Blending Baby Food with "The Baby Bullet"

I have come across The Baby Bullet (a cute and mini version of The Magic Bullet) in many stores over the past couple of months and it always grabs my attention. The Baby Bullet is a small blender that can be used to make your very own baby foods in minutes. Although I have yet to try out The Baby Bullet for myself, it seems like there are a lot of reasons why this little machine would be a must-have for parents of babies and toddlers:

• It is relatively cheap to buy ($59.99 Canadian at Home Outfitters) and you can save thousands of dollars on buying commercial baby food when you make your own at home.
• It comes with all of the tools you need to make AND store your baby food (ie. freezer-friendly batch trays, storage trays and re-sealable containers).
• Making your own baby foods using a blender like The Baby Bullet means that you have control over what goes into the food you feed your little ones - no unnecessary preservatives!
• It is super easy to use and you can make and store many batches of different foods in no time at all. On the package, it claims that one sweet potato can make up to 8 jars of baby food! 

Tip: Even though The Baby Bullet is a great way to make quick and healthy baby foods, you do not need to purchase one if you have a blender at home. You still can puree baby foods and store them in ice cube trays or feeezer-safe glass jars. 

Have any of you tried using The Baby Bullet? I would love to hear about your experiences with it.

No time? No worries!

I was at Chapters browsing the bargain books section the other day when I came across a book called "Love in Spoonfuls" written by the authors of Parenting magazine. This book gives some great recipes for pureed baby foods and some "first bites" when introducing solid foods. I thought it might come in handy in my future career when I work with parents who are interested in making their own food for their babies. The book outlines some tips on how to make quick, easy and very nutritious foods for babies.

One idea I found particularly interesting in this book was freezing homemade baby food in ice cube trays! This is great for busy parents on-the-go who do not have time to make fresh baby food each day. Most purees containing meat can be frozen for up to 3 months and fruit and vegetable purees will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer. This means you can freeze several trays at a time and just simply thaw out a single serving-sized portion from the tray for feeding times!

Freezing baby purees can save you a lot of time and money since you do not need to purchase jars of food at the store!

Tips:

• Be sure to thaw out frozen servings of puree the safe way by letting them thaw overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Remember not to let them thaw out by letting them sit at room temperature because this could make your baby sick.  
• If you are just starting your baby on pureed food, add liquid to the puree to make it similar in consistency to breast milk. 
• Before pureeing foods, be sure to cook each ingredient thoroughly.