Baby Food Mill: Electric or Manual?????

Hi S.,
I bought both but used the electric so much more. It was easier as I would make larger quantities and freeze the extra in ice cube trays to defrost and use later. It was especially nice for things I wanted to add a little water to to thin out for easier eating. We would take the manual one out sometimes when we went to restaurants so we could grind some of what we had and she could try new things but that was really the only time we used it.
Good luck,
G.

Manuel. Something that washes easily.

I made all my own baby food, but I just used my blender and food processor.

I made large batches and processed in my food processor and froze in ice cube trays. This worked great for us, and I had very big eaters. For smaller eaters, you can freeze just a little dollop in each ice cube hole. After they freeze, transfer to ziploc bags labeled with contents and date. For my big eaters, they would often have a decent portion of cereal mixed up, a cube of meat, and three cubes or so of veggies/fruits. If they go together well, I'd put it all in one cup and stir it up (cereal, chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples). Then I'd sprinkle tidbits on their tray for them to grab between bites of puree (diced banana, etc.). Enjoy!! :o)

When my son was eating baby food I just used my blender. A food processor might have been easier but I just used what I had and we got along fine :) I loved making food for him! It was great to experiment and get the good stuff in him young. He will still eat most veggies willingly (he's 2) and I am hoping that lasts! Have fun!

I used the food processor for all three of my kids. It worked out great. I made the food in batches, so I was making enough for the whole week in one food making session. It really wasn't an issue in my house to bring out the Cuisinart once a week. Good luck!

Manual. By the time you'd need larger quantities they'll be eating bite size foods. You could use a blender or food processor as well if you want to freeze larger quantities.

I have a small food chopper that works perfectly. It's like a tiny food processor. I can take whatever we're having for dinner, throw it in the food chopper with a little water or breast milk and get it to the consistency I want. If you want to use your blender, make a bunch of food at once. Pour the pureed stuff into ice cube trays and freeze. One cube is about 1 oz of food. After it's frozen, dump the cubes into a freezer bag. You should only have to make food once a week if you do it that way. I have a manual food mill that I use when we go out to dinner or something. It doesn't get the food as smooth as a regular blender does though.

What worked for me was to puree in the cuisanart and then spoon the food into ice cube trays. Once frozen, I popped the cubes out, stored them in plastic bags in the freezer and used one or two at a time as needed. This worked great because I didn't have to make it everyday. I had bags of idividual veggies such as butternut squash or beets and the some that were mixtures like chicken, rice and carrot. Whatever I made for the rest of the family, I ground up for baby. Obviously, somethings are not appropriate for a little tummy - too acidy or salty - but for the most part, it did save me a lot of time and MONEY! Besides, babyfood jars create more pollution. Good luck, L.

I purchased the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker available at William Sonoma or cheaper at Amazon.com (no tax and free shipping) it was perfect made a reasonable about for the portion babies eat as they begin trying food. It steams and grinds in the same container less mess!

I had both. I prefered the manual for restaurants or individual meals. when i made batches of food I used the blender. then I froze it in ice cube trays, and stoed those cubes in a ziploc in the freezer.

I went with the hand crank one. Yes, it takes a lot of effort, but I just didn't think it was worth it to buy an electric one, seeing how short a time you will use it. I'd buy a food processor that you can always use, rather than an electric mill. However, if you can find one used or someone is giving one away, then by all means take it.

As for the Cuisinart being a big effort...it is...but you make this stuff in big batches and you have it for a long time. Just freeze in ice cube trays, then put in freezer containers and you're set to pull out a cube when you need one.

Stick blender all the way. You have one piece to wash and you will use it for everything. www.wholesomebabyfood.com is great for ideas.

we had a little manual one and it was fine. It did not make a superfine puree, it always had a little bit of texture to it, but I did not see that as a problem. My kids got used to having different textures. I just would grind up some of whatever we were eating. Frankly, I did not use it for very long because my kids wanted to eat foods with their fingers, so I just started cutting up food into cheerio sized chunks. As for the cuisinart, you can do a whole bunch and freeze it in an ice cube tray for later. I would not invest too much money in one, because it was a pretty short-lived stage for us.

Hi S.,

We did all of our own food, too. I went with a stick blender. The first one was Oster... avoid it. You can only run it for 1-2 minutes and then have to turn it off for 3-4 minutes. And then it quit working altogether.

Next we got the Kitchen Aid. Not only does it work until you're done, it does the job very quickly. And the blending container for the Kitchen Aid was larger than the one for Oster. It was well worth the extra money, and clean up is extremely easy and quick.

