Author Topic: Baby food processor  (Read 5740 times)

2bor!2b

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Baby food processor
« on: September 09, 2016, 05:14:08 PM »
Hi Mustachians,

Do you know of a good baby food processor that I (and my mom) could use for my 6 month old baby. I'm not worried about the price if the processor if it is really good. I have heard of Vitamix but not sure if it will suffice for meal preparation for an infant.

Ideally I would like something that cooks and purees and grows with the infant. Something I could use for a couple of years.

I am in the process of interviewing for jobs and it is difficult to prepare and puree food and baby food is really expensive. My mom is helping me out so I would like to make her life as simple as possible.

Any suggestions?

Papa bear

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2016, 06:06:46 PM »
I used a vitamix for all of my son's blended foods.  It worked great. 


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MrsDinero

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2016, 06:23:46 PM »
You don't need a special baby food processor, any blender will do.

One thing to keep in mind is your baby (most likely) will only be eating purees for another 4-6 months.  As babies get teeth, sit up independently, and crawl, the food should get chunkier until they start to eat real food.  For my baby that happened around the 9.5-10 month age.  Once she realized she could feed herself she rejected all purees.

Primm

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2016, 06:32:12 PM »


Or if you want to get really fancy...



I used the first. Like MrsDinero said, it's for a very brief period.

lefty

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2016, 07:03:39 PM »
Hi Mustachians,

Do you know of a good baby food processor that I (and my mom) could use for my 6 month old baby. I'm not worried about the price if the processor if it is really good. I have heard of Vitamix but not sure if it will suffice for meal preparation for an infant.

Ideally I would like something that cooks and purees and grows with the infant. Something I could use for a couple of years.

I am in the process of interviewing for jobs and it is difficult to prepare and puree food and baby food is really expensive. My mom is helping me out so I would like to make her life as simple as possible.

Any suggestions?
We bought a kitchen Aid food processor from Target I think. Had to order it online if i remember. Was like $30 or something. Comes in various colors, 3 cup.

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catccc

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2016, 08:48:27 PM »
Just another perspective...

My babies never ate pureed foods.  Babies don't actually need that stuff, it's a consumer sucka thing that a lot of people fall for.  Yes, even if you make your own.  We pretty much followed the "until they are one, food is just for fun."  My kids got most of their necessary nutrients and calories from nursing.  Don't get me wrong, they were both trying out new foods from 6-12 months in addition to nursing.  But baby foods really aren't a necessary step in their journey from baby to regular ol' person.

You can read about baby-led weaning if you want to try it out.  (This is what it is called, it doesn't just mean letting your child's need dictate whether or not you continue to breastfeed, which is what weaning means in the US.  In the UK, where latest iteration of the approach is based out of, weaning means adding complementary foods.  I say latest iteration, because "baby food" really was an invention at some point in our recent history.) 

Basically the approach is whole safe foods.  And it is super simple.  And your kid feeds him/herself foods that are safe, learning to pace themselves and listen to their body.  I for sure would eat more if someone just kept spooning stuff I didn't even need to chew in my mouth until they decided I was done.  Babies aren't that different. 

For instance, I'd give my baby w/ two teeth a whole apple that I'd sliced a 1/2 inch piece off.  She gnaws and gets to experience the taste, and more importantly, the texture.  There's no choking hazard because the apple's as big as her face, and all she can get is little bits she can scrape off with two teeth.  She is busy for 30-45 minutes and I get to relax.  (but really I'm looking on in delight, because it's pretty darn cute...)  When she started to show mastery of the pincer grip, I was able to chop soft fruits up - like peaches and plums, skins on, and put them in front of her and she'd have a grand time coordinating picking them up and eating them up!  No need for special silicone coated soft spoons, purees, little containers, all the prep, freezing, etc.  Just whole foods in a safe format, and self feeding.

Apparently this leads to non-picky eaters, too.  Because pureed foods are all the same consistency, and kids need to get used to textures, not just flavors. IDK if that is true or not, but I do have to say, I have the un-fussiest eaters of any mom I know.  My older kid's first year in preschool, the lunch lady told me Maile had such "continental tastes!"  My kids aren't stuck on mac and cheese and chicken nuggets like a lot of kids.  They love a good salad and eat all sorts of veggies.  Greens, radish, eggplant, turnips, etc.  Sure, they love a good mac and cheese.  But I can make it half pasta and half assorted chopped veggies, and they will devour it.  And the first thing my then two year old would ask for when we sat down for sushi was "'sabi!  'sabi!"  Yeah, my two year old liked wasabi.

Anyway, I understand some people think this approach is wacky.  That's fine if it's not for you and you want to do purees.  Just thought I'd throw it out there!  Good luck!

I also wouldn't get anything special.  Just use your blender.  Or a food mill, potato ricer, fork, etc.  It doesn't need to be too fancy.



