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Beaba Babycook Food Maker: My Experience

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Welcome to my 100th post! It has been a really fun journey for me thus far, throwing my two cents into the blogiverse about terrific products and services I have found that work for me as a new mom. Thank you so much for joining me. Your presence (and your comments!) mean more to me than I can even express.

In celebration of hitting this blogging milestone, I have an INCREDIBLE review and giveaway for you today. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a product that has been given prime kitchen real estate in our home over the past 6 weeks. Meet the Babycook by Beaba.

The Beaba Babycook food maker, put out by Scandinavian Child, is a fabulous system that steams, purees, reheats AND defrosts baby food. Seriously, one little machine does all of these things for you. I didn’t really understand why having a product that could do all of these things really mattered until Darah started on her solid food journey. If you are going to be starting your baby on solid foods in the near future, let me explain some of the things that you are going to need to consider and do, and this will help you see just how awesome the Babycook really is.

First, you need to decide if you want to make your own baby food. I’m a working mom, so at first I assumed that I wouldn’t have time to prepare Darah’s food myself. I started researching what goes into jarred foods, and most of them are FILLED with preservatives and, depending on the fruit or vegetable, lots of pesticides. Furthermore, they don’t taste fresh. There are some organic jarred foods, and those are definitely improvements. However, the cost for those foods really adds up! I noticed that it would be easy for me to spend $10-15 each week on jarred organic food for Darah. After talking with other moms, I realized that if I had the right equipment, I could make Darah’s food myself, using fresh organic items, for a fraction of what it would cost me to purchase jarred food.

After you decide to give making your own food a shot, you will need to get cooking! The vast majority of baby food recipes call for you to steam the fruits or veggies and then puree them. You can see where you will quickly be making a big mess in your kitchen by getting out your pots to steam, and then lugging out your big food processor (assuming you even have one) for the pureeing. In many cases, simply fork-mashing the food isn’t sufficient, so that’s not really a good alternative.

If you make a large batch of food at one time (and I would definitely recommend that) you are going to need to freeze it so that it will last. And this, of course, means that you are going to need to defrost it later. Some people are a little bit uncomfortable with using microwaves on their babies’ food, and if you feel that way, then having the Babycook ready to defrost the food for you is awesome. Furthermore, if you added breast milk to the baby food in order to thin it out, then microwaving the food when you reheat it is out of the question. I personally am not against using a microwave, but I do add breast milk to the food. I guess that wouldn’t really have been an option for me if I didn’t have the Babycook, because I don’t know how I would have heated up the food once I added the milk!

If you don’t have a food processor and you want to make your own baby food, this is an absolute must. I have a food processor, but I still consider this product to be essential for me! I absolutely love how I can handle all aspects of cooking and preparing this food in one container. I also like just how easy it is to go through all the steps. Let me walk you through the process for making carrots.

beaba babycook food maker to make your own baby food The Babycook comes with instructions that tell you how much water you will need to use when steaming. You may need to fill the water line to 1, 2 or 3. You’ll noticed that I missed the mark just a bit, but that’s because my batch of food was on the small side.

beaba babycook food maker to make your own baby food Once you have the right amount of water, you will add it to the tower of the machine and close the lid. Then you add your food to the steam basket, close the lid, secure it onto the base of the machine, and turn on the steamer. Watch the clock or set a timer so that you will know when to turn it off (my one suggestion to Beaba is that they add a timer to the machine, itself.)

beaba babycook to make your own baby food Once your food is cooked, remove the steam basket and dump the food back into the blender base. Reattach the lid and turn on the blend button. You can make your food as smooth or as chunky as you like, and that will all depend on your baby’s age. Darah still needs her food to be on the smooth side. That’s all it takes to make food that is absolutely excellent for your baby!

