In my journey of being a mother so far, one of the things that made me quite nervous was taking the milestone of feeding my baby solids. I didn't know what the best way of preparing it was, I dreaded how long it would take for me to chop everything up, cook it (steam or boil), then having to take it out, drain it and then puree it with a blender. I didn't necessarily want to make a huge batch and then freeze it if I didn't have to - I personally preferred being able to just cook and make smaller batches each time.
As I was doing my research on some food making alternatives while browsing baby stores, I saw this fancy baby food making machine by Baby Brezza. The one that I was drawn to was the
Glass One Step Baby Food Maker, I really liked the fact that it was a class container that was used during the cooking process, and for those of you who are interested in this but would like a cheaper alternative, they do have other options as well.
This specific one, makes up to 4 cups of food and automatically steams and blends your food if you choose to do so. They have a "steam" option, which is just steaming the food. "steam + blend" which does the blending automatically after the food is done steaming, and a "blend" option, to further blend your food to your desired consistency.
I usually keep Ethan's food separately on this cooking board as I like to buy organic fruits and vegetables for him.
Today, I am preparing to make him pureed Apples and Sweet potatoes, so I cut the items up to the sizes mentioned in the booklet that comes with the machine.
I then select the "steam + blend", and since it is for apples, I press it three times (the button is set at 5 minute intervals) and then I press start to begin the cooking process.
One important thing to note is that you should always ensure that the water tank, seen below, is filled with water so that you do not have to worry about refilling it halfway through steaming the product. This machine is pretty good with how much water it uses to steam, as you can see below I was already making a separate batch of food and the water level barely moved at all.
Below you will find pictures of the cooking process, from start to finish
The blending portion is set at 30 seconds, so it really does a good job at breaking down the food to the right consistency at the first go, without having to further blend it some more.
What I truly appreciate about this product is that it has made cooking and preparing food for Ethan to be such a breeze. I can do this a few times a week, the time it takes to cook the food is so minimal and effortless. Even the clean-up is easy! Remove the blade, rinse with soap and water and dry. It honestly does not get much simpler than that. I can just prepare the food, let it do its thing in the machine and not have to watch it at all. I do not have to worry about burning anything, or having to wash different pots, pans and blenders. This is just a convenient, and simplified process.
Do I recommend this product? 100% .. Seriously! If it wasn't for this machine, I honestly would be going crazy with the amount of work and cooking I have to do, because I also cook dinner for my husband and I every night. I recommended this product to every mommy-to-be I know, and also to all my mommy friends. Add this to your registry, or just splurge and buy it! It is such an affordable product that will make your life so much easier.
Baby Brezza has also included different types of
recipes on their website and
facebook page that you can frequently visit to add some variety and ideas on what to introduce to your baby. As Ethan has just started his solid foods journey, I have yet to really combine many different things together, but for example the recipe below looks so convenient and can be done in 20 minutes!
SQUASH, CORN, TURKEY AND APRICOT PUREE
YIELD: APPROX 1-1/4 CUPS (11oz)
1/3 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup, 4 ounces)
1/3 cup (3 ounces) raw ground turkey
1/4 cup (1-1/2 ounce) frozen or fresh corn kernels
2 dried apricots (1/2 ounce)
Place squash, turkey, corn and apricots in machine and steam for 20 minutes.
Puree to smooth (45 seconds).
Steam in: 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage.
Stir in: 1/4 – 1/2 cup plain yogurt, water, breast milk or formula.
Obviously, you can tailor it to your preference, like if you do not want to steam in fresh sage, the choice is completely up to you! Once done, you can either do what I did above, and put it in a glass container for immediate use, or you can put them in their food storage pouches and take them on the go for baby to use. Best part, it's reusable so gone are the days of always buying these food pouches only to toss them out right after. Their pouches are BPA-Free, dishwasher and freezer-safe and can hold up to 7oz of food - it also comes with a wide funnel so that the food can easily be transferred into the pouch.
I have done a pretty thorough video demonstrating this machine on my Instastories! I hope you can see it via the link ~ if not, you can go to my Instagram Page and it is saved in the Baby E categories section - you just have to be patient and scroll a bit because I have a few pictures and clips of him from months ago!
I hope you'll visit my Instagram soon as I plan to be able to give Ethan the homemade food pouches that he can suck from himself in the next few weeks so that I won't have to spoon feed him at restaurants anymore! When that happens, I will for post it on my instagram page!
Until next time, XO - M.
*product was sent to me for review, all opinions are my own.