Making Baby Food - part 1 - Pureeing Gear

I started this post and realized it was going to be a bloody text book if I didn't split it up. So, I'm going to do this in at least 3 parts...maybe more...hopefully not. It just depends on how glib I am :)

I know this isn't for everyone. Heck, some days it's not for me either. But on the days that I actually get my rear into gear (did ya like that? rhyming, yeah?) I really enjoy doing this. It's kind of the same feeling I get from breastfeeding - just knowing that you are making and providing the best nourishment you can for your little one is such a joy. I also like knowing EXACTLY what is in Liam's food. It just helps me to sleep better at night. Anyway, for those of you interested in doing this, I thought I'd share some of what I've learned.

To get us started, here's some of the gear I've used to puree fruits and veggies for Lilo:

Electric Food Mill

This is probably my all around favorite way to process the food. Because it is electric, it does the job pretty quick. It is easy to use and easy to clean and does a good job of getting the food broken down. It's also fairly easy to store because it isn't very bulky. There are a couple of cons. I personally like to make a lot of food at once and freeze it, so I wish it was a little bit bigger so I wouldn't have to do so many batches. Because it has plastic blades instead of metal ones, I found that the food was a little too coarse for Liam at the very beginning. As soon as he got used to the whole "solid food" business, this was perfect.

Pros: electric, easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't hold a lot, doesn't get food extremely fine



Manual Food Mill

This one is really not as hard as it looks. Pureeing steamed carrots doesn't take that much elbow grease. It is great if you want to do one or two servings at a time or if you are just wanting to use the same veggies you are making for the rest of your family (before seasoning of course!) for your baby as well. The downfall is that it makes less food than even the electric one, so it is not super practical for large batches. It is also a little tricky to clean in that there are a lot of parts and a lot of crevices in those parts which equal a lot of trapped food. I can't stand crusty anything. Yick. The puree on this thing is even more coarse than the electric, so I wouldn't recommend it for some of the harder to break down foods (peas, green beans, etc...) or at least not at first, anyway.

Pros: easy to use, portable (comes with its own carrying case! maybe you could bedazzle it or write your child's name on it in puffy paint! ooooh, ahhhh...), easy to store, economical
Cons: doesn't do high volumes, hard to control consistency, doesn't get that fine, a little difficult to clean


Food Processor or Mini-Chopper

This is a good option if you already have one. If you don't, I wouldn't necessarily go spend a lot of money on a food processor just for this purpose when there are more economical options. You may consider the mini-chopper as a compromise if you are dead set on getting one. Buying a cheap food processor or chopper is never worth it. It will refuse to work properly and/or break...trust me... You mights as well toss your cash in the nearest trash can. If you have a food processor already, puree away! Just be ready to spend as much time cleaning as you did pureeing. Since I have both, I used the processor at first to make a finer puree, but I HATED cleaning that stinkin' thing every day. So, as soon as Liam was more advanced in the solid foods arena, I switched to the food mill.

Pros: a lot of control over consistency, large volume capacity (food processor), can use it for other culinary adventures!
Cons: expensive, large & harder to store (food processor), a pain in the you-know-what to clean


Wand/Hand/Immersion Blender

Sorry, this has many names. I will tell you that I freaking love this kitchen gadget. I love it. LOVE. IT. I do not personally have one because it is too expensive, but my mom does and uses it for everything - making baby food, making milkshakes and smoothies, "declumping" sauces and gravies, and so much more. This thing does a great job of making a super fine puree. I liked it so much because it is the easiest of all to clean. You just unplug it, wipe it down with some soap and a damp sponge, and rinse it off under the kitchen faucet. Bada bing, bada boom. You also don't have to worry about dirtying as many dishes as you can use this gadget in the same pot or dish that you used to cook the food you are pureeing. If you're out there and you are wanting to buy me a present, as I'm sure most of you do, this is what you should get me. But don't tell Jon. He feels the same way about my kitchen gadgets as I do about his musical equipment/instrument collection. We both need entire rooms to store them all. Oh wait, there is a room created for my collection...it's called the KITCHEN! Hello! What else would we store there?? Who has a music room? Anyone? Beuhler? I digress...

Pros - it's freakin' sweet, versatile, allows for consistency control, no volume limit, easy to clean, easy to store
Cons - way too expensive to purchase for this sole purpose


Another suggestion I have read is a blender, but I have not tried it. I stinkin' hate using a blender. Talk about crusty! It is so dang hard to get those suckers clean that it isn't even worth it to me. There's nothing like taking a big sip of a homemade chocolate milkshake only to find an old crusty pea skin or green bean string in your mouth. Sick!


So there's part 1. Next - Part 2 - Storage Gear....