Preparing Baby Food
Alright, this article is about a very different type of preparation– baby food preparation. I was excited to make my own fresh, organic baby food and purchased the ultimate blender. It has a continuous speed selection dial, the containers are glass so no BPA or PFAS, and three to-go cups in mama, papa, and baby sizes so no pouring into extra dishes to wash (Mama’s cup is of course the largest because I love me some spinach-fruit smoothie). Go to Amazon to see this ultimate glass blender by Tribest in all its glory, but, as awesome as this tool was, I was missing something.
I blended carrots, spinach, strawberries, mango, and a bunch of other first foods but this process made large portions that would have to be divided into smaller containers (ugh, dishes) and the blender would need to be washed in between blends (can you tell that I don’t like washing dishes?) The biggest drawback was that Baby would have to eat only mangoes for many meals straight so that we could use all the food before the batch went bad.
The Haakaa food pacifier and ice trays (Amazon) were a game changer. The pacifier portion is a silicone sleeve with small holes so that fresh or frozen food can be added for Baby to suck out. The tray mold works for making popsicles out of puree, milk, water, etc. Easy to hold, Baby loves it and the holes are small to avoid the escape of choking hazards.
When I blend a batch of puree, I now freeze a majority of it into ready to go portions that take barely any time to pop into the pacifier for Baby when it’s food time. I have also found that because Baby has to mash up the food before it can be squeezed from the holes, I can chop up soft food like avocado or strawberries and freeze in the molds or add them directly to the pacifier. This works really well for watery fruit like kiwi that I don’t want to further water down in the blender. It does not work as well for fibrous foods where long strands of fiber can be squeezed out. Lastly, this pacifier has been a great tool for teething. A few times there has been nothing noticeably wrong with Baby but she cried and cried until we gave her this pacifier with an ice cube in it. Baby would give us a look of relief. I’m sure there are many other ways to prepare food with the Haakaa pacifier and food tray. Let me know in the comments if you have found other tricks!
An important consideration is the portion size. The pacifier is not large enough to hold a full Baby meal. This means I still feed her puree and/or refill the pacifier a few times. Honestly, I think this is a bonus because it means that Baby gets a variety for each meal. No more spinach for five consecutive meals!
Some other kitchen baby essentials I’ve picked up from Amazon
NumNum baby spoons: Babies have a hard time scooping with a traditional spoon and with keeping it right side up.. These “spoons” by NumNum are designed to hold on to food for fun baby led weaning.
Tooth brush: Milk, formula, and fruit all have lots of sugar so once that first tooth comes in, it is time to start brushing. There are quite a few on the market and I’m in the process of trying a bunch. Currently, my favorites are Baby Banana because it has soft silicone bristles and is easy for Baby to hold and Dr. Brown’s training toothbrush because it looks like an adult brush and Baby copy us when we are brushing.
PandaEar baby cup: Yes, babies can learn to drink from a real cup! I started with a stainless steel cup but was worried about Baby crunching her teeth against the metal.
Tiny Twinkle Baby Bib smock and PandaEar Silicone Baby Bibs: Babies are messy and their food can stain. Protect those cute outfits with easy to wear and wash bibs.
High chair or Montessori table: We were gifted a Tripp Trapp High Chair by Stokke and it’s been really nice. The chair has an attachment for newborns that we swapped out for the high chair when Baby learned to sit up. Once Baby is out of the high chair, this convertible design can be used as a regular chair for anyone up to 300 pounds.
