Do annabel karmel's meal planners make anyone else feel completely inadequate?

[babs102]

They are ridiculous, how does anyone have time to prepare that much food?

She doesn't make me feel inadequate. She makes me feel glad not to be some nutwit with a Dye-nasty hairdo and photoshoot photos to match who persists in refering to her grown-up husband as Daddy (who "loves salmon and raison chicken braised in orange juice" and all those other blearghy things she does.....)

I sold her very early on on ebay. Along with GF and her Royal Highness of Supreme Babywittery Stoppard.

Well, I´ve never heard of her, so she doesn´t make me feel inadequate!

I did BLW so was not remotely worried until my HV started asking probing questions about puddings and I got the AK book free with a magazine so thought I would have a look through... then I felt inadequate

What's all this puddings business? Why would you want to get anyone in the habit of having puddings all the time? Hard work and not terribly healthy surely?

Is it just me who more or less gave pureed versions of what we were having?

Followed by fruit, yogurt or fromage frais?

Just joined this thread - remember that this is just marketing made to make you feel you should be doing something 'good for your baby'! My DS at 7mths hates my home made purees but can't get enough Hipp and Organix! Don't worry about it!!

Is it time for me to again mention ambrosia rice pudding? Simple ingredients (rice, whole milk, cream, sugar) and the sugar content is the same % as breastmilk! And you can buy it organic - job done

I agree oska.

It just feeds on insecurities of some mothers imo.

I found weaning the the most stressful thing ever. Was such a relief when we could just chuck a bit of our dinner on dd's plate. Deffo will do BLW if there is ever a next time.

The Annabel book made me feel inadequate, but I found it comforting as I had no idea what I was doing. A love/hate relationship I had with that book. Now I am wiser and know that there really isn't a right way

Phew!

Was beginning to think that I had irreparably damaged them for thinking for myself & not following the advice of the latest "guru"!

Definately not.
I dust it with the rest of the books I don't use on my bookcase. Makes me feel virtuous that I'm doing a bit of cleaning.

AK is ok. Take what you want from it, like everything parenting advice - there are some nice recipes but don't let it make you feel inadequate. Life's far too short to be cooking the whole time.

I notice AK is an advocate of weaning babies at 4 months now that she has a baby food range out.

She did when I bought my first book.

"By thesecondcoming on Sat 24-Oct-09 11:43:52
BLW makes me piss myself...isn't it just 'letting them feed themselves' "

that's exactly what it is? do you need any help with that incontinence problem of yours?

I used some AK recipes for dinner.

For breakfast and lunch, we had cereal and fruit, then sandwiches/cheese/yoghurt/fruit/biscuit. Like normal people.

apparently, she has a fillipino cook living at her mansion in central london doing all the boring cooking - she is a bit like gordon ramsay in all of this popping in occasionally to offer some crit. i used many of her recipes, i was never fanatical about it all though. ds did not really go for most of it - i wish i had ditched it much earlier than age 2. as for dh, i'd rather not share some of his comments (i remember his face when he tasted the sweet potato and chicken stew for instance - and btw he is a real foodie!!).

if you really want to become a devotee though, a good tip would be to use organix purees inst-ead of stewing your own fruit at breakfast time. beaba babycook machines are good too although they are horrendously expensive and the recipe booklet accompanying them in french suggests steaming some "lapin" (rabbit) for a 6 month old - it was never gonna happen!!!

ps the only exception was that ds loved the oven baked nuggets although he would not touch them now!!

this might cheer you up

My NCT friends have clung to Annabel Karmel for dear life. Really dont get it myself.

Who is she exactly to be such a bloody authority?

That woman drives me mad!

I think she thinks every parent/childcare worker had time to stand around making fillet steak and brocolli puree and elderflower jelly or some such rubbish.

Shes far to high and mighty for me

she the childrens Gillian Frigging Mckeith!

I didnt buy her fab (damn!) looking baby food trays out of principle.....anyone know where i can get ice cube trays with lids WITHOUT annabel karmel ontop?

Oh and in the book (I have taken to sniggering at it, juvenile I know...) it has warnings on about every other page saying "Babies are very likely to choke on food! Be very, very careful!" (or such things - she does have a point about never leaving them alone to eat but I thought it was a bit strong)

She really does not like BLW, does she? I still remember that radio chat she did with Gill Rapley, who came across as really down to earth, and she (AK) was spluttering "but... but... they might choke on a lychee stone!"

I was lent her book and use it sometimes, but am a bit shocked at the meal planners. Firstly isn't it a waste of food and expensive to use so many different ingredients all the time? Plus as someone said before you'd have to spend ALL day cooking for all those hot lunches.
I almost posted on her the other day when I though I'd make one of her creations for DS who is 18 months. It took me far to long and in the end he was tired, upset and just wanted to go to bed after a few mouthfuls! Yes I did feel inadequate - for following her book in the first place, when I could have rustled something up alot quicker without her!