Feed Yourself, Feed Your Family: Good Nutrition and Healthy Cooking for New Moms and Growing Families

This food and wellness guide for women from pregnancy through the early phases of motherhood offers much beyond recipes—there are details about specific nutrients, foods to avoid during pregnancy, tips for simplifying meal preparation, and more. The recipes themselves aren’t anything new or special, but entries like roasted shrimp with grape tomatoes and summer squash; Greek meatballs with yogurt dipping sauce; and quinoa pilaf with white beans, feta cheese, and summer vegetables are appealing and generally quite healthy. Those in search of ideas for traditional baby foods won’t find a wide array of options—La Leche promotes child-led feeding rather than spoon-feeding—but celery root and potato puree, and minted pea puree are among the baby-friendly dishes. There are also versions of toddler classics such as oven-baked chicken tenders; homemade mac and cheese; and sweet potato fries. And of course La Leche unabashedly encourages longtime breastfeeding, but the tone isn’t preachy, which makes the book a pleasant and helpful read for any mom. (Mar.)