Any Advice About Food Processors

Cuisinart 14 Cup. Don't bother with the smaller ones because there are the same amount of parts to clean up (unless you have no storage room). I use it from everything from bread, cookie dough, soup, shreading, sauces, pesto etc... I wish they even made a 16 cup version, but if they do it is probably commercial size and pricey.
There have been pretty good sales on them lately.

I made all my twins' baby food for about 6 months now and I LOVE the KidCo. baby food processor:
http://www.amazon.com/BabySteps-Electric-Baby-Food-Mill/d...

It's easy to use, pretty easy to clean and it works very well for super-blended food to chunkier food when they're older. Highly recommend it!

hi L.

i puree my own baby food and i have the cuisinart (sp?) brand and it does great. i tried using my blender's (kitchenaid) puree mode but it didn't puree as nicely as my cuisinart. its expensive, but i'm happy with it. i have an 8 month old, fyi!! good luck!

I too would recommend Cuisinart. It may be a bit pricier than some other products but it is a work horse and it will last you a long time. My processor is over 20 years old!
R.

You can get the Cuisenart big one that comes with the graters, slicers, dough blade, etc. (This one basically does everything and is very easy to use). If you need something small to puree foods for your little boy, get the same brand, but it's the mini-chop. The big one is around $175. The mini-chop is about $50. They're both great and I have both of them. I probably use the big one more. Howver, if I'm just making a sauce, or chopping garlic, I use the mini. Both of them save SO much time and all of the attachments can go right in the dishwasher.

So many different opinions! Here's mine!

If you are not much of a cook and really only plan to use it for baby food, get the mini-prep Cuisinart (but don't pay $50 like someone said -- frequently on sale at Carson's or Kohl's for $25 or 30 and if you have a coupon, even less!). It will also do nuts for cookies/baking or chop an onion/celery/carrots quickly for basic cooking. I agree with someone that it does have a life span -- I am on my second one (but that's over more than 10 years).

If you are more of a cook, consider the "boat-motor" (Magic Bullet, Cuisinart, etc.) type of devices for their versitility and small space.

I have to tell you that I am quite a bit of a cook, as is my mother, and neither one of us uses the big Cuisinart/Kitchenaid food processor very often -- too many parts to clean that the time you save from doing it old-school with a knife is killed by the cleaning/putting away time. I did use it a little to make big batches of purees to freeze, but only when my baby was in the thick of purees. If you are making purees now mostly for "Deceptively Delicious" recipes or the equivalent, the Mini-Prep will do cup or so needed for most of those recipes with no problem and very little cleanup.

Also, if you don't think you'll use it much, give your regular blender a try first to see if you even need a processor -- the blender will puree fairly well, just not as smooth as the processor.

If you mainly needing a food processor to puree food for baby, I highly recommend the beaba babycook. It makes everything so easy...steams and purees all in the same container with very little mess. They sell them at William Sonoma.

Buy 1 according to th size you need. They really take up too much storage room. If you're processing for baby foods (leftovers)you probably only need a small 1. Even just for chopping a onion or a couple of carrots for soup, the small one does great. The large ones are a headache to clean and store.

I have used the Magic Bullet for all of my puree needs. When my son was younger I made all of his puree food from fresh steamed fruits and veggies. The bullet is great, and very easy to clean up afterward. I also use the Bullet for smoothies, shakes, soups, and homemade fruit syrups.

Love the food processor. I use natural applesauce as a base and that really helps to get a good texture and consistancy to baby food

We use Cuisenart Mini-prep. We have for 5 years. We are on our 3rd one. They seem to be fragile in our rough household, but we use it at least daily (sometimes multiple times/day). (The kids break the safety tab). I had a baby food maker from BabysRUs that we were given as a gift, and it has a smaller containers size (which was nice) but we burned that motor out as well - LOL! I'd buy it from somewhere you can return it, as they do that (LNThings did that before they went OOB). We made all our own babyfood, and we make smoothies daily for my kids (yogurt drinks w/o the sugar!) The Mini-prep is the right size for long-term use, if you need to make purees for later hiding of veggies, etc. For soups, bigger mixing stuff I use the hand-held, single blade, which is the best thing in my kitchen. It is one piece, easy clean-up, and you don't have to move containers. LOVE IT! It is supposed to make smoothies, chop, etc, but I only use it alone.

BTW - We also have the magic bullet, which I would never recommend. It is a lot of stuff for something that only blends soft foods. The multiple containers are nice, but the motor is very low quality, and the size is not practical for a variety of things - only to mix soft foods.
Good Luck!

Vitamixer is very expensive, but very awesome. You can make a spinach smoothie taste like ice cream, or make your own peanut butter without additaves. Costco sells it on occassion for less than online.

The magic bullet, you can buy it from Bed, Bath and Beyond, use your 20% coupon. I use it to puree foods, for smoothies, to grind coffee, that is one infomercial that is correct! There is no need to buy a big processer, the magic bullet is small and easy to store.

J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator

I highly recommend Cuisinart. Costco often sells them and they come with an extra bowl which is very helpful. I have owned three Cuisinart processors and have have excellent success with them all. Good Luck!

A little about me: I am a single mother of a spirited 16-1/2 year old. I also own a catering business.

cuisinart-get the big one. the little one makes a horrible noise. shop online to not pay taxes. happy chopping. make sure you get all the attachments cuz you'll love all that you can make...

Hi L.. I am a mother of 3 boys and also a high school teacher for CPS. Depending on what you use it for, you can either get a full sized processor, or a smaller one. My mother has an small "oscar" processor that she uses almost daily. She just used it yesterday to puree pears for my niece. The nice thing about the small version is the easy clean-up.

I love the Magic Bullet! I make the kids healthy smoothies all the time in it. It takes up the tiniest amount of space and is a breeze to clean. For large amounts though I use the Cuisinart food processor, the regular size (small one broke on me and didn't puree too well).