So far I have used the Babycook to make pears, bananas
mangoes, avocados, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and peas. Every weekend I make 1 or 2 things for Darah to try out during the following week. This has honestly been a really fun experience for me, and the Beaba Babycook has made it easy. Grocery shopping has become a fun adventure, and so far (knock on wood), Darah has enjoyed every food she has been offered. I’m so happy that I am able to provide her with organic, fresh food that is made with a whole lot of love and not a whole lot of time!

Edit: This giveaway is now CLOSED.
Buy It! I wholeheartedly believe that the Beaba Babycook is an investment worth making. You can purchase one on Amazon for under $100. It will last through all your child-rearing years, and will be ready for you to pass along to a friend or family member when you are finished using it!

beaba babycook to make your own babyfood Win It! Scandinavian Child is celebrating with me today by offering one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader a Babycook in the new color that is about to hit the shelves, latte! In addition, you will receive a Babycook Book, hot off the press! Can you believe it?! The contest will run until Sunday, March 20th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me why you need the Beaba Babycook in your home, and what you would make first in it!

Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect
3. Put my button on your blog and leave a url where I can find it
4. Subscribe to the Scandinavian Child blog, and if you add their button to your blog, leave your url and this will be worth an extra entry (1 entry for subscribing, and 1 entry for adding the button)
5. Become a fan of Scandinavian Child on Facebook
6. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
7. Follow Scandinavian Child on Twitter (leave your Twitter ID)
8. Enter any other currently open giveaway on my site (one extra entry per giveaway that you enter)

Disclosure: I was provided with a product sample for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

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Comments

  1. I'd love this for my twins since I make my own baby food. I'd make some zucchini and potatoes first 🙂

    Reply

  3. My baby girl just started eating solids. I try to make everything with fresh fruits and veggies for her. We need this because our garden just got going and we expect to have TONS of stuff this year.

    The first thing I'll make is sweet potatoes and tofu, yum yum.

    saebbe at gmail dot com

    Reply

  4. I have coveting the Beaba Babycook for a while now! I cook a lot of puree veggies and fruit from our CSA box and this would be perfect.

    Reply

  6. Would love to have to make my own food so I can save money by not buying baby food in jars.
    Would probably fix applesauce first so the older kids could have to.
    skipthelaundry at gmail dot com

    Reply

  7. Why I need the Beaba Babycook in my home is: I would love to make organic baby food, I would love save money by using produce from my home garden, and I would love to have a food processor dedicated to baby food; and what I would make first in it: vegetables, definitely!

    prizehound7@yahoo.com

    Reply

  12. Would love to win this small appliance! Planning to make my son's food when he's old enough and this would make it alot easier!

    Reply

  16. I would love to win! A good friend of our family is expecting and I would love to give this to them!
    If I was going to use it myself I would cook carrots. My son loved anything orange, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes.
    jedoggett@embarqmail.com

    Reply

  18. Th Beaba Babycook would be so handy to have since I make my son's food. Currently I have too many things to wash and this would make my life easier since it's only one bowl to wash! I think I'd make some sweet potatoes first! tylerpants(at)gmail.com

    Reply

  20. The Beaba babybook would be such a huge time-saver for us. I make all of our baby food in our old 70's blender and it takes forever! These look amazing, I love that it would reduce clean-up by so much too.
    Thanks
    meangreenmom[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply

  26. I've never really trusted store packaged baby food. This would be a great way to help me ensure that my daughter eats the most nutritious diet possible! I think I would cook sweet potatoes first!
    sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com

    Reply

  30. I don't need the Beaba Babycook, but I have a friend with a 7 month old baby who lost her fiance last Saturday & I would give this to her, as I'm sure she can use any help she can get right now to make her life easier.

    Reply

  39. This would be a gift for my second surro son's parents (he's due in June). His mom wants to make his food, so this would be perfect. 😀

    Thank you! alisonad23 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  40. I need to get one of these for JoHanna! she is a month old and its my goal to make her food once she gets to that stage! I am not sure what i would make first only because I am a first time mom and am not sure what yet she will eat once she can go to solids! Still learning!