« Last Edit: September 09, 2016, 08:50:29 PM by catccc »

chouchouu

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2016, 12:46:34 AM »
I used a stab mixer, I think they call them immersion blenders in the states? I use it for everything, soups, drinks etc. no need for any fancy blender a stab mixer is easy to clean and if durable enough can do everything.

Freedomin5

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2016, 05:19:30 AM »
We used a stick blender ( immersion blender/ handheld blender). No need to spend $500+ on a Vitamix or fancy blender - we had a Blendtec which was super expensive whcih we sold before having our baby. Those fancy blenders are expensive because they can blend hard stuff like ice and carrots without breaking. Your 6 month old will not be eating hard stuff as you'll probably steam/boil everything until it's soft before blending. Our Braun stick blender came with a mini food processor attachment which was the perfect size for blending up a baby portion of whatever the adults were eating. I think it cost around $50.

http://www.braunhousehold.com/global/products/food-preparation/hand-blenders/multiquick-3-hand-blender-mr320-omelette-0x64162736

We still use it regularly to blend other stuff now that baby is older and no longer needs mushed up food.

Cranky

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2016, 05:26:21 AM »
Use whatever food processor you already own. And the plastic baby food mills are cheap and easy to take with you.

MsPeacock

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2016, 08:59:21 AM »
Agree w/ PP to just use a fork. Fresh fruit and well cooked veggies will smooth up just fine with a fork and a little water.

Otherwise you can use a very small food chopper or electric coffee grinder if you feel the need to have a plug in appliance. The quantities you need to make are extremely small - like 1/4 cup or less at a time.

With baby 1 I was all into making baby food and freezing it. Baby 2 got whatever we were eating but smoothed up. Much easier.

TomTX

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2016, 09:19:07 AM »
A Vitamix purchase for baby food prep is crazy-talk. At most you need a stick blender or other sub $40 blender. Not a $600 blender.

Really, you don't need anything. catccc has it all covered. We did something similar.

I think we used maybe a dozen pre-blended baby food total (half price) - we just fed him sauces from what we were eating (curry, whatever) or mushed our food with a fork, or gave him stuff the wrong size/shape to choke on.  Apples are great. Sure, most of the apple ends up in the compost with little gnaw marks all over it, but they're cheap. One apple would last all day.

One thing we do use now @ age 3 that is very indulgent is the prepackaged squeeze packs of apple sauce. So convenient while we are out & about.

Just another perspective...

My babies never ate pureed foods.  Babies don't actually need that stuff, it's a consumer sucka thing that a lot of people fall for.  Yes, even if you make your own.  We pretty much followed the "until they are one, food is just for fun."  My kids got most of their necessary nutrients and calories from nursing.  Don't get me wrong, they were both trying out new foods from 6-12 months in addition to nursing.  But baby foods really aren't a necessary step in their journey from baby to regular ol' person.

You can read about baby-led weaning if you want to try it out.  (This is what it is called, it doesn't just mean letting your child's need dictate whether or not you continue to breastfeed, which is what weaning means in the US.  In the UK, where latest iteration of the approach is based out of, weaning means adding complementary foods.  I say latest iteration, because "baby food" really was an invention at some point in our recent history.) 

Basically the approach is whole safe foods.  And it is super simple.  And your kid feeds him/herself foods that are safe, learning to pace themselves and listen to their body.  I for sure would eat more if someone just kept spooning stuff I didn't even need to chew in my mouth until they decided I was done.  Babies aren't that different. 

For instance, I'd give my baby w/ two teeth a whole apple that I'd sliced a 1/2 inch piece off.  She gnaws and gets to experience the taste, and more importantly, the texture.  There's no choking hazard because the apple's as big as her face, and all she can get is little bits she can scrape off with two teeth.  She is busy for 30-45 minutes and I get to relax.  (but really I'm looking on in delight, because it's pretty darn cute...)  When she started to show mastery of the pincer grip, I was able to chop soft fruits up - like peaches and plums, skins on, and put them in front of her and she'd have a grand time coordinating picking them up and eating them up!  No need for special silicone coated soft spoons, purees, little containers, all the prep, freezing, etc.  Just whole foods in a safe format, and self feeding.

Apparently this leads to non-picky eaters, too.  Because pureed foods are all the same consistency, and kids need to get used to textures, not just flavors. IDK if that is true or not, but I do have to say, I have the un-fussiest eaters of any mom I know.  My older kid's first year in preschool, the lunch lady told me Maile had such "continental tastes!"  My kids aren't stuck on mac and cheese and chicken nuggets like a lot of kids.  They love a good salad and eat all sorts of veggies.  Greens, radish, eggplant, turnips, etc.  Sure, they love a good mac and cheese.  But I can make it half pasta and half assorted chopped veggies, and they will devour it.  And the first thing my then two year old would ask for when we sat down for sushi was "'sabi!  'sabi!"  Yeah, my two year old liked wasabi.

