All you new mothers out there - Ever wondered what to feed your baby ? Has the baby eaten enough ? How your baby will react to certain food ? Is your baby really full ? Are you doing the right thing with your baby's nutrition needs ?
I've been through this phase years back when my boy was little. Luckily, my mother helped out a lot and my baby had a good, nutritious beginning. He was introduced to all vegetables and fruits by the time we was 18 months old and now thankfully, he is a non-fussy eater. And that is a huge blessing !
If you are in doubt and wondered if those grandma recipe are still relevant, and if you always wanted those nutrition facts alongside, this e-book by Roma Sharma, is what you're looking for.
Roma is an active food blogger and blogs at
Roma's Space and has written this book on baby food recipes, based on her personal experience with her two little girls
Of course every child is unique and has her own set of likes and dislikes, so you can't really have standard recipes that work for all babies, but luckily in this book, there are a lot of options available
She starts with explaining the benefits of breast-feeding and how it helps the mother and the baby, without sounding preachy. Its got what your baby needs at each stage categorised into different phases: 6-7 months, 8-9 months, 10-12 months and 12 months upwards. Since this is the age where the baby develops the fastest, it is also critical that you give the relevant type of food at each stage.
What I liked in this book, is that the recipes are from the North and South of India. Every family tends to stick to what they have followed for generations and sometimes, miss out on what's followed locally, based on the climate and local produce.
She has simple recipes for soups, juices, porridges and finger foods for different stages of their growth.
Small notes on what to include and what to avoid are particularly useful. Little pictures accompanying it make the reading more pleasant
Also, its not just a book with recipes, its a little guide on how to deal with fussy eaters, what feeding equipment to use, how to deal with teething problems, etc...
It handles how you should introduce new food to your little one and how to check for any allergic reaction to that particular food.
She also talks about the home remedies for problems like constipation, cough and cold and stomach upsets which babies face more often that you'd like them to. Invariably, these problem crop up in the middle of the night and they can drive you crazy with their non-stop crying. I am talking from experience here !
The other neat part here is travel food for babies, which I think is one huge task that sometimes makes families forgo travel plans for the first couple of years !
I have always believed that home made baby food is really what helps babies the most, and in spite of our nuclear families, hectic work schedules and availability of packaged baby food, I think we owe our little ones this much.
My son was raised on home made baby food for the first one and half years, with most of the vegetables and fruits included, all made interesting enough for him to enjoy.
I have friends and cousins who have little ones, calling up to find out what they should feed the baby, how do they start on it, what about food-allergies and all those queries that new moms always have...
I would recommend this e-book by Roma for young mothers. It has been categorised well and has a simple style of writing. It has recipes that mothers and grandmothers have passed down plus what has worked with her kids, all documented well. It has simple recipes, that can easily be made at home, along with the nutrition facts.
She has also checked with her child's paediatrician and so that all the information is accurate enough.
This book is available
here on amazon
