for nervous first-time chefs. Chapters of recipes and feeding information are then broken down by age--4-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, 12-18 months, 18 months-2 years, 2-3 years, and 3-5 years, with each chapter addressing the particularities of the given age (questions about starting solids are answered for parents of 4-6-month-olds, while maintaining a healthy and varied diet and packing lunches are the concerns for the preschool child), along with 20 or more recipes appropriate to the child's level.

First published in England, the book has been "translated" well--ingredients are measured both in cups and in grams, and while there might be more parsnips called for than one normally sees in a North American diet, nearly every ingredient is obtainable at your regular supermarket. Karmel is up-to-date on the most recently accepted food recommendations as of 1999--she advises families with food allergies to avoid peanuts until a child is 3 years old, and while she cooks with cow's milk after 9 months, she doesn't recommend offering it in a cup until baby has reached his first birthday. Most importantly, she preaches a gospel of variety and of fun at mealtime. Cheesy Pasta Stars are made with tiny "stelline" pasta, and homemade Chicken Nuggets (made with grated apple and parsley in the breading) are formed in the shape of hearts--enough to break down the barriers of any picky eater. Stuffed Baked Potatoes become sailboats with cheese triangle sails and red pepper flags, and "Mock Fried Egg" looks just like the real thing--except it's vanilla yogurt with half an apricot on top! So trust your taste buds and leave those jars at the store--Annabel Karmel's First Meals will inspire you in the kitchen and leave your kids pounding the table for more. --Rebecca A. Staffel

My main criticism is that the book doesn't deliver what the cover promises: "Fast, healthy, and fun foods." The book should be subtitled "Fun foods to make if you are in culinary school and have a whole lot of free time on your hands." Check out these suggestions: vegetable croquettes, apple, mango & apricot muesli, paella, chocolate profiteroles & puff pastry mice. Even the purees are exotic and complicated: dried apricots with semolina, spinach, potato, parsnip & leek, tasty ground meat with rutabaga & tomato. Now if someone wants to really knock themselves out for a special occasion, I think that these menu suggestions could be very inspirational. But, the average parent just needs someone to tell them that they can steam carrots in the microwave with a little water then mash them with a fork.

I really lost hope when I noticed that they devote an entire page to "making purees with a mouli." Where would I even begin to find a mouli, and if I did, where the heck would I find room to store it? Have these folks never heard of a food processor or blender? Why make life so complicated? I've got to imagine that the authors of this book live a very priveledged life or that they've never had small children clinging to their legs!

I also think that the time estimates for the recipes are inaccurate. Many of the recipes involve quite elaborate decoration suggestions, yet the prep time is listed as only 20 or 30 minutes. Again, the pictures are lovely, and I really do wish my food could be so inventive. But the pictures remind me of the Christmas cookie covers of magazines that showcase all those elaborately decorated cookies that I could never hope to reproduce. Hey, we are not talking high art here, a good day for me is when there is more food in the baby than there is on the floor.

Another complaint I have with this book is that it covers too much ground without much depth. This book begins at birth and goes to five years, and it's only 145 pages. With so much space taken up with glossy pictures and exotic recipes, there is not much room to cover any one topic effectively.

All in all, I think this book might be a good supplement cookbook to have. You might pull it out some day when the sun is shining and you are feeling especially ambitious. But, on the average day, I can think of five other cookbooks I'd pull out before it.


Are you sick of PB&J? Are you ready to actually cook?   February 8, 2001
 126 out of 131 found this review helpful

If you are looking to move beyond the usual middle American repertoire of macaroni & cheese, fish sticks & fries, chicken nuggets, etc. then I think you will be very pleased with this book. I am a mother of two toddlers (ages 14 mos and 3 yrs) and I am sick to death of prepackaged foods. I checked this book out from the library before deciding to buy it because of the mixed reviews.