    On the other hand I read how one women makes her own baby food and freezes them in Ice cube trays and then puts them in a freezer bag and takes it out as needed. I think thats a pretty cool idea and makes it to have a variety of veggies! plus as the child grows you can take out how much they will need instead of wasting food!

    Thanks for the Chance!

    Reply

  43. I need this because I have twins that are just about to start on solids. I'd try some veggies for them first.

    Reply

  46. I would love to have this to prepare food for my little one who is just getting ready to start solids. I made all of his big brothers baby food with a hand food mill and now that I also have a toddler running around I need an easier and faster way to make my little one's food. I would start with sweet potatoes….

    Reply

  47. I need one because my baby is almost 6 months old, so I'll be introducing fruits / veggies soon.

    carolinejaco at gmail dot com

    Reply

  51. I need the Beaba Babycook to make healthier baby meals, I would make a green smoothie with fruit!

    ecoblogz at gmail dot com

    Reply

  56. subscribed to the scandinavian child blog (i couldn't get their subscribe button to work so i had to add them to my reader manually)

    simplymerry at gmail dot com

    Reply

  59. i need this because my baby will start on solids soon, and this would be soo helpful! And I'll probably steam some veggies, maybe a blend since we have that at supper a lot.
    simplymerry at gmail dot com

    Reply

  62. I need it because I have a baby in my home and a toddler and I think it could be used for both of them. One of the first things I would do is steam veggies for them in it!

    jewelsntreasures (at) yahoo (dot) com

    Reply

  63. I would love the baby food processor because I currently do not have one and hand mash everything. This looks like it will save me loads of time!

    designbytara (at) gmail.com

    Reply

  74. Well, my biggest reason is because I don't have a food processor or the money to get one. Since we started solids, I've had to be very careful with what my daughter eats because she has a milk protein allergy. Every time I give her a new food, I feel like I hold my breathe for the next few days, just waiting for a reaction because the baby food companies seem to think the best way to "preserve" baby food is to use dairy products!

    I would love to make all my daughter's favorite fruits mixed together. Apples, pears and bananas. Doesn't that sound yummy? I'm sure Beaba has some great recipes in their cookbook too.

    Reply

  77. I'd love to win this for my daughter. She is expecting her second child in the fall. They plant a garden and this would be so hand for them to use to make their own organic purees for the toddler and the new baby to come.

    Reply

  83. I don't need this in my house yet but my friend does. She just found out she is expecting her 2nd baby. She is real big into eating healthy and watching the ingredients in food. This would make the perfect gift for her. Her favorite veggie is carrots, so I am sure she is going to make sure her baby likes them, as well. Thanks for the chance!

    Reply

  91. I have a new baby on the way and a husband who can't get enough of the kitchen. He keeps cooking extra things and canning them. I would love to get him started on food for the baby soon.

    Reply

  99. I need this because I have 3 small grandchildren (2.8, 1.1 and 2 days old :)) and I prefer they eat more natural foods. There are so many recalls these days even on baby food that I feel better making it myself. I would make a version of stewed apples in it first for them to get them used to it because they love apples.

    Reply

  104. I would like to give this to my cousin for her baby; it seems cheaper and healthier to use this!

    the_rebellious_observer [at] yahoo [dot] com

    Reply

  106. I had 2 sets of twins and never really had time to make my own baby food, let alone wash the pots and food processor it takes to make it. Now that my younger twins are 2 we just had our first singleton and unfortunately he has some allergies to foods. I'm adapting my diet but when it comes time to feed him solids I want to make sure we feed him the best so as not to get him sick or itchy. With the twins and the newborn now more than ever I don't have time for clean up but with the beaba babycook I can do everything in one machine= major convenience and less cleanup. For some reason when I researched it I thought the steamer has an automatic shut off which I loved. And, to be honest, I hate washing dishes so much I would probably use it when making quiches for my family.

    Reply

  113. I made home made baby food for our daughter before I knew this gadget existed. Once I found it I swore this would be #1 on my list for baby #2. I would make all kinds of fruit and vegetable dishes. I think mango sound delish! Maybe a tropical puree with mango and banana first!

