any babyfood makers around...I have a few ??

Re: any babyfood makers around...I have a few ??

• ErinCB

  February 2010

  WHen I was making it for my DS, I just made batches and froze it in ice cub trays. For an amount...I don't know how to explain it. Like, let's say I was doing butternut squash, I'd just do the whole squash and freeze it. But for something like sweet potatoes..maybe 2 at once? Depends on how big they are, I guess.

  I used my Magic Bullet to puree the food. I used a steamer basket on top of a pan of boiling water to do the steaming. 

  As for what they will be eating daily-- maybe start with just a cube or two and go from there. If they are still hungry, heat up another one. I can't remember anymore exact portions. But with it frozen in portions in ice cube trays, it's certainly easy to add more if they want it.
  

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• ErinCB

  February 2010

  Oh, with sweet potatoes though, I actually whipped them in my Kitchen Aid mixer instead of pureeing. It was easier, I thought. They turned out like really thin mashed potatoes.
  

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• jenkm

  February 2010

  I'm not a baby food maker - yet - but will be!  Just wanted to add that I wouldn't worry about the BPA issue as long as you cool the steamed food to room temp or a little warmer before processing.  I'm really glad you posted that the baby food makers aren't necessarily big enough - I was going to get one but think I'll stick with my food processor.

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• janjag member

  February 2010

  we use a hand blender... either steam in a pot or micro first, then just use the hand/emersion blender.  easy.  use the water that you steamed in, and sometimes you need to add more water to get it thin enough.  let cool and freeze in ice cube trays.  once frozen put in freezer bags.  can also add water at time of serving. 

  for green beans and peas we use frozen organic.  just follow bag directions and cook the whole bag.  these were the first we did - very easy.

  i don't know if i'm giving too much or not enough.  my girls aren't enthusiastic but eat what i give them.  they share - a few tablespoons of oatmeal w/formula and about 5small cubes of veg (or 3 regular cubes). 

  

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• SoldiersGreenBean

  February 2010

  ErinCB:

  WHen I was making it for my DS, I just made batches and froze it in ice cub trays. For an amount...I don't know how to explain it. Like, let's say I was doing butternut squash, I'd just do the whole squash and freeze it. But for something like sweet potatoes..maybe 2 at once? Depends on how big they are, I guess.

  I used my Magic Bullet to puree the food. I used a steamer basket on top of a pan of boiling water to do the steaming. 

  As for what they will be eating daily-- maybe start with just a cube or two and go from there. If they are still hungry, heat up another one. I can't remember anymore exact portions. But with it frozen in portions in ice cube trays, it's certainly easy to add more if they want it.
  

  This is exactly what we did for DD.  I'd just thaw another cube if I thought she wanted it.

  I did find, too, that peas don't come out smooth.  Green beans are better, but still not a completely smooth consistency.  Both are because of the husks.  I didn't do any work to find a solution other than buying jars, though.

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• groovygrl member

  February 2010

  Hi there!

  We started solids at 5 months so I've introduced 5 or 6 different foods I think & made them all myself. I also have the Beaba & I do really like it but I agree that it does not make very much- esp things like apples that have a high water content so once they're steamed & pureed, you look at it like, huh? where did it all go? haha. I do think it will be helpful down the road when I'm trying to do the whole blending up what we're eating for dinner thing since you can just dump whatever it is in there & blend it a little and it is SO much easier to clean than a cuisinart plus if you need to steam/soften whatever it is, no need for the extra pot/appliance. 

  I do use the Beaba at least for now since I'm not making tons but the other day I wanted to do a whole bag of carrots to freeze so I used a steamer basket in a pot & then my Cuisinart. Honestly the bpa thing never crossed my mind since I was blending up the carrots in the cuisinart for all of like maybe a minute, I don't think that I'm going to change what I do because of that, I don't store it in plastic or reheat in plastic so I'm really not worried.

  As far as portions go, my LOs are not big eaters of formula or solids so I did not need that much, they ate maybe a tbsp or so (plus formula to thin it if needed) at a time when I was introducing the foods (we've been on solid hiatus for 2 weeks due to a GI bug they both got). I have 2 of the beaba freeze trays which freeze in bigger portions than ice cube trays- about the size of 1 jar of baby food. I like that b/c I would just thaw one of those & it would last 3 days for the 2 of them since they don't eat much. As they eat more, we'll see how things go.   

  Some things are just way easier to make in bulk, like carrots & sweet potatoes, b/c they are easier to chop up & have less water- apples are a HUGE PITA in my opinion, all that peeling, coring, chopping & then you get barely anything out of them. So, there are some things I might just end up buying once they start eating bigger portions.

  GL! 

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• queenbea18

  February 2010

  I have the Beaba BabyCook and I really like it. I don't use it as much now that the twins are 1.5 years, but having one machine be able to do it all certainly encouraged me to make more home made food than I otherwise would have done had I needed to use two or three pots/appliances. I still use it now to do a quick blend of what we're eating for dinner, or to puree veggies to be added to soups, pastas, etc. It's great.

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