It is very presentation-heavy, but that's what makes it fun to look at and gets you inspired. I wouldn't really make mini pizzas with vegetable toppings cut out to look like animal faces, but I would still use the same ingredients to top my pizzas. Just because the author makes her homemade chicken nuggets in star shapes doesn't mean you HAVE to do that too! But it's a good trick if you have a really reluctant or picky eater.

Many of the recipes use "exotic" ingredients, like parsnips, shallots, etc. (OK, you foodies, stop snickering.) They are exotic to most mothers of babies and toddlers who can't remember the last time they ate something you wouldn't find in a school cafeteria. But part of the appeal of this book is branching out into new foods, almost all of which are available at your local Safeway.

Another reviewer complained that some of the food choices were unsafe (choking or allergy hazards), but obviously you have to use your common sense and listen to your doctor's advice too. I found many references in the book where the author warns against giving berries, nuts, honey, etc. too early, marked prominently in the sidebars.

The meal planners for the different ages were great. Most of all this makes you think about what you are feeding your child instead of slinging out just whatever you have in the cupboard. I don't have any of this fancy equipment (mouli, food grinder, etc.) but most of that is only needed for the baby food recipes. If you have a food processor and a blender, you're probably fine.

If you're ready to move beyond Gerber pureed peas or Easy Mac N Cheese, give this book a try!


Excellent Resource   April 2, 2000
 51 out of 53 found this review helpful

I love this book and refer to it on a weekly basis. The book is in an easy to follow stage-by-stage format. This book provides wonderful, easy, delicious, and healthy recipes for your baby. Most importantly, it provides useful instruction on how to begin making your own baby food. My nine month old son loves the "Cheesy Stars" and "Fruity Chicken" recipes. I have followed this book since the day my son began solids and it has been an indispensible resource. This book also has beautiful and demonstrative photographs, making cooking for your baby fun. I am proud to say that as a mom with a full time job outside the home AND with the help of this book, my baby has hardly eaten commercial baby food! (I also liked this book much better than Ruth Yaron's overly hyped "Super Baby Food.")


Great for baby, with a few shortcomings   December 26, 2002
 43 out of 44 found this review helpful

First Meals seems to be about how a Cordon Bleu chef, obsessed with nutrition, cooks for her own kids. It is very healthful approach to infant's needs, challenging to the ordinary mom's cooking skills, and tends to yeild a few disappointments the more you use it.

I started using this book for my 8 month old son about 5 months ago, with great results-- at first. The baby is in excellent health and spirits, after eating home prepared baby food that was easy to make. Ms Karmel's baby recipes are wonderful, resulting in foods far superior in smell and taste to what comes in jars.

The first sets of recipes taste good: Ms. Karmel is dead on when she gives advice about the foods that babies like. My son really does enjoy parsnips, for example. I am grateful for the first sections of the book, where Ms. Karmel opened my family's world to a lot of new and healthy foods. In addition to this, the charts and suggestions I found dead on for my son's introductions to solids, as well. His pediatrician has approved of all the advice for feeding my son that was in this book, so for my infant's needs, this was a very happy fit.

Ms. Karmel's recipes for toddlers and older children did produce some disappointments, unfortunately. While the time allowances for the baby foods and purees were accurate, it took me much, much more time to prepare foods in the latter sections than was indicated by the recipe.

In addition to taking more time than she allows, many of the latter recipes simply didn't taste very good. This was particularly inconvenient, because many of the recipes in these sections are merely variations of each other, sometimes resulting in one flop after another. Ms. Karmel's Tomato Soup, for example, was a busy mom's nightmare. It called for three steps of proceessing and after two hours of cooking and a big mess to clean up, I ended up with soup that was less than tasty. Both of my sons refused to eat it (and I didn't blame them.) Other recipes suffered because they simply call for too much onion, in my opinion. For example, my whole family found the Turkey Balls and Pepper Sauce particularly objectionable, being too spicy and greasy.

My final complaint is that the recipes are too fatty for the whole family to enjoy. I know that this is good for the baby, but it seems to me that a Cordon Bleu chef can invent some way to adapt the recipes for so that you could prepare meals for not only your baby, but for older kids and adults at the same time. Ms. Karmel should also become more aware of how much time her recipes really do call for, including clean up time afterward. Not all of us are trained cooks working in a well equipped lab kitchen.

