Book excerpt: Everyone loves a home-cooked meal--even babies and toddlers! Experts agree that homemade baby food is the healthiest way to feed young children. By making their own baby food, parents can drastically reduce the sugar, salt, artificial colors, fillers, additives, and preservatives in their child's diet. And now making baby food from scratch has never been easier--with this practical, user-friendly cookbook by Martha and David Kimmel, founders of the phenomenally successful Mommy Made* line of baby and toddler food. Updated for a special 10th anniversary edition, Mommy Made* is filled with 140 easy-to-make recipes that are perfect for introducing your baby to wholesome solid foods. These delicious, kid-tested dishes--which include finger foods, shakes and smoothies, snacks on the go, spoonable treats, and a variety of table dishes--were created with your baby's special nutritional needs in mind, and will help your child establish healthful eating habits that will last a lifetime. Mommy Made* also includes: Nutrition advice from birth to three years--incorporating guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics A blueprint for when and how to get your baby started on solid food Answers to parents' most frequently asked questions: from milk and protein needs to determining portion size, preventing "hunger strikes," and detecting food allergies Tips on pureeing, straining, and mashing, as well as storage, thawing and reheating, and using the microwave A handy nutrition glossary, food pyramid, and list of helpful websites And much more!