201 Organic Baby Purees {Book Review+Giveaway}

Because Jude is such a good eater and willing to try so many foods, I'm really determined to make my own baby food this time around. With Soren, I recall spending hours running stuff through the food mill and freezing cubed baby food only to have much of it thrown out or mixed into soups for his dad and me.

So far I've been giving Jude homemade purees at least once a day, so I was eager to review a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees by Tamika L. Gardner's (founder of SimplyBabyFoodRecipes.net).

You would think that with two kids now, making my own baby food would be difficult. However with a small counter-top baby food blender, it's so simple just tossing in some fresh or steamed foods and pureeing them with water.  Gardner's book gives parents confidence in combining foods from the most basic to a little more gourmet as children grow.

201 Organic Baby Purees is a great starting point for me.  I'm not one to necessarily go out shopping for all the ingredients in a recipe, but I do like to combine what I have on hand, like yogurt and a ripe pear, which I purred into a mash-up of the Plum-Pear Yogurt Yum Yum recipe.

While the recipe called for pureed plums, I had some prunes on hand that I added (just a tad).  Jude lapped it up eagerly, and kept yelling for more.

While many of the basic recipes are redundant for an experienced cook and baby food maker like myself, I do like that they inspire me to add more variety into Jude's diet.

The book is arranged by baby's age and is really easy to flip through and reference via the index.  There are also tags under the recipes titles referencing categories like "superfoods", freezer-friendly meals, instant no-cook purees, and even dishes that are good for the whole family.

I love not only that the focus is on organic eating, but that there also many vegetarian options included in the book, including a few tofu dishes.  In a chapter on organic eating, I'm glad to see that Gardner has included the "toxic twenty" fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide amounts. It's always helpful being reminded of those foods (or learning about them for the first time).  All in all, 201 Organic Baby Purees is a great reference for any home baby-food chef.

WIN IT!

One lucky reader will win a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees

To Enter
Leave a comment here letting me know if you've ever made your own baby food or why you'd like to win this book.

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~Follow @katydidandkid and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. You can tweet once per day (leave a comment each day). You can copy and paste my tweet if you'd like: #WIN a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees from @AdamsMedia http://goo.gl/fb/Fcpjx @Katydidandkid #Giveaway ends 2/19

You must do the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win, thanks!" comments will NOT be considered). You will have until Sunday February 19th at 11:59pmEST to enter. The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email.I'll also post the winners on my blog HERE. If I don't hear back from the winner within 24 hours, I'll pick another. 
Disclosure: I received a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees for review purposes. All opinions are my own.