the petit appetit cookbook - organic recipes for little ones

www.petitappetit.com
www.amazon.com: The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler

when i was younger and visiting family in savannah for the summer, my parents would send my cousin and me to the local day camp to keep us busy. we'd flop around in the pool and beat the crap out of each other in dodgeball and then, come afternoon, it was snack time.

i remember clearly that first day - we were presented red, ripe, juicy slices of watermelon at snack time. "sweet!" i remember thinking. "watermelon is AWESOME! this camp rules."

day two: snack time again. and what did we get? watermelon... again! could i be any luckier?

day three: snack time once more. "guess what we're getting?" smiled my counselors with the utmost sincerity, "watermelon! hooray!"

wait a minute. this was not what i signed up for.

and neither did my son. however, like my poor misguided camp counselors, i find myself feeding him the same things every single day. bananas are easy! you love bananas! waffle? yes, please! how about for every meal? it's time to change up my repertoire.

from my trusted mommy friend nicole comes the petit appetit cookbook. mother of 3 1/2 year old brayden, she has had her experience with picky eaters and knows of what she speaks. so i'll let her tell you:

"the petit appetit cookbook is by far the best organic cookbook for kids that i have ever found, intended for children four months and up. i didn't discover it until brayden was about a year old, and it was just about the time we were both getting bored with the same old purees and finger foods.

we have tried most of the recipes in the last couple of years and have found them simple, flavorful, wholesome and interesting enough for parents, too. the book lists all nutritional information on the sidebar of each page, along with reference icons for no-sugar added, vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free and vegetarian recipes. some of brayden's favorites include "heart-y yogurt pancakes," "mom's meatloaf with red pepper puree," "baby ginger carrots," and "baked chicken bites." (all healthier versions of foods we normally eat - although actually this is one of the few meatloaf recipes i will tolerate! the author also calls refers to the meatloaf recipe as "beef cakes" since meatloaf has such an old-fashioned and slightly gross connotation).

we made the "celebration cupcakes" for brayden's first birthday (a recipe adapted from the children wtih diabetes website that uses half the sugar of most other cupcake recipes), and we still make the "mini apple banana bran muffins" regularly. the recipes are divided up by age-appropriateness and the book also includes multiple appendixes in the back for handy notes, like a food introduction record and toddler food diary.

there are no pictures or frills in this book, but in my opinion its attractive cover and clean layout make it a nice gift for new parents. "

so there you have it! go pick up your copy of the petit appetit cookbook today.

*thanks to niki for the suggestion and write up!