The Baby Food Maker That Can Do It All!

Finding baby items that simplify a mama’s life are like finding gold and I always have my eyes open for them. I was so excited to try the Baby Brezza Food Maker Complete, available at Elfe Juvenile Products. They’re having a site-wide sale until April 17th and you can get the Baby Brezza Food Maker Complete for 15% off! the It’s everything you need to make baby food in minutes! But it doesn’t stop there. You can make soups, smoothies (for the kids or yourself) and even steam veggies! It’s so practical and so easy to use! You can steam, blend or do both! There’s an easy to use digital display and my favorite part, is that it’s not complicated to clean.

I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to use, so I started off simple: Applesauce. You cube 2 medium apples, add them to the Baby Brezza Food Maker Complete, select the steam/blend setting, set the timer for 15 minutes and then wait!

Is it possible that this magical machine has made baby food making fun? Unlike the other baby food makers I’ve tried, you don’t need to measure out how much water you add to the machine because of the timer. You also don’t have a ton of parts. The other machines I’ve tried have blades, steamer baskets, lids, tongs and the list goes on. By the time you’ve made the food, you have a sink full of dirty items. The Baby Brezza Food Maker Complete has a detachable blade, a lid and the main container. That’s it! 3 parts to clean.

It also comes with 3 reusable feeding and storage pouches and 3 funnels to help get the baby food in the pouches! This is another thing that the competitors don’t offer. The funnels are game changers! The reusable food pouches are so practical when you’re on the go but if you have a smaller baby who eats less, you can also store the food in ice cube trays and then defrost only what you need to feed them that meal!

The Baby Brezza Food Maker Complete is such a game changer for moms, and with 15% off until April 17th at Elfe Juvenile Products, there has never been a better time to buy one! I’ve included a few of my favourite recipes from the Baby Brezza Website! Let me know if you’ve tried any of them or if you have another one that I should make!

Cherry Banana Quinoa

Ingredients:

½ cup of cooked quinoa

½ banana

1 cup of cherries, washed with pits removed and cut in half

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your baby food maker. Blend until smooth and serve.

Minty Pea Puree

Ingredients:

2 cups of sweet peas (fresh or frozen)

1 sprig of mint

Veggie broth, breast milk, or formula – if needed

Directions:

Combine the peas and mint into the bowl of your baby food maker. Set to steam & blend for 20 minutes, then let the machine automatically blend it into a super smooth puree.

If the texture is too thick, you can add broth, breast milk, or formula to achieve a thinner consistency.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 to 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger (start with 1tbsp and increase to taste)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk or light cream
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add the onions and cook until tender and translucent.

3. Add carrots and ginger to the pan and stir.

4. Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the remaining 1 cup of broth, and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Then, remove cover and bring to a boil.

6. Remove from heat and blend with One Step Baby Food Maker.

7. Before serving, add milk and stir, then add parsley.

Very Veggie: Baby Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

1 cup green beans, steamed

1 cup cooked brown rice

½ cup of water, formula, or milk

¼ tsp dried sage

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in One Step Baby Food Maker, food processor bowl, or blender.

2. Puree and serve.

Recipe Note: For babies just transitioning to solid foods, be sure to strain out any stringy green bean remnants.

Introducing Finger Foods with Mushies!

Zane is almost 9 months now and is naturally getting curious about food. I catch him eyeing my plate while I'm eating (he's the only man I'll eventually share my food with lol) but before he starts on my food, I decided to start him on something a little easier for him to chew, swallow and digest! Mushies, from Baby Gourmet are snacks that are ideal for babies discovering new textures and flavours. They are freeze dried, melt-in-your-mouth organic snacks that come in 3 delicious flavours: Fruity Greens, Banana Beetberry and Banana Berry Greek Yogurt! They actually taste really good (yes I tried them... I figure if I feed them to my son they should be good enough for me to eat too!) which is a contrast to the other melt-in-your-mouth snacks on the market that I've purchased, which tend to be bland and unappetizing. I love that they are organic, with nothing artificial, and no sugar added! Have you tried them yet? Which ones does your mini love the most? 

Stay tuned for more Baby Gourmet reviews coming up :)

Shaking Our Way Through the Week with Baby Gourmet!

Baby Gourmet, a Canadian-born organic babyfood company, has completely taken over my kitchen and I couldn't be happier! They've been on the market for over 10 years and have food for babies, toddlers and children that include great grain cereals, purées (they were the FIRST to market baby food pouches in Canada), mushies snacks, squoosh snacks and now Shakers! I'm going to be reviewing their entire product line and can't wait to share with you why we've been using their products since Zane started eating solids 3 months ago. 

I thought I would start by reviewing the most fun product that unfortunately Zane is too young to try out (sorry Zane!): Shakers (but don't worry, him being too young didn't stop him from joining in on the shaking fun!). Shakers are made with organic whole milk and have added vitamins, minerals and pumpkin so you can feel less worried about your picky eaters not getting the nutrition they need! They can be given with a meal, as an on-the-go snack or even added to recipes!