Anyway, I understand some people think this approach is wacky.  That's fine if it's not for you and you want to do purees.  Just thought I'd throw it out there!  Good luck!

I also wouldn't get anything special.  Just use your blender.  Or a food mill, potato ricer, fork, etc.  It doesn't need to be too fancy.

cats

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2016, 08:36:19 PM »
I agree that an immersion blender is sufficient.  We batch cook our adult food for the week each weekend, I'll set aside whatever seems like it might be a good candidate for the baby, puree, and freeze in ice cube trays to send to daycare, with 1-2 cubes as a "meal". Our regular adult food does tend to be quite spicy (hot), so doing a couple of different purees on the weekend works for us as I can set aside whatever curry or vegetables we are having before I add the heat to the pot (we have been experimenting with spices though, and our kid seems to really like cumin and garam masala).

As far as purees vs. BLW style feeding goes, we do a bit of a mix, with purees at daycare and things like apple/cucumber/carrot slices or more textured soft foods at home. 

Secret Agent Mom

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2016, 09:47:28 PM »
Pretty much what catccc said ;)   You can steam something very fast if you need it softer.  Babies don't need baby food, real food is better for them, tastes better, and is easier to fix.  You can start w/ avocado, sweet potato (cook just like you would for casserole), banana, anything you can steam- carrots, apples, pears, can just be mashed w/ a fork and fed.  If you want to prepare ahead, when you have something baby-friendly, make a little extra and freeze into ice cube trays.  Some of my kids have wanted food early, some didn't eat until 10 months.  Just make sure baby is interested and ready for solids and follow safety- like no honey, easy on spices, introduce one thing at a time to watch for allergies. 

meerkat

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #13 on: September 12, 2016, 06:22:52 AM »
We got a Magic Bullet as a gift from the grandparents and I'm kind of having buyer's remorse about it now even though I didn't spend any money on it. I'm going out of my way to find uses for it now which has led to finding a couple good recipes but we tried to use it to make pesto last night and ... no. It barely chopped the stuff it was touching, everything else just sat there while the blades whirred.

Aside from the fork method, roast some stuff when you have the oven going for dinner. I like to chop up some hunks of sweet potato and roast them, or whatever other vegetables we're having with dinner. Check out Baby Led Weaning and you can skip the purees entirely (weaning being used in the British sense here, meaning to introduce food, rather than the American sense meaning to remove milk. Baby can still have as much milk as they want.)

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #14 on: September 12, 2016, 06:30:38 AM »
What catccc said. A book on baby-led weaning will save you lots of time and frustration; the kid likes it better because they have more control. Eating somewhere other than home is as easy as cutting up some stuff on your plate where they can reach on your lap, and my daughter, almost 3, is not a picky eater at all.

(She doesn't like strawberries or tomatoes, but that's about it. Loves beets even though my wife detests them.)

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #15 on: September 12, 2016, 07:07:53 AM »
The baby led weaning cookbook is great!  Lots of general info at the beginning and then recipes at the end.  We used it last night and our son is 4 (just a regular shepherd's pie recipe).  I had no idea what was appropriate to feed a baby so that book really helped.

I also used this website for more info about purees and food ideas http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com

I only made a few purees myself using the food processor I already had (a kitchen aid). 
-sweet potato
-squash
-carrots
-peas
-prunes (to add a little bit to cereal for constipation)

Those were for when he was 6-7 months old.  I made a batch and froze in an ice cube tray, then stored in a zip lock bag.

Other stuff I fed him at first that didn't need to be pureed:
-baby cereal (barley or oat)
-unsweetened applesauce
-mashed avocado
-mashed banana
-plain yogurt (with a fruit puree)
-I'm sure there is other stuff I'm forgetting.

Then we moved to chunkier stuff pretty quickly (or large pieces, a la baby led weaning).

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #16 on: September 12, 2016, 07:30:36 AM »
I never did the food puree thing for my guys either.  I have super picky kids but they were more picky at 5 than 18 months.  I did go out and buy a honking huge kitchenaid food processor that I never ended up using for baby food.  I use it to make our food but it is way overkill and weighs a ton.  It is nice to have around and works as well as it did new and will probably last until I have grandchildren.  Sometimes to make things faster - I used a grater.  Meals were far more enjoyable because we would just put some food - whatever we were eating on their plates and they would sit with us for fifteen minutes and eat whatever.  Sometimes I just didn't cook their veggies.  I am not so fond of mashed up food - and it looks gross. Didn't want it around.  Just recently went for Thai food with my nephew and sister-in-law.  Nephew (9months) entertained the whole dining room with his savouring his spring roll and mango salad.  He drones yummmmyuuuummmm while he eats.

meerkat

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #17 on: September 12, 2016, 08:44:05 AM »
I also used this website for more info about purees and food ideas http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com

Seconding this!

