Beaba Babyfood Maker

I absolutely love this product. It has made my life so much easier in making baby food. When my brother originally called me and asked if I thought I would use it I thought, "Wow, that's really thoughtful of him." But, I really didn't think it would simplify my life. Boy was I wrong. It steams, purees, defrosts, and reheats all in one. It is simple to use and clean-up is a breeze. Most importantly, this is how it has revolutionized how I feed my boys: instead of thinking of what would be the easiest thing to serve (of course on my list of things I'm okay with feeding them) I now think what would be the best thing.

I give them a much greater variety of foods and make it fresh everyday. Rather than spending a couple hours in the kitchen one afternoon making a batch of green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. and freezing in bulk I choose from the fresh fruits/veggies/meats I have on hand and rotate foods so everyday is different. It's so easy. I may toss in a sweet potato and broccoli, let it steam for 15 minutes and then puree it. Then I put in some of the raw chicken we'll eat for supper with an apple and quinoa. . .or whatever. I just feel really good about the variety of foods I'm able to give them each day and love knowing it's fresh. I still sometimes freeze extras to have on hand but now I don't always have to think so far ahead. It's just a matter of tossing what's in my fridge in the steamer and in 15 minutes supper is ready.

The other important way it has helped our family is in how it purees. It purees even small quantities to any consistency. Before using this babyfood maker James would seriously only eat applesauce, kefir, and my homemade bread. Almost instantly he started eating meat and veggies - because I can get them pureed to the consistency of applesauce or kefir. (I realize you could do this with a blender but I never liked to cook in such large quantities, nor do I enjoy cleaning up my blender).

The only downside to this item I've found is that it does not come with a glass jar to defrost or reheat items (it does come with the steamer basket). Since I've never bought jarred baby food, I didn't have a glass jar on hand. I did end up getting a few from a friend, but they are smaller than the steamer basket. With twins, I would enjoy having a large jar the size of the steamer basket included with the item.

I was blessed to receive this as a Christmas present. Not having used it before, I probably would have never spent the money to buy it. However, knowing what I know now, I'd buy it a million times over. Making baby food is no longer that dreaded chore I can't wait for them to grow out of.