Cooking for the Littlest One

I know it's tempting to take the easy route and just throw the jars of baby food in the cart at the grocery store.  However, this gadget has made cooking for a baby so, so simple.  In addition, you know exactly what is in the food you are spooning into your precious baby's mouth.  I'm going to show you some tips and tricks of how I cook and store food for my Park man.

First and foremost, run to BuyBuyBaby and pick up this product!  It will save you so much time and money that it will pay itself off.

While you're there, snag this accessory.  A cheaper version of this would be to use covered ice cube trays.  The reason I prefer the $20 BEABA version is because the nifty spatula that you see pictured above contours to the flexible silicone container.  Secondly, the portion size is larger (2 oz as opposed to 1/2-1 oz).  Have you seen my chunky monkey?  If I gave him an ice cube size of squash, he would start swatting at me.  True story.  He doesn't play with his portions.

Now that you are properly accessorized, let's get to "cooking."  Today I'm preparing squash and sweet potatoes.  Peel and chop your vegetables.  Place the chopped vegetables into the steamer basket.  Add water to the fill line of the BabyCook.  Turn the control on the front to cooking.  In less than 15 minutes the vegetables will be cooked, preserving the natural vitamins and flavors.

Take the basket of steamed veggies out, remove the water in the bottom of the cooking bowl, and dump the veggies back into the cooking bowl.  Turn the control to blending to puree the vegetable.  Add breastmilk or formula to get the right consistency.  Pour the puree into the freezer tray.  Cover and freeze overnight.  

In the morning, use your spatula to remove the frozen puree from the tray.  Do this by inserting the spatula into the tray and moving it around the outside edge to loosen.  Then, place the frozen portion into a freezer ziploc bag that is labeled with the date.  Frozen food will keep for 3 months.

When you are ready to use some of your frozen supply, just take the desired amount out of the freezer bag and place it into the Babycook steaming basket and add water to the top of the appliance.  Turn the control to the cooking setting.  After it has reheated, just puree it again to make sure there are no clumps.  If you're in a hurry, just microwave the frozen portion, stir, and serve.

It's that simple!  And as an added bonus, the bowl, basket, freezer tray, and spatula are dishwasher safe!

I'd say my little man loves it!  I couldn't resist adding a few pictures of him!