In sum, I like this book and use it, but I think it could be more realistic about the cooking needs of an average family. I don't want my children's memories to be of me slaving away at a stove. I want more time to play with my kids; I'd like to cook once for everyone and get it over with! That in mind, I'd like to see a revised edition of this book that includes more basic recipes for the whole family to enjoy. I would like to learn how to modify the recipes so that my baby can get the fat he needs, but in a format that can be modified for my husband, my older son and myself.


Fun Food that is healthy too!   March 23, 2002
 40 out of 42 found this review helpful

Salmon Starfish on a bed of green bean "seaweed" sounds a bit exotic for children, however one wonders if a child will grow up to be a master chef if fed a healthy diet of gourmet food as a child. ;)

While this is written to amuse children and parents alike, I could not help thinking some of the ideas were too good just for kids. The cucumber flowers on the Cucumber and Cheese open sandwiches looked quite lovely for a summer tea as did the salad and cheese cut-out butterfly sandwiches.

As a cook who once used to make alligators out of pickles to serve with sandwiches to amuse my clients (don't ask), I can say, this book has some cute ideas. The chocolate profiteroles & puff pastry mice looked good to me! You have to see the "sleeping cannelloni" where they have a blanket of cheese, mushroom faces and black olive boots.

The first thing you will notice is that this book is filled with really healthy food! Sure, there are cookies and pastries, but for the most part the food is made from fresh ingredients like vegetables and chicken breast, etc.

Annabel Karmel is a leading expert on cooking for children and also happens to be a Cordon Bleu chef. It shows! Her three children are her inspiration. They don't care if the food is healthy, they just want it to taste good. Annabel has combined "child appeal" with sound nutritional principles. Parents can give their children the best nutritional start to life and encourage their children not to be fussy eaters.

After a brief introduction, you will want to take a look at the kitchen equipment you will want to have on hand. An electric food processor, hand blender, metal-mesh strainer and moulis will be pretty common in many kitchen, however, you might want to invest in these items when purchasing this book if you are cooking for very young children. When preparing baby food, you will need to blend purees and a food processor will come in very handy. Of course, you can use a mouli to make the puree as my mom was known to do in Africa, where I don't remember bottles of baby food being very common.

There is also a section on Food Allergies & Intolerance.

The book is divided up into:

4-6 Months: A guide to successful weaning, with advice on introducing solids, and featuring a photographic gallery of first purees and 14 simple recipes.

6-9 Months: Expert information on introducing new tastes and textures, followed by a gallery of more advanced purees and 27 recipes.

9-12 Months: A discussion of developing dexterity and encouraging self-feeing, with a gallery of suitable new foods, including finger foods, and 17 recipes.

12-18 Months - Explaining toddlers' changing dietary needs and the importance of integrating into family meals. A gallery of appealing foods is followed by 25 recipes.

18 Months - 2 Years: Creative and sensible strategies for dealing with fussy eaters. The gallery shows quick-to-prepare foods for active toddlers selected from the 28 recipes.

2-3 Years: Constructive tips on planning easy meals for younger children with a busy day, with a gallery showing perfect party foods and 25 creative recipes.

3-5 Years: Suggestions for ways to encourage your child to follow a varied diet. The gallery shows a cosmopolitan selection of dishes from the 20 recipes.

Recipes that look delish:

Pear Puree
Rice & Apricot Puree
Papaya & Cottage Cheese
Mango & Banana no-cook puree
Creamy Chicken & Broccoli
Tuna and Zucchini Lasagna
Apple, Mango & Apricot Muesli
Banana Muffins
Strawberry & Banana Smoothie
Homemade Ice Pops
Cheesy Bread Animals

A cute cookbook with practical advice written
by an incredibly creative professional cook!

~The Rebecca Review

P.S. Look for updated versions of this book...