Feeding the Whole Family - a cookbook review

When you're out grocery shopping and choosing the food your family eats, Cynthia Lair, author of

"Feeding the Whole Family: Recipes for Babies, Young Children and their Parents" 

asks you to consider the following:

• Can I imagine it growing? 
• How many ingredients does it have?
• What's been done to the food since it was harvested?
• Is this product “part” of a food or the “whole” entity?
• How long has this food been known to nourish human beings?

On it's third edition, Lair's cookbook for feeding the whole family is chock full of great information and inspiring recipes. Spanning the globe with influences from French, Greek, Thai and the American Northwest cuisines, Lair's recipes are varied and easy and incorporate real, whole foods.

The first 55 pages are introductory, and truly, a joy to read. I found myself underlining points throughout and even learned a few tips and tricks! She quickly and efficiently explained the importance of certain cooking techniques, including soaking grains and legumes to increase their digestibility, while on the next page discuses the importance of sitting down for family meals. Her discussion on foods to eat when pregnant and breastfeeding, and how to later incorporate baby's meals with what the family is eating was very helpful.

Most of the recipes include options for feeding babies and toddlers from the same familial pot, sometimes by removing certain ingredients mid-cooking to mash and serve separately before other spices are added, others by creating a “buffet” of sorts to make individualized plates once dinner is served with parents having the opportunity for more and spicier palates while younger children can still have a varied plate. She provides several tips for working with picky eaters (children and adults alike!) and offers great encouragement for raising healthy eaters.

To read the rest of the review, please click here . . .