Making Own Baby Food--experiences with Beaba Babycook.

You do not need to buy anything to make baby food. Please do not fall for those silly gimmicks. All you need is a blender, food processor, ice cub trays, wax paper and cling wrap. That's all you need.

The wax paper is for freezing finger foods, btw. I love to cut up mango, etc. and just freeze chunks of it. I also freeze chunks of cooked squash, potato, etc. It's really easy to transition from baby food (blended food) to finger food.

wholesomebabyfood.com is awesome.

I made all my sons' food and all I ever needed was my food processor. Another good tip: make a lot and freeze it in ice cube trays. You can get 1-2 tablespoons into each compartment and then you can make different combinations for each feeding.

You might want to check out the book Super Baby Food. I used this and a regular blender. Then froze foods in ice cube trays.

Good luck! Good choice too!

I thought about getting the Babycook, but realized that it only made small amounts of food at a time. So instead, I just steamed or baked everything and put it in my blender - didn't have to spend a dime and it works just as great!

I can't imagine it's worth it. It's so easy to steam your food on the stove with a steamer or use a pressure cooker for things that take a long time (potatoes) and then just use a basic food processor. You'll spend less (unless you get high-end appliances) and you can use it all for so much more than 6 months of baby food. Because think about it...you only need to make "baby food" for 3-6 months if you wait until 6 months to start solids like you're supposed to.
And to be honest, you never have to make baby food. Babies don't need highly-pureed food at all. Mashed table foods is fine as long as you wait until they are actually ready for them.

we love our magic bullet - i put it on our registry and got it at our baby shower. A food processor would work too, i'm not sure a blender would get the food as pureed as young babies would need it to be, but the best part of the Bullet is clean up is MUCH easier than with a blender or food processor. And it makes the whole process so much faster & easier. In my opinion it was worth it (but then again, we didn't have to invest our own money into buying it!)

i think its $50 for the whole thing - but it includes cups and a few different blades and you can definitely use it after you don't need it for baby food anymore!

once i make a batch i used to put them in icecube trays and once frozen, i transfer them over into ziplocks. The only problem i had with that was that it was hard to send anywhere with our twins (to sitter's, grandparent's house, etc). Now i have these wonderful trays from babies-r-us which have little 2oz "cups" that fit into a tray for the freezer. They have a snapdown lid and I freeze the food in these now to send to the sitters because they travel much easier!

As far as how to cook the foods - i got all my info from www.wholesomebabyfood.com. it has absolutely everything you'd need to know! Love that website!

Good luck and good for you for making such a healthy choice for your baby!

Might want to also pick up a copy of FEED ME, I'M YOURS by Lansky. Gives you lots of info and food ideas at different baby and toddler stages.
WORTH IT!

I googled the babycook just because I had NO idea what it was...and it looks like a very expensive little item that would be collecting dust in my cabinet before long!!!
I made my childrens baby food and never used anything other than a pot and a food processor!!! Get a couple of skinless chicken breasts, cook them in plain water...add some veggies and then put it in the food processor and just add the broth as you whip it up..until you have it to the consistency that you want!!! You can either freeze it in ice cube trays or in baby food jars. ( I DID buy commercially canned fruits...it just wasn't economical to try and do it myself!! And then I used those empty jars to freeze the baby food I was making!).
You can also use a small pot roast ( with as little fat as possible) or a small turkey breast for the meat base of your meals.
You son will LOVE it!!!

I do have a Beaba Babycook and I LOVE it. It's actually the only blender/food processor that I own, so it's get a good workout. It's really easy for making food, since it does the steaming and pureeing. It's easy to use and leaves only a few items to clean up. My only complaint would be that sizewise it can be a bit small. If you are steaming something like pears the steam basket fills quickly. The processor could actually puree a lot more than the steam basket can hold. Overall, I really like it.
Good luck. I found making baby food to be a lot of fun, since you can get as creative as your baby wants.
K.

There is NO reason that you should spend extra money on this if you already have a blender. Also I would recommend that you get a baby food hand grinder instead, because then you can just put in the food you are having at the table, and it will be the right consistency for your baby...plus you can take it anywhere with you and use it for the baby. That is what I did for my children 35 years ago and have done with most of my grandchildren. I also used to freeze cubes of foods (you can use leftovers this way too),and take out one or two at a time, warm up, and feed to the baby. You go, girl!

