tools of the trade!

I just had a quick chat with one of my preggo friends last week about what equipment I use to make E's baby food. Well, I didn't get a chance to research all the baby food makers out there since we ended up receiving this as a gift at Christmas:

the baby bullet!

Do I like it? Yeah, it does what it's supposed to do. I put in my steamed/baked fruit/veggies/meats in there and it purees it to the consistency of my choice. Of course I add water/breast milk to get the exact consistency that E can eat. There are no presets, just more of a 1-setting blend feature. You can pulse but just pushing the casing up and down, but for the foods I do now I just use the regular blending/pureeing mode. Sure you can use your own blender if you already have one at home...I mean, it's pretty much the same thing. Even though we got this as a gift, I know I would have still bought a separate machine to make E's food. Though not as cost efficient, it gives me piece of mind that her food is made exclusively with a baby food maker with only foods she can ingest right now. I do use our steamer that we already own to steam some veggies/fruits. We have this one:

Oster Steamer!

and it does exactly what I need it to do to make E's food. Yeah I know, "You won't use the blender you already have but you'll use the steamer you already own?" Haha, hey! There's no blades on the steamer and the steamer is easier for me to clean. Plus it's steaming, not much food residue is left so I thought it would be okay to use for E's food=P. So yeah, the baby bullet + our oster steamer = perfect match on making baby E's sustenance!

Buuuuuuut, if we didn't already have the baby bullet I was also told about this model:

The Baby Brezza!

It's pretty much an all-in-one gadget for you baby food needs. Steams and purees - good use of being efficient considering how short on time we all are these days! So yeah, you choose what works best for you. In our case, we made the best of what we were given/had and it works out well for baby E's needs.

I did run short on containers to store her food in the fridge/freezer. I tend to make bigger portions and freeze them so that I can be more time efficient wehn making all her meals. I looked at grocery stores/online for containers and since I just wanted a specific size I opted for the Oxo tot blocks:

I really wanted to just get the lock and lock glass containers, but the ones I saw either came in a package with bigger sizes or if individual - then too pricey for me. So far, no issues with them. If freezing, I don't overfill the containers since I know the food will expand in the freezer. Has nice little markings on the side so I know how many ounces baby girl is getting. Right now it's the perfect size for her - holds up to 4oz. I had ordered 6-2oz containers as well (similar size as the 2 oz jars that came with the baby bullet), but I'll be returning them for more of these 4oz blocks. What works for you guys?

My attempt at homemade baby food! First up - APPLES

Wow, it's been a while since posting. I totally thought I'd be able to post during the times I was nursing or up late at the oddest of hours. Guess things just got more hectic than I imagined!

The reason for this post? I've had my fair share now of attempts at making homemade baby food for baby E. Figured I better have some way to record them so that I can always go back to my go to recipes since everything learned is through trial and error and all my non-stop reading on the web. 

Hubby and I started to feed baby E solids 2x/day when she turned 6 months. Just like this blog, I thought I'd have mucho time to make her baby food. Of course I was wrong, and opted for Plum/Nature's Best/BRU baby food. Even though I'd only purchase the brand that would be on sale for the week, it adds up $$$!! What I spent on single food pouches/jars for 1 week was the same as what I'm spending now on foods to feed baby E for the whole month. And as much as I tried to just purchase the foods that did not have any of those unnecessary additives, some foods had it no matter which brand. I figured, if I can bake in the kitchen and cook (when there's free time available) I better make time to cook for our baby as well!!

So I'm proud to say that I'm going on a month so far of making baby E's food. It took a few tries to figure out what consistency worked well for her, so I decided to jot them down for my memory and to help other moms as well.

First up - APPLES

Apples:
1) What I used - apples & apple corer (optional - but after 3 batches of coring them myself, I finally got a corer.  Saves SO much time!!).

2) Now, you can either steam them or bake them. I've tried both, and it's more of do you to preserve more nutrients for your baby or do you want the faster method?

Baking*
- set oven to 400 degrees and start your prep work
- either core apples by hand or using an apple corer 
 this is the one I have OXO Good Grips Corer:
     -I usually do batches of 4-6 apples so that I have leftovers for future meals
- fill a baking pan with about 2-3 inches of water
- place cored apples (peeled or unpeeled)** in pan and voila, wait for them to bake
- set timer to 45 mins (though it can take anywhere from 45-60mins depending on your oven settings). To check if apples are done, use tongs to squeeze apples and check that they are tender.
- wait for apples to cool, then place in blender/baby food processor.
- you can either add the water you used to bake apples in or use fresh water, up to you
     -amount of water used depends on what kind of apple sauce consistency you want.
     - I add a tablespoon and just add more if I need to as I blend
- Ready to serve baby freshly made apple sauce, apple sauce used to mix in a baby meal, or store in freezer for future use.
- Store in fridge for about 3 days, or place in freezer and try to use within the month.

Steaming*
- either core apples by hand or using a corer (OXO Good Grips Corer)
     -I usually do batches of 4-6 apples so that I have leftovers for future meals
- fill your steamer with the required water amount OR if using a pot to steam, fill it up with about 1-2 inches of water.
- slice apples into wedges
- place apples wedges (peeled or unpeeled)** in steaming tray and let the steamer do it's thing!
- set timer to 15 mins (though it can be more or less depending on your settings). To check if apples are done, use tongs/fork to squeeze apples and check that they are tender.
- wait for apples to cool, then place in blender/baby food processor.
- add water to blender/processor to get desired apple texture
     -amount of water used depends on what kind of apple sauce consistency you want.
     - I add a tablespoon and just add more if I need to as I blend
- Ready to serve baby freshly made apple sauce, apple sauce used to mix in a baby meal, or store in freezer for future use.
- You can store in fridge for about 3 days, or place in freezer and try to use within the month.

*Countless articles I've read say that baking is the best way to preserve the nutrients for your baby. It does take longer, so if you are short on time steaming is the 2nd best way to go for at least 1/3 of the time it takes to bake!

**I think it's up to you to leave the skins on or off - I've tried both, so I think it may be more your comfort level. Articles I've read say that it is okay to leave the skins on for babies 6 months and older, before pureeing it. I will say, that I was a bit wary leaving the skins on this last time I made apple sauce and also pear puree. So I tried to take out any skins I saw that didn't break down to small enough pieces in my baby blender. That's just the paranoid freak in me. I'm sure it's okay for our 9 month old now, but mommy is always worried=P.

Now, that wasn't so bad was it? My brother-in-law saw me making home made baby food for baby E and asked me why I do it. Well, if I can cook hubby and my meals at home shouldn't I do the same for our daughter? I know it's always more convenient to try the store bought way, but doing it this way makes me feel good that I'm providing something that I know is good for my baby. No preservatives, no additives....just all NATURAL!

Get to it, mama!=)