One Step Baby Food Maker

08/07/2015

I have to admit that when I saw the $124.99 price tag on the baby food maker by Baby Brezza – I was thinking that it seemed a bit pricey for a food processor.  But, as an avid baby food maker, I thought I would give it a try.  This machine is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!  I feel silly thinking anything differently now as it does say right on the box that it steams and puree’s all in one step.

I was very impressed.  The size is quite small, so you will be making small batches.  For large batches of single veggies (we make a lot of sweet potato to mix in with many different meats) it might still make sense to steam the veggies on the stove top and then use your full size food processor.  I only have a mini food processor, so I was already used to making multiple small batches with my first two kids.  This machine is about the same size (maybe a bit smaller) than my mini-processor if you are wondering about size.

I made 6 different purees the first time I tried out the machine.  I found that it was easiest if I chopped everything up nice and small and then started the steaming/processing.  As usual, I was multitasking; making supper while making 6 types of baby food.  This is when I really appreciated how easy the gadget is to use.  I simply added in a handful or so of the chopped veggies; set it to steam for about 20 minutes (depending on the veggie you are preparing) and then after 20 minutes, it immediately starts processing.  For the most part, the liquid from the steam was enough water.  When I did some meat baby food a few days later, I needed to add more water to make it thinner as a starter baby food.  I did find that I usually needed to process the food a bit more after it was finished to make it smooth enough for my early eater.  You have to hold down the processing button, you can’t set it to just turn on for a few minutes.  I also wanted to note that I steamed apple and peach bits and didn’t peel either and both came out perfectly smooth!

I really like the suction cups on the bottom.  It ensures that the machine stays in place and since it is nice and small, it is an appliance you could leave out if you are making food as you go.  The other night we had left over rosemary pork tenderloin.  I put it on the 10 minute steam function (even though it was already cooked) with some water and I also added some left over steamed green beans and carrots from the garden.  I quickly had a nice pork and veggie puree and could easily do this most nights with whatever we were eating.  It definitely makes transitioning from baby food to table food easier is baby is used to eating what the family is eating.

All the pieces come apart easily for washing.  Rather than buying expensive baby food storage cubes, I bought ice cube trays with a cover so I could easily stack them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I popped the cubes 2-3 at a time and put them into snack size ziplocks and labelled them.  Now, I can just pull out once snack size ziplock for each meal and quickly melt them and add in a bit of water or cereal as necessary.

I make up tons of my own recipes for baby food.  Some of my kids favourites were:

•  Carrot & apple
•  Pesto salmon with spinach and sweet potato (bake salmon on a bed of of spinach topped with pesto for 35 minutes)
•  Veggie medley (sweet potato, red pepper, beets, carrots; all roasted in the oven with fresh herbs like rosemary)
•  Rosemary chicken with sweet potato and apple
•  Butternut squash & peach with a bit of maple syrup

If you are looking for more inspiration, just take a walk down a baby food aisle and check out some of the combos.  Baby Brezza also includes a great tip guide for steaming time and they include some recipes!  One of my favorite baby & tot recipe book authors is Annabel Karmel.  Check out her site!

This would make a great gift for someone who has all the baby stuff, but hasn’t thought beyond the first few month.  Making wholesome babyfood is fairly simple to do and this machine makes it easy!