I have not used the Beaba Babycook, but I just want to say that if it is expensive, it is not worth it. I made babyfood for all 3 of my children. My first child I used a hand cranked masher (way to much trouble!!) and I used a blender with the other two. I did buy a new blender that I used strictly for the baby food. But once I was done making baby food for good, I could still use it... multipurpose kitchen items are the best! I would make rather large batches of baby food, freeze it in clean ice cube trays, pop out and put in storage bags with description and date. It was soooo easy and soooo worth it. I was able to use organic veggies and spring water and still save a TON of money. and it just felt good to know I was doing that little extra! Congrats on your baby boy and on being a great mom!

You may want to take a look at onceamonthmom.com. She bulk cooks baby food. I found that helpful!

When my son was a baby, I decided to make all his baby food because the baby food available where we live (Japan) all had multiple ingredients (egg was in everything here) from the start. I used a small handheld babyfood grinder made by Munchkin (under $10, I got mine for $5) for the difficult to grind foods, and a lot of times I just used a potato masher, a fork, or a morter and pestle. Ice cube trays work great for freezing extras. I really liked Annabel Karmel's baby food books. I have even adapted some of his favorties to adult meals and we continue to eat them regularly now. You can also find a small steaming rack that you can fit into your regular saucepans. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on something that you won't need to use for that long. Best of luck!

I'm going back to work soon and am definitely getting the Beaba. I need easy and less to clean. I also think the resale on this item will be very good (I know I've been trying to find a used one, no luck, too new so far).

I make all my daughter's foods using a food processor. I puree the foods I want (veggies, fruits, beans, sometimes chicken or fish with veggies), and put it in ice cub trays to freeze, pop 'em out, put in ziploc baggies, label the bags, and done. It made me feel really proud that I could do this for my daughter. It was totally worth the time to me, but I never had a special cook book. I just looked things up online when needed (like wholesomebabyfood.com).

My daughter got to a point where she didn't want to be spoon-fed, so I would use the purees as a "dippy" or spread for other foods (breads, whole wheat crackers, tortillas, etc). That way, she was still getting the nutritional purees in a finger food method.

Plum Organics makes these pouches of food that I came to really like also b/c my daughter could squeeze them right into her mouth and not have the spoon battle. I ordered from ecomom. com for a discounted price, or you can buy them at BabiesRUs and other stores.

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I make all my daughter's foods using a food processor. I puree the foods I want (veggies, fruits, beans, sometimes chicken or fish with veggies), and put it in ice cub trays to freeze, pop 'em out, put in ziploc baggies, label the bags, and done. It made me feel really proud that I could do this for my daughter. It was totally worth the time to me, but I never had a special cook book. I just looked things up online when needed (like wholesomebabyfood.com).

My daughter got to a point where she didn't want to be spoon-fed, so I would use the purees as a "dippy" or spread for other foods (breads, whole wheat crackers, tortillas, etc). That way, she was still getting the nutritional purees in a finger food method.

Plum Organics makes these pouches of food that I came to really like also b/c my daughter could squeeze them right into her mouth and not have the spoon battle. I ordered from ecomom. com for a discounted price, or you can buy them at BabiesRUs and other stores.

Its true it does sound great but I don't see any use for it after baby. That is why I have not bought one. I am making my own baby food and I will be using my food processor, blender, ricer and food mill. I already have all of these things and they worked fine with my first baby. I will admit it does look like a great tool and easy to use. If you have the extra money splurge but if it is a stretch then maybe not.
PS the blender is not the best tool. A stick blender with a food chopper attachment or a food processor is better. If you do need to get something buy a magic bullet.

I just used a mini food processor that I am pretty sure cost less than $30. My daughter never ate and store-bought foods. It did a great job and was effective on small batches and did quick work of pureeing a meal on the spot.

I used to make my daughters baby food all by myself :) I agree with Holly W when she says it makes you proud. I was always saying "I make her own food, no artificial anything for my baby." LOL I just got whatever I found at the supermarket. I would cook vegetables (carrots, zucchini, peas, green beans, potatoes, etc.) in plain water. Then I would throw them in the blender and done!!!! I also froze the food in small containers for "grab and go." I used to make her a pot of chicken soup (chicken breast, veggies, even onion and garlic!) and blend everything. She just loved it!!!! One of her favorites was sweet potatoes. I admit I would throw a little bit of sugar while it was boiling. You can do this with pretty much anything you want. I made enough to last for about three days because I wanted everything fresh all the time. It was not too hard. Maybe one hour tops! You will feel proud for sure and your baby will have great nutrition.