What A Good Eater Book Review

So often parents of young babies or toddlers wonder what to feed them, especially now that more and more children have food allergies. This new e-book answers those questions along with 60 recipes for children starting at 6 months and up. (Note to my regular readers, these recipes are not gluten or grain free but they are real food recipes and can easily be adapted to grain or gluten free diets.)

What a Good Eater! is a cookbook of baby and toddler recipes with healthy herbs and spices to add flavor and broaden your baby’s palate. It’s a guide for parents to confidently feed their babies and toddlers wholesome, healthy, age-appropriate foods which help promote a diverse palate right from the get-go. It’s a great gift for the holidays as well as baby showers!

I love interesting cookbooks and this one is. The back story of how this cookbook came together is really interesting. From there the coauthors go through different ages, beginning with 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, 12, months and 15 months. At each age they give parameters for what foods to give your young one, an eating schedule,  and then some recipes that the whole family can eat, not just the baby. 

The recipe that we choose to make and eat out of the book was Khemma: Indian Ground Beef.

10 months plus

YIELD approximately 6 cups

FOOD STORAGE refrigerator friendly, freezer friendly

PREP TIME 5 minutes

COOK TIME 35 minutes Kheema is a traditional South Asian medley of ground meat, potatoes, and peas. This recipe presents a milder version, specially designed for babies and toddlers, of a traditional kheema. Ground beef is an excellent source of protein and iron, and the sweet potato, peas, and spices add amazing nutrition. This is a wonderful one-pot meal! Try serving the kheema plain, with basmati rice, quinoa, or barley.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced  1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 11/3 pounds ground beef, preferably organic, grass fed  
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided (we recommend using salt only if your baby is 12 months plus)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander  teaspoon ground cumin  
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 cups sweet potatoes, diced into ½-inch-by-½-inch cubes  
• 1 cup water  
• 12-ounce package frozen peas, straight from freezer  
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, seeds removed

Instructions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and sauté for 4–6 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir continuously for 30 seconds to prevent burning. Add the beef, break it into small pieces with the spoon, and allow it to brown for about 2 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon salt (if using), coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Mix well. Cook until the meat is brown and no longer pink, about 4–6 minutes.

Add the potatoes and the water. Mix well and cover with a tight-fitted lid. Cook for 12–15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender, stirring occasionally. Add the frozen peas, remaining salt, pepper, and lime juice. Mix well and cook for 3–5 minutes or until the peas are soft enough for your baby.

Allow it to cool and serve, cutting into bite-size pieces appropriate for your baby. For adults and other family members who might enjoy a more flavorful, spicier version of this dish, try garnishing only the adult portions with freshly diced jalapeño pepper and/or freshly minced cilantro! Serve and enjoy.

My review

This recipe was a big hit with my family. Now, I don’t have any little ones around anymore but sometimes teens are tougher to get recipes past. All 3 of my teens loved this and commented on how good it was. The 11 year old liked it as well. And my husband ate heartily and enjoyed it. We had kale chips on the side (also recipe is in the book) and finished up with banana ice cream (not in the book but lots of other banana recipes are).

For more information on the cookbook you can go to the website, What A Good Eater.

This cookbook is available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. My affiliate link is here if you would like to order.  As mentioned earlier this is a wonderful gift for a new mother or one who is struggling to figure out good eating for her young ones.

List of other participating bloggers in the launch of this cookbook. (You can get some other opinions and recipes if you check out their posts.)

The Balanced Life
Studio Botanica
Attainable Sustainable
Tarot by Lisa
SassMouth
Homegrown & Healthy
Stay at Home Panda
Ramblin’ Mama
Sammiches and Psych Meds
Family Footnote
Belgian Foodie
The Filled Lantern
Nourishing Days
Fighting Off Frumpy
Gluten Free & Other Allergen Free Recipes – MeganLierman.com
Lola’s Cocina
Anna Vocino
PunkWife
Full of Days
Mother Fluff – Sara Green