    Reply

  114. I need this because I love making my own baby food, but with a toddler and baby due 6/30, time is tough to come by! This would be an AWESOME tool for us!

    rachel.east08 at houghton.edu

    Reply

  123. Wow, I'm obsessed! My brother and sister are having their second baby and they have expressed their desire to make their own food. This would make an awesome shower gift!

    sarahosborne12(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  133. I would love this… this would make life so much easier, my little one is just beggining to embark on new foods, and this would help so much. The 1st thing I would make would be sweet potatoes b/c that is my daughters favorite! But I would be so excited to explore all the possible recipes! Yummers for the little one.
    jmeelle(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  142. I would love to give this to my sister who is expecting her first child. I am sure the first thing she would make would be some sort of vegetable mix or applesauce. Thanks for the chance, justicecw@hotmail.com

    Reply

  149. I would make meals for my son. I have a food chopper but it does a bad job. I think I would make squash for him. He loves it!

    Reply

  151. I would LOVE to have this! Been eyeing it for a while, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'd use this to make poultry for my baby (she is 6 months old and I just started solid foods).

    huppiemama(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  163. I need this product because my beautiful baby boy is 6 weeks old and I plan on growing my own veggies to make into baby food this summer for him. It would be most helpful to have this machine to turn my organic goodies into food for him!
    laprochaine@gmail.com

    Reply

  164. we're expecting another baby in june & want to make homemade food for him like we did our oldest…we'd make some squash first i'm sure

    autumn398 @ yahoo.com

    Reply

  177. I would love this because I have a 5 month old who is going to be starting solids very soon and I would like them to be preservative free! I may try sweet potatoes first in this cooker!

    aronsen40 at aol.com

    Reply

  182. I would love this to make custom blends for my 7 month old twin nieces. They love all of their sweet fruity baby foods, but don't really like their vegetables, so I would love to experiment mixing fruits and vegetables together. Maybe apples and carrots or sweet potato and banana.
    jjak2003 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  195. It would help save money if we could make the baby her food and it would be healthier and the first thing I would make would be sweet potatoes for the baby

    Reply

  199. Follower, not foolower, lol…give me a break…typing with one hand, baby in the other!

    Reply

  200. I would be so thrilled to get this! I just purchased an inexpensive juicer and can't wait for my son to reach 6 months so that he can try a popsicle! If I won this product, we would for sure make avacados first! I have been reading that they are the perfect first food. I will be making all his food. I am a foolower,tweeter, etc….
    http://www.facebook.com/thehillbillyhousewife

    http://www.thehillbillywife.etsy.com

    http://www.thehillbillyhw.blogspot.com

    Reply

  215. During the past several months, my ENTIRE family has learned about the dangers of so many products that we have been using daily for years and years! Things like canola oil, soy in processed foods, toothpaste,fabric softener, bottled water, microwaves, I could go on and on! It is SCARY! Therefore, my family has been focused on LIVING HEALTHY! This would be a great way to start our new addition Caydince, to the healthy lifestyle!
    Thanks for the chance!

    Reply

  216. We're planning on having a few more little ones. I love making food for my family (new eaters included). This looks like it would make the job of feeding healthy food to a little one so much simpler.

    Reply

  217. I would love one of these, my husband and I looked at them recently as our baby will soon need to be weened, and I want to try and do it all homemade rather than relying on shop brought baby food. I would love one because you can steam and puree in the same container and it will reheat it back up again from frozen. If I won I would make my first set of baby rice in it!

    Reply

  226. I would love to have this for the new baby expected in our family. We have all made a serious effort to eat more Whole Foods, and eliminate processed foods in our family diet. It would be wonderful to own this, so we could continue our commitment to good food for the new baby. I think I'd start with baby carrots, pureed. I never heard of this Babycook until today!

    cdziuba@aol.com My email is easily seen in my profile

    Reply

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