Where the Oster lasted a month, the Kitchen Aid was used at least weekly for about six months, went on a trip with us and still works beautifully. We're gearing up for the next baby and figure it'll be with us through this one, too.

Happy blending!

S. :+)

Get a "stick" blender. I use mine all the time! In addition to pureeing baby food, it's great for blending soups in the pot, making salad dressings, smoothies, etc.

ELECTRIC. I bought both. I had a cuisinart small electric food processor/chopper and also one of those grindy hand grinders. Once used the electric, I never used the manual again. It was too hard to take apart and wash and I couldn't get the food smooth/fine enough.

I made MOST of my boy's food. I would make a lot and store it in the freezer in snack-sized bags. I'd cook some pear, apple, and throw in a couple strawberries, then toss that all in the cuisinart chopper, grind it all up, freeze most of it, keep some for that week, then pull out a small bag whenever I needed it. Green beans did not grind well at ALL in the manual food mill, nor did peas. My son also liked black beans and i'd toss some diced chicken breast in there - almost like a refried bean dip with chicken in it. Very good protein for him, all very easily made in the electric chopper.

I used www.wholesomebabyfood.com for ideas, as I was a new mom who did not want to buy baby food. Good luck. Message me with questions if you want. Oh an in the fall, pumpkin and sweet potato were great soft foods to cook in the oven and the baby loved it.

Electric! When i made baby food i got the large KIDCO set. It had the electric and a portable manual. It came with ice trays and everything. I got it online for a decent price. However, i never once used the manuall.

I have used a variety of methods... the manual mill is great for going out to eat and grinding a little of your veggies for the baby, but it takes a ton of effort, and isn't very practical for every day. I also have a cuisinart and have steamed veggies in the microwave and processed them in the cuisinart, but the microwave doesn't do a very good job on some things, like carrots for instance. I splurged on a beaba baby food processor that steams and grinds in the same container and LOVE it! If you are planning more babies, this is really the way to go... you save tons of time by just putting your prepared meat/veg/fruits into the beaba and letting them steam while you are making your food... then all you have to do is grind the food right before you sit down to a meal!

I love using the mini prep food processor. They're about $30, but you can use it way past making the baby food stage!-www.weelicious.com

I skipped the food mill and used the mini-blend containers that Oster sells on their website and strained as needed. I tried a hand mill for travelling and was not impressed. Once he's really eating the easiest is to make a blender full and freeze as in ice cube trays.

What I found to be the most convenient was my stick blender. Cleanup was so simple compared to the various parts of a Cuisinart or a regular blender, and it was great to use for either small or large portions.

Electric! I made large batches once a week and froze them in 1 and 2 oz baby food containers that you can purchase. They worked great. I would take out one container at a time for meals. They also traveled well.

I have a small electric baby food blender, and it wasn't big enough for me. I made large batches and then froze it, and I would always have to do in in multiple pureeing batches. I wish I had just bought a real blender. If you freeze it, you also won't need to do it very often, if you do large batches they last for a long time, and you can do a few foods at a time (not in the blender together, but make them all at one time). My son is now 18 months old, but I still use the little blender every once in a while for pureeing certain things that for freezing. So a baby blender (definitely electric, I can't even imagine doing things like carrots or green beans in a manual) could come in handy for you again at some point, but I would say stick with what you have.

Hi S.,
From my experience, I would use what you already have. I would not purchase something specifically to make your own baby food. I used our blender and it worked out fine. The reason I say this is because I also "planned" to make all my own baby food. I followed the book - Super Baby Food (which I highly recommend), but I have an extremely picky daughter who wouldn't eat anything I made. So, I stopped. I've heard of other babies doing the same thing...so my recommendation is to try it, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't go according to your plan. Babies have their own plans and do what they want to do. :-) Good luck!

Make food in batches with food processor or blender, then pour in to ice cube trays. Freeze then store in zip bags. Defrost as needed.

I made all of my sons food, too. I never used anything fancier than a blender. I did get a separate coffee grinder for grinding flax seed to put into food, though.

good luck!

I am a not a fan of buying anything I will only use for a short time, (a year or less) so I would use the quiznart. I made my own baby food also, (I used our Vita-Mix blender that we already had) I just made it in batches and froze it in an ice cube tray, once it is frozen pop it out and label in freezer bags, made feeding my children so much more convienent and way less "trouble". I would just spend a couple of hours a week preparing veggies and fruits. There are lots of baby cookbooks that give great ideas!