I was first introduced to the world of Annabel Karmel when my son started solids two years ago. A friend had the book Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby and she raved about it. I borrowed it and was immediately hooked. I bought my own copy shortly thereafter. Like all of Annabel’s books, Top 100 Baby Purees contains well-written recipes that are easy to follow, full of nutrients and pleasing to little tummies.

I recently spoke to Annabel about everything from her three latest books to breastfeeding to the importance of feeding babies fish to what motivates her work.

About Annabel Karmel

Annabel Karmel is the best-selling author of 18 books focusing on baby and toddler food and nutrition. She was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) by the Queen in 2006 for her work promoting children’s nutrition. She is the busy mom of three children and, in addition to recipe books, she has created food that is served at theme parks and sold in supermarkets throughout England. (Hopefully that will make its way to the US!)

Annabel’s journey to best-selling author started with tragedy. Unfortunately, Annabel suffered every mom’s worst nightmare when her first daughter died of a rare viral disease. She said, quite candidly, that her whole world “fell apart.” When her second child was a bad eater she started making her own recipes. As part of a large and active mom’s group, she quickly learned she was not alone and that many babies are picky and a challenge to feed. She started sharing her recipes with those moms and upon their suggestion decided to write a book of children’s recipes.

Annabel was motivated by her first born and the idea of creating a “legacy to Natasha [by writing] a recipe book for babies and toddlers and to really research baby and toddler nutrition.” She spent the next 2.5 years researching nutrition, talking to experts and experimenting and testing her recipes. Her first book, The Healthy Baby Meal Planner, was published in 1991. With pure grace, Annabel reasons, “If I hadn’t had Natasha and she hadn’t have died I never would have written my books and my books have helped a lot of people so you have to find the positive.”

The Shopping Mama: When should you start feeding a baby solids?
Annabel says, “Judge your child as an individual. You should not introduce any solids before 17 weeks.” She suggests not waiting past six months.

Similar to in the US, the recommendation in England is to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months before introducing solids. However, Annabel recognizes that very few breastfeed that long so it’s not realistic. “It’s great if you can do it but the truth is that not many people like to do it for the full six months.” She suggests, “From about 20 weeks it’s okay to introduce solid foods. There is no scientific evidence at all that introducing foods at 20 weeks rather than 6 months will make a difference to your child developing an allergy so there‘s no danger in it.”

One of her new books, First Meals And More: Your Questions Answered has loads of straight-forward information in Q and A format about starting solids. The book is organized by age (example: 0 – 6 months, 6 – 9 months, 9 – 12 months, etc.) and each section discusses issues relevant to that stage developmentally and recipes to tackle common issues. One thing I noticed is that Annabel suggests introducing new foods more quickly than in the States. She says to start with single food purees, next move to combining purees and then move to recipes including cheese and, finally, introduce meat.

TSM: What is the best way to introduce meats to an infant’s diet while avoiding the jarred meats?
“Very often, moms think baby doesn’t like meat because they spit it out. It’s more often to do with texture,” Annabel says. She recommends introducing meat in a puree with with lots of root vegetables (carrots and sweet potato) and cook it quite slowly, like a casserole, so it’s soft.”

I followed up with a question about the appropriate age to introduce meat to a baby’s diet. Annabel said I should start feeding Baby Girl (7.5 months) meat now. “Babies need calories to grow,” she explained. “A lot of moms continue too long just giving fruit and vegetable purees and don’t move on giving other things like meat and fish and chicken and cheese. Babies grow so rapidly their first year and they need nutrient dense foods.”

TSM: What are some suggestions for healthy finger food?
Some of Annabel’s favorite finger foods are soft fruit cut in pieces, cooked vegetables, dried apricots, small sandwiches with the bread flattened and mini meatballs. She says to provide reasonably large pieces so they can hold onto it and enjoy the independence of trying to feed themselves.

You’ll be happy to learn that Annabel recently completed a book called Top 100 Finger Foods! I, for one, cannot wait for that book.

TSM: What are your thoughts about “junk” food at different ages?
Lucky for me (and moms everywhere), Annabel thinks that everything in moderation is okay. She even told me if her children want to go to McDonald’s every once in a while it’s okay. Of course, she has some great ideas for making your own healthy version of junk food as an alternative. “Make burgers with quality lean beef and add onions and garlic. Chicken nuggets with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, pizza using an english muffin base with fresh vegetables and tomatoes and topped with cheese.”

For many moms, snack time and on-the-go eating present unique challenges when quick, easy and nutritious don’t always go together. Annabel likes sandwich wraps for on-the-go eating and vegetables with a tempting dip (such as hummus), dried fruits and tuna melts for snack food.For more great suggestions, check out Lunch Boxes and Snacks: Over 120 healthy recipes from delicious sandwiches and salads to hot soups and sweet treats.

TSM: When can children start cooking and helping in the kitchen?
“Start at 2.5 to 3 with rolling out dough, cutting shapes using cookie cutters, mashing potatoes, mixing, stirring,” she says. Annabel wrote a book called the The Toddler Cookbook that includes kid-friendly recipes and ways to get your toddler involved in the kitchen.

One of Annabel’s new books, Cook It Together, focuses on ten ingredients and features recipes you can make with little ones. “What’s different about that cook book is that it teaches children about where their food comes from,” Annabel explains. For instance, the book explains how bees make honey, provides some facts about honey and then includes recipes using honey.

Here’s another great way to encourage a love of cooking: Annabel’s children were responsible for dinner one night a week. In their home it was Wednesday. And, every Wednesday, the children would cook dinner (with mum’s guidance) and they were allowed to invite friends over to enjoy the fruits of their labor. They made the same meal every week for one month so by the end of the month they were experts at that meal. Annabel also suggests cooking birthday parties where kids make mini-pizzas. Sounds like fun!

The third of Annabel’s newest books is a board book helps little ones get to know and learn to love fruits and veggies. I Can Eat A Rainbow features fruit and vegetable characters that help teach the importance of eating vitamin-packed foods.

TSM: What’s a final message for moms about cooking for their kids?
While Annabel knows that not all babies and children will love nutritious food immediately and that not all moms have the time to cook healthy food for every single meal. Her goal? “Get more moms cooking and more families eating together and better quality food for children wherever they go.” She says her message for The Shopping Mama readers is that it’s important to cook occasionally and that you don’t have to be a chef to prepare healthy, delicious food for your family.

There really is nothing better than the joy when your little one enjoys something you prepared. With Annabel’s books, it’s easier than you might think to make baby food and prepare healthy meals for the whole family. I ended our conversation totally motivated to try new recipes and even feed Baby Girl fish! (It has important fatty acids!) Take a peek at Annabel’s website, watch some clips on Annabel’s internet TV channel and try some of her recipes and, trust me, you’ll be an Annabel Karmel devotee just like me.

Connect & Shop

Connect! AnnabelKarmel.com is a wonderful resource. The website is loaded with great information including recipes, food guides and even a forum community so you can connect with other moms. I just learned about Annabel Karmel TV and I’m already addicted. You can see Annabel prepare food and discuss everything from allergies to breastfeeding.

Shop! Purchase Annabel Karmel’s books, including her most recent First Meals And More: Your Questions Answered ($14.96), I Can Eat A Rainbow ($7.99) and Cook It Together ($10.18) on Amazon.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Annabel for being so generous with her time. I really enjoyed our conversation and she was nothing but gracious. Thanks, too, go to Mary for making it possible.

Also need to give some love to Shan, Staci, Sarah, Cat, Pamela & Andrea and everyone who suggested questions for my interview with Annabel!