• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Pregnancy Logo 2018

Pregnancy Magazine

Pregnancy and infancy news, tips, and reviews

“Great
  • Pregnancy
  • Labor & Delivery
  • Baby
  • Breastfeeding
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • mom

Book Review: Baby-Led Feeding

04/10/2018 by Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RDN author of Born To Eat & the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies Leave a Comment

Small baby spoon-feeding

Baby-Led Feeding bookHave you heard the buzz around a baby-led weaning (BLW) approach to feeding infants? If not, get started here with “What is Baby-Led Weaning?” . This popular feeding method is no longer just a trend, it’s here to stay. If you’re digesting your way through the many articles around why (Here’s 5 Reasons Why) you should consider a baby-led feeding approach, and deciding to give it a go let’s add a book to your registry list, Baby-Led Feeding: A Natural Way to Raise Happy, Independent Eaters  by Jenna Helwig and with nutrition consulting from Registered Dietitian Natalia Stasenko.When I first noted that Helwig was writing a cookbook devoted to BLW, or as she refers to it as baby-led feeding, I instantly got excited. Helwig is an excellent chef and food editor, and also the author of Real Baby Food (another great option for those interested in a traditional path in feeding babies).

Top 5 Reasons Why We Enjoyed the Book

  1. Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures: As a food editor it’s clear that Helwig and Stasenko went all out on their food images, and quite frankly they nailed it!
  2. Delicious Recipes for the Whole Family: It gets a bit annoying picking up a cookbook that only serves up foods that (maybe) a child wants to eat. Real food for the whole family, meaning food that you could serve to your neighbors, not just a baby.
  3. The Layout: Knowing which foods to serve up and when can be confusing for a lot of parents, and the authors did a great job of breaking chapters down by the age of your baby.
  4. Allergy Concerns: They did an excellent job creating a flow chart to spot allergic reactions (on a side note, if you have any concerns stay off social media and just get head to the doctors immediately to find out!)
  5. Feeding Schedule and Serving Sizes: Last but not least, this little chart is definitely helpful for the first time parent trying to figure out when and how much. Of course, we recommend really tuning into baby and following their lead by remembering the Division of Responsibility laid out by Ellyn Satter, this article will help clarify if baby is getting enough food.

Even if a baby-led approach is not the path you want to start with this book still is helpful. Even when starting with pureed foods a baby still needs to advance to solids and finger-friendly foods, in fact it’s recommend that an infant only has pureed foods for about a month. Helwig and Stasenko give tips on how to serve up the recipes to meet a variety of texture.

First Recipe

Simple Poached Salmon (from the cookbook Baby-Led Feeding, Helwig & Stasenko, 2018)
Ingredients:
  • 1 Lemon, halved
  • One 6-ounce fillet salmon, rinsed and any bones removed
Directions:
  1. Choose a lidded pot in which your salmon fillet can lie flat. Fill the pot about halfway with water. Cut one half of the lemon into thin slices and add them to the water. Bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Add the salmon. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and remove the lid. Let the salmon sit in the water for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the skin.
  3. Cool to room temperature or serve chilled. Flake with a fork for easier grabbing and spritz with lemon juice from the remaining lemon half before serving.
Makes 6 servings
make ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Age It up:
Poached salmon is delicious at any age. Serve it with lemony mayonnaise for dipping or flake it over pasta drizzled with olive oil and dressed with lemon.
The first 1000 days of baby’s life are critical for food and texture introduction, and having a cookbook on hand to guide kitchen adventures can be invaluable in hitting these milestones with your baby.
Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RDN is the co-author of Born To Eat: Whole, Healthy Foods From Baby’s First Bite and the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies.

Filed Under: Feeding Tagged With: Baby, Baby-led feeding, baby-led weaning, feeding, feeding baby, nutrition

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

More to See

parent coaching

Parent Coaching: 3 Ways to Create a More Joyful Home

05/11/2021 By Sarah Moore

The perfect workout for pregnant women (sponsored)

03/28/2019 By Isa Herrera, MSPT CSCS

Aligned Parents webinar

12/09/2022 By Paul Banas

home

How to make sure your home is ready for the new addition to your family

11/21/2022 By Sammi DeRosia

Footer

Copyright 2021 Pregnancy Magazine Group

Emails powered by Wishpond: PregnancyWishpond

Dedicated WordPress hosting: PregnancyFlywheel

WordPress Theme: PregnancyTheme

This website provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for an examination by your healthcare provider. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

 

Recent

  • How to Be a Good Mother: 5 Ways To Raise Children with Love & Respect
  • Best Parenting Books: 28 Books That Will Change Your Life for the Better
  • Aligned Parents webinar
  • How to make sure your home is ready for the new addition to your family
  • Just had a baby shower? Here’s how to store your new gear

Search

© Copyright 2023 Pregnancy Magazine Group · All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT