Searching for a Baby Food Solution: Advice from Experienced Parents

[babywings76]

I have a past host who works with my mom. She just e-mailed me this question:

Do you have any recommendations for something to puree veggies, chicken, etc (small portions) for baby? It does not need to be Pampered Chef. Kathy figured you'd have an idea of what to recommend. The only food mill I found when out looking, was at Babies R Us & looked very, very flimsy.

Just thought I'd ask you guys who might have more experience than me. I've had 4 kids, but never really got into making my own baby food. I tried one of those food mills a few times, but didn't have too much success with it. I also tried a mini food processor with better success, but still thought it was a pain. I just bought baby food figuring it was only a few months of using them before I could just smash regular food we served at dinner to give the baby at the time.

So anyone else have ideas? Has anyone used the Food Chopper with the lid on for pulverizing food for baby food? Would that work (and be better than having to deal w/ a food processor?

 

[AnnieBee]

I used a pretty cheap immersion blender, like what you use to make a smoothy in a cup. It came with a blending blade and a whisk thingy (which I never use). It worked perfectly for baby food, you can puree it very smooth when they are little and then leave it a bit chunkier as they get older. I would puree up big batches, and then freeze them into the little gerber plastic boxes, then pop the food ice-cubes into ziplock bags. I'd do one fruit or veg a day until my freezer had plenty of options! If you use a coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond it is pretty cheap, maybe $15. I Still use my blender for whisking up eggs sometimes, and for blending cans of tomatoes if they are chunkier than I want. Although funnily enough, not really for smoothies!

Once they are on more solid food, I know alot of people use the food chopper for chopping up meat and soft veggies, once it doesn't have to be so much of a puree anymore.

 

[chefsteph07]

I made all my baby food and I got a baby puree grinder...it is small, it has a little cup at the top and you put the fruit or veggies in it, it comes w/ a crank handle, you push the food down and crank it and it comes out pureed. It was awesome. I did this until my dd was onto table foods, then I just used our chopper to make her food...

 

[Crystal Patton]

I don't know if the Fodd Chopper would get the food soft/smooth enough, but I ONLY chop in my lid. It's been a year and my lid is still going strong. I hope that helps.

 

[JDooley]

I used a food processor for mine and froze in ice cubes similar style as Annabel. worked wonders my kidlett never would eat Gerber and still loves mommy cooking!
As she got older and could eat food with more chunk I used the Food Chopper and just chopped what I was eating into baby portions

 

[chefsteph07]

I don't know if the Fodd Chopper would get the food soft/smooth enough, but I ONLY chop in my lid. It's been a year and my lid is still going strong. I hope that helps.

The chopper doesn't work on purees, just table foods..

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

I used a pretty cheap immersion blender, like what you use to make a smoothy in a cup. It came with a blending blade and a whisk thingy (which I never use). It worked perfectly for baby food, you can puree it very smooth when they are little and then leave it a bit chunkier as they get older. I would puree up big batches, and then freeze them into the little gerber plastic boxes, then pop the food ice-cubes into ziplock bags. I'd do one fruit or veg a day until my freezer had plenty of options! If you use a coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond it is pretty cheap, maybe $15. I Still use my blender for whisking up eggs sometimes, and for blending cans of tomatoes if they are chunkier than I want. Although funnily enough, not really for smoothies!

Once they are on more solid food, I know alot of people use the food chopper for chopping up meat and soft veggies, once it doesn't have to be so much of a puree anymore.

Same here, they are perfect.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I used a pretty cheap immersion blender, like what you use to make a smoothy in a cup. It came with a blending blade and a whisk thingy (which I never use). It worked perfectly for baby food, you can puree it very smooth when they are little and then leave it a bit chunkier as they get older. I would puree up big batches, and then freeze them into the little gerber plastic boxes, then pop the food ice-cubes into ziplock bags. I'd do one fruit or veg a day until my freezer had plenty of options! If you use a coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond it is pretty cheap, maybe $15. I Still use my blender for whisking up eggs sometimes, and for blending cans of tomatoes if they are chunkier than I want. Although funnily enough, not really for smoothies!

Once they are on more solid food, I know alot of people use the food chopper for chopping up meat and soft veggies, once it doesn't have to be so much of a puree anymore.

This is exactly what I did too. I LOVE my Immersion blender! Mine came with a blending blade, a whisk, and a little food processor attachment - Although, like Annabel, I only ever use the blending blade. I used it for baby food - and I just would cook extra of whatever we were eating and then puree some for baby food. I loved to do this with soups - then my DS was getting a full meal! Vegetable Beef Barley, or Chicken Vegetable Rice were two of his favorites. Now that he's a big boy, he still loves them (without blending them anymore!). I think that doing this, instead of buying jarred baby foods, is the primary reason he is such a non-picky eater today.

Oh - but I do still use mine almost every day for smoothies! It's also good for making Cream soups.:thumbup:

 

[DebbieJ]

I just used my regular blender to make purees.Later I used my Pizza Cutter for cutting up bite sized pieces of whatever we were eating (toast, pancakes, etc) and my Food Chopper for chopping up veggies and hiding them in pasta sauce, quesadillas, etc.

 

[WLMcCoy]

I used a regular blender as well!

 

[NooraK]

We have a Magic Bullet, and although I didn't make any baby foods, it sure does make mush of almost anything I put in it if I work it long enough It's now available at places like Kohl's and I just saw a coupon in my Costco flier. The one in the Coscto picture appears to also come with the blender and juicer attachment which is not available in the Costco package.

 

[chefshawna]

I used a food processor. It was a better than my blender and I could make up huge batches to freeze.

 

[etteluap70PC]

I used a small "hand me down" food processor and my stick "imersion" blender. They worked great!

A tip I learned was if I needed to thicken something like a soup or stew, a bit of mashed potatoes or potato flakes worked great!