Babycook as baby nurse?

My little ones were sick this weekend. I scaled back from the usual (menu) fare after they rejected the benign peas/chicken/thyme/potato puree. I felt a touch sensitive when he pulled the Yuck! face and scraped the contents of his tongue off with his top teeth. Wait!...But. I. thought...? was my initial reaction to the rejection of one of their favorite standard meals.

Then I realized it wasn't me. Or the food. Relief. Why does food rejection feel so personal sometimes?

After two days of nursing him back to strength of body [and stomach] with saltines and peppermint tea, he's back to accepting solids. Which got me thinking. Living in the land of alternative healing, medicine, pain relief, surely there are recipes abounding of foods that not only are palatable for an ailing stomach. And a step further, maybe even for a healing one?

I'm taking this on this week. I'll keep you posted on my findings.

Making Spiced Apple Puree

I keep buying apples! The last few months, whenever I have picked up my produce, the apples have looked so colorful and tempting. Every visit finds me buying at least one or two. I think I easily have over 4 kilo in my pantry!

Today is the day that they will be whisked away into a delightful puree. In my college years, I would can applesauce with the fresh Fall apples. With the Babycook, life is so much simpler, and I'm not looking back!

Granted, I am freezing the purees, not canning, but the entire process is done without ever cracking out the blender or pots. In fact, I will be messy-ing nothing other than my little Babycook, knife and a cutting board. Whoopee!

The most satisfying result: eating --and feeding -- fresh purees for the next few months. It is fantastic that I'm saving extraordinary amounts of money on baby food, but what gets me really jazzed is the reaction of my babies to the purees.

How do we like it? Warmed applesauce over plain yogurt, on toast, with cheese chunks, added to vegetable purees to sweeten the bitter/pain (thinking zuchhini puree with skins on here), with musli, added to milkrice, over grains...Even throwing in a few peaches, apricots, plums or berries adds a fun twist!

Maybe next post I'll give some feedback on the spices I'm using.

Making Spiced Apple Puree

I keep buying apples! When I am picking up my produce, the apples have looked so colorful and tempting that every visit finds me buying at least one or two. I easily have over 4 kilo in my pantry!

Today is the day that they will be whisked away into a delightful puree. In my college years, I would can applesauce with the fresh Fall apples. With the Babycook, life is so much simpler, and I'm not looking back!

Granted, I am freezing the purees, not canning, but the entire process is done without ever cracking out the blender or pots. In fact, messy-ing nothing other than my little Babycook and a cutting board. Whoopee!

The most satisfying result: eating --and feeding -- fresh purees for the next few months. It is fantastic that I'm saving extraordinary amounts of money on baby food, but I get really jazzed from the reaction of my babies to the purees.

How do we like it? Warmed applesauce over plain yogurt, on toast, with cheese chunks, added to vegetable purees to sweeten the bitter/pain (thinking zuchhini puree with skins on here), with musli, added to milkrice, over grains...

Maybe next post I'll give some feedback on the spices I'm using.

It's official: baby foodies are in the house!

It didn't hit me until I'd finished feeding the babies and was preparing lunch for my husband. I asked him as he was running up the stairs if he wanted some zucchini slices I'd steamed in my Beaba to go with the the salami chunks clutched in his fist. He looked at me thoughtfully, and agreed.

I'd just finished feeding our twin 15-month-old babies a mediterranean vegetable yogurt puree, followed by rot kohl, then Bavarian blue cheese over steamed zucchini, finished with a peach puree. They were content with the meal and ready to get out of their highchairs. I kept them distracted while I waited for my husband's verdict on lunch.

After he finished his salami, zucchini and blue cheese [his addition] stacker, he cooed about the great combination of flavors. The zucchini mellowed out the strong flavors of the blue cheese and salami, though each had a distinct note that blended well together, with interesting texture.

I had just been looking for something to replace the bread I'd just used up in our baked french toast brunch. Steamed, sliced zucchini was the answer. Apparently, it was a good find. Then I realized, they had eaten a variety of flavors and textures, all in one meal. And had horsed down their meal.


I'VE ARRIVED!!

OK, every day is a new day, and tomorrow they might reject every thing I place before them [for teething, or tired or toddler reasons]. But today? They unabashedly ate every creation I'd put before them. Unofficially: Baby Foodies in 'da house!

Welcoming the Beaba BabyCook to my kitchen

I must say, fellow reviewer Angela speaks to my experience well:

If you had told me a year or so ago that I would own a small appliance dedicated to making baby food, I would have told you get out of town. But, I have to say, the Beaba Babycook machine has become an indispensable tool in our kitchen. That’s because what it does — steaming and pureeing — are two things we find ourselves doing all the time. And not just for our little girl! We spent a few months whipping sweet potatoes frothy, but these days, we use it mostly to heat up foods fast. Now, granted, there’s no microwave in our house, so plopping frozen veggies in this little machine is the fastest thing we got. It also does double duty as a mini food processor. My only complaint would be that the lid gets really, really hot after steaming, and prying it off without burning your fingers takes a skill. It’s pricey — $150 — and by no means a necessity. But, I do love ours (a gift) and think you’d be happy to get one, too. At williams-sonoma.com. — Angela M.

I disagree with Angela on one point. After six months and counting, I do think our Babycook is a kitchen necessity. I'm absolutely confident that feeding twin babies has never been easier. And this blog sets out to prove not just why, but how. The months have taught me that I -- and by extension you, too -- can raise children who enjoy fresh food that is not far removed from the garden. And equally importantly, tastes delicious.


After all, if I can do it without a microwave, in a country far from the comfort of my native grocery stores [and ingredient lists that I can read without aid of a translator], you can too!