Another thing I've done is take plain yogurt and some oats and mix them together in the same jars I used to use for his purees. The next day the oats had softened so it was like an oatmeal/parfait thing. (This would be a food for when your baby is older and can chew somewhat, I wouldn't give it to a six month old who is just discovering that there's something consumable besides milk.)

Also, at just over a year even if we give our toddler the exact same thing we're eating - even if he sees us put food from our plate directly  onto his tray! - he would rather have whatever we have on our plates. I want to say we stopped doing purees around nine months? And as it's been said already you could skip it entirely. So basically we only used the food processor for three or four months, which in my mind does not justify the cost of it.

GuitarStv

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #18 on: September 12, 2016, 09:09:17 AM »
Another story of a kid who never ate pureed food.  Our son got his first teeth at about six months.  We tried giving hims some pureed food, but he didn't like it.  He did like chewing away on real food . . . so that's what we gave him.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #19 on: September 12, 2016, 09:55:11 AM »
he would rather have whatever we have on our plates

My daughter likes to see multiple adults she trusts eat a new food, or even a new dish made from familiar ingredients, before she'll eat it. One will do, but two is better. I always put it on my plate and then give it to her. The instinct makes perfect sense to me so the extra step doesn't bother me.

2bor!2b

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #20 on: September 12, 2016, 01:29:11 PM »
Thanks for all your insightful replies. I never even thought of skipping purees for my baby. You learn something every day!

K-ice

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #21 on: September 12, 2016, 08:43:45 PM »
I am so glad you are reconsidering.

I was given a fancy baby steamer/blender. Like a $150+ one.

Used it about 3 times. Used the MagicBullet blender about twice as much.

Other than purees for about 6 weeks, my kid was Breast fed (a long Time) and then also ate whatever was on our plate. (That is an intentional capital T on Time. I almost felt like that cover lady & I never thought I would be that mom. I was going to stop at 1y. Then after the next trip. OMG it's 2y... Ok I finished shortly after that.)

We really pushed the you eat what we eat. I didn't want to start the precident of making something different even when they were really little.

Knowng MMM & from my experience I would not pay a penny.

catccc

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #22 on: September 13, 2016, 09:23:59 AM »
Other than purees for about 6 weeks, my kid was Breast fed (a long Time) and then also ate whatever was on our plate. (That is an intentional capital T on Time. I almost felt like that cover lady & I never thought I would be that mom. I was going to stop at 1y. Then after the next trip. OMG it's 2y... Ok I finished shortly after that.)

Don't want to derail the thread too much... but how long you breastfeed is a really personal choice.  I know some people (including me) felt like that cover lady took it too far.  It's all relative, though.  So, yeah, I think it's really weird to nurse a 5 year old or however old that kid on the cover was.  But plenty of people thought I was a major weirdo for nursing my kids until the day before their 3rd birthday.  My kids are 2.5 years apart, so I even tandem nursed.  But hey, it worked for us!  (My original plan was to nurse for the 1st year at least, but I was happy to continue our nursing relationship beyond that, as was my toddler.)  Just want to let any mamas out there know that you can decide how long (or not long!) to nurse based on your needs and your child's needs.  What works for you doesn't need to work for everyone else!

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Baby food processor
« Reply #23 on: September 14, 2016, 07:40:08 AM »
Other than purees for about 6 weeks, my kid was Breast fed (a long Time) and then also ate whatever was on our plate. (That is an intentional capital T on Time. I almost felt like that cover lady & I never thought I would be that mom. I was going to stop at 1y. Then after the next trip. OMG it's 2y... Ok I finished shortly after that.)

Don't want to derail the thread too much... but how long you breastfeed is a really personal choice.  I know some people (including me) felt like that cover lady took it too far.  It's all relative, though.  So, yeah, I think it's really weird to nurse a 5 year old or however old that kid on the cover was.  But plenty of people thought I was a major weirdo for nursing my kids until the day before their 3rd birthday.  My kids are 2.5 years apart, so I even tandem nursed.  But hey, it worked for us!  (My original plan was to nurse for the 1st year at least, but I was happy to continue our nursing relationship beyond that, as was my toddler.)  Just want to let any mamas out there know that you can decide how long (or not long!) to nurse based on your needs and your child's needs.  What works for you doesn't need to work for everyone else!

Damn right, and men need to hear it too. My daughter stopped nursing at just before two-and-a-half and that point it was a breeze, because she was ready. She had been really winding down at 18 months but then she initiated potty training and needed the extra support. I'm hoping my wife and the twins we have on the way can establish nursing easily and keep it up for a while, because it really helped our first child feel comfortable with the world for a long time.

 

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