They come in both Vanilla and Chocolate, are gluten free with no artificial colours or flavours, are made with non-gmo ingredients and come in bpa-free packaging. They are meant for children between the ages of 1-10 years old and are sure to have them smiling from ear to ear, especially when it's time to shake them! You can click here to see the full nutritional facts and ingredient list.

Thankfully I had a few willing taste-testers to try them out for us! Want to see the rest of the product line? Click here to visit the Baby Gourmet website. 

I can't wait to introduce you all to the rest of the Baby Gourmet line! Keep your eyes open for my next post which may or may not include a giveaway :).  

Kidsme Reusable Food Pouch - Perfect for My Little Independent Eater

Zane is now 8 months old and is becoming more and more independent every day! He loves his food (like his mama) and has started to want to feed himself. This is a great milestone, but not so great for messes when we're out of the house or when he's dressed and we need to head out the door quickly after he eats. His spoon and food seem to end up everywhere EXCEPT his mouth! I found the PERFECT solution thanks to the Kidsme Reusable Food Pouch from Canada's Baby Store. 

The kit comes with 2 reusable bags to fill with food (that you can use up to 30 times each), labels so you can date and write what kind of food is in the pouch and an adaptor! This kit allows your little one to feed themself using homemade food OR store bought food pouches!

The adapter, which is made from silicone and has tiny holes in it to control how much food is squeezed out (thankfully, because Zane gets so excited for his food and likes to squeeze the bag really hard!), fits on the reusable bags or directly on most food pouches! I love that when we're out of the house, I can just bring a food pouch and an adaptor and don't have to worry about bibs and spoons anymore!

If you don't want the whole kit, you can also just buy the adaptor for the food pouches! 

Click here to see the Kidsme Reusable Food Pouch from Canada's Baby Store!

I Successfully Cooked My First Meal for Zane Thanks to Béaba Babycook®!!!

I am a horrible cook an so I never thought that I would attempt to make food for Zane (the last time I cooked for my husband, we both ended up with food poisoning!). I was curious when I came across the Béaba Babycook® because it seemed SO easy to use and almost too good to be true. It claimed to be a 4-in-1 food processor that steam cooks, blends, defrosts and reheats all in the same container (which also means less dishes to clean!). I HAD to give it a shot. 

I'll start off by saying that the machine is gorgeous. I love that it comes in different colors so it can match any kitchen (I got mine in Navy Blue) and it's definitely not an appliance you'll want to hide away in a cupboard! It's compact enough that it doesn't take up too much counter space which is an added bonus. I also got the Béaba Babycook® Cookbook - New Edition because given my track record with cooking, I wasn't about to attempt to invent recipes lol. 

I was so surprised at how easy it was to use and at the variety of recipes in the cook book! I made Zane the Moroccan Style Chicken (fancy right?). It was as simple as cutting up the ingredients, adding them to the steaming basket, adding the correct amount of water to the steamer and pressing the steam button!

The machine steam cooks in 15 mins (and it turns off when it's done so I don't have to worry about over cooking!)  which helps preserve the favours and vitamins. After draining the cooking liquid, I poured the veggies and meat from the steam basket into the blender and pureed it in under 30 seconds! Honestly, if I can do this, ANYONE can. I loved that the cooking juices were saved, so that I was able to add some of it back into the puréed mixture to adjust the consistency! I found that when I attempted to make my own baby food with a regular blender, adding regular water to the food really diluted the favours.

I stored my Moroccan Style Chicken in the Béaba Multiportions™ Silicone Freezer Tray which I was so surprised to find out can double as a muffin tin, can be frozen AND put in the oven for reheating. People have told me that ice cub trays work just as well to freeze food... but I have to disagree because I tried both, and I honestly couldn't get the food out of the hard ice cube trays! The Béaba Multiportions™ Silicone Freezer Tray is made of a soft silicone so the frozen food can easily be pushed out :).

The Babycook® Cookbook - New Edition was so easy to follow and has recipes that you can use for babies up to 18 months and even has recipes for the whole family! I was blown away by some of the things I'll be able to make in the Béaba Babycook®. A few include: Shrimp and Chicken Dumplings (AMAZING right?), Cod Cakes, Beet and Sweet Potato Pancakes, Chicken Broccoli and Cheddar Tots, Mini Mama's Meatballs (OMG!) and the list goes on and on. You can obviously also use it in the beginning for your more simple veggie, fruit and meat purées... I'm just so excited to finally say I can cook (this counts as cooking right?) that I want to try EVERY recipe!

Béaba also has a ton of eating accessories that are stylish and functional! I couldn't help but try out their Béaba First Stage Silicone Spoons! They're soft so they don't hurt your baby's gums, they're dishwasher safe (yay!) AND they're long so you don't get your hands dirty trying to reach the bottom of certain containers. We love them!

Béaba totally blew my mind with their products. The quality, ease of use, and the fact that their products are gorgeous has made me their #1 fan! If you've never heard of them, I recommend checking them out ASAP! Click here to visit their website!