Finally! The second installment of the GooGoo Review is here! This week we are tackling the "make your own baby food" space. From day one I knew I wanted to make Trent's food. I have never been overly concerned about organic vs. non-organic (although I am changing my tune more and more each day), but I just felt like it was the right thing to do. Not only do I know exactly what is going in his food this way, but it is also so much cheaper than buying the pre-made pods or pouches. In addition to that, I can experiment with different combinations once he is a bit older, and more than anything, it is simply a rewarding feeling. I weaned him about a month ago which was super emotional for me and came with a lot of guilt, but making his own solid food brings back at least a little bit of that sense of being able to provide his nourishment and being needed. It sounds so stupid, I know, but hopefully some of you understand! And besides...we have to save money somewhere....good freaking God, formula is outrageously expensive. If you are going to a baby shower, screw the bathtub gift, just buy formula. Or better yet, buy the bathtub and fill it with formula.
In my quest to make all of Trent's food, I started researching all of the different baby food makers/systems out there. One popular one which I almost went with was the Baby Brezza..an all-in-one appliance that steams and purees the food with the touch of a button. It sounded great, but after a lot of research I found a slightly concerning negative review that kept popping up everywhere. Apparently the paint/coating in the reservoir starts to flake off into the food, and the water reservoir is also prone to growing mold. Hmm...mold scares the living bajeezus out of me anyway, so this was a definite no-go.
It sounded like several of the all-in-ones had similar problems (and additional downsides), and I concluded that old-fashioned steaming in a steamer basket and *finally* using our badass food processor wedding gift was the way to go. Then I came across this: The Infantino Fresh Squeezed Station. Those baby food pouches are ALL the rage now, and this product allows you to fill your own pouches.
So..it is not a baby food maker per se, but it is a "complete system" focusing mostly on the storage of baby food. There are a few accessories that aid in the steaming/mashing as well, though. I decided to go for it. Up to this point I had just been making the food the old-fashioned way (which actually probably turned out to be easier than an all-in-one anyway) and storing it by pouring into ice cube trays, freezing and popping out into freezer bags. I knew this could end up being a total gimmick and just an added cost with the pouches, but I wanted to give it a go nonetheless. Result: totally awesome. Here's how it works:
1. Wash, peel, dice or otherwise prepare your food. To really save time, you can find frozen pre-washed, peeled and diced veggies (sometimes even organic!). Watch for the frozen veggies to go on sale. Sometimes frozen is even better because they are picked at the peak of their freshness/ripeness/nutritiousness(??). Coupons and sales are awesome for frozen fruits and veggies. They are pretty cheap to begin with, and if you get them on sale it is great. You can get a huge bag of peeled and diced organic butternut squash for only a couple of bucks which will make enough baby food for 20-30 servings! Plus they are usually steam-in-the-bag which is just a huge timesaver. Obviously just make sure it is JUST veggies and no sauce/seasoning/extras. Sometimes they are sneaky about adding sauces to those bagged veggies. If you are unsure, the easiest way is to just check the ingredients. It should JUST say the veggie: "green beans." That's it.
2. Steam your food. You can skip this step with foods that don't need to be cooked: banana, avocado, etc. You can either steam on the stove using a steamer basket, in the microwave using a microwaveable steamer or in the microwave using a steam-in-the-bag product. I bought the Steam and Smush accessory with the system which in retrospect was totally dumb. The main problem is that it doesn't hold very much at all (took three rounds for one large sweet potato), and you don't need the "smush" feature..For one, it will never get the food as smooth as you need for a younger baby. If you are using a food processor, the Steam and Smush is totally unnecessary. Invest in a larger microwave steam basket if you want the same convenience with a larger size. Anyway...fill the basket just to the middle of the veggies with water (filtered if possible), and pop in the microwave. I did 5 minutes for these diced sweet potatoes which was just right. Test with a fork to make sure they are done.
3. Transfer the steamed food into the food processor/blender/etc. I have seen some people use a bowl with a hand mixer which works pretty well, especially with the softer foods. Green beans and meatier foods are a little trickier if you want to get them super smooth. And Trent refuses to eat anything that isn't the consistency of pure silk. Ugh. I have also heard that KitchenAid stand mixers do a pretty decent job with the right attachments, again with the softer foods. Reserve the liquid from the steamer basket to add into the food processor as you are pureeing. You can add regular water, but adding the water from steaming allows you to preserve any nutrients that might have been lost in the steaming process. Puree for a few minutes at a time, stopping to add water and stir until it is the desired consistency.
Up until now, these are just general directions for making your own baby food purees. I used to just stop here and pour into ice cube trays, but this is where you can start using the Fresh Squeezed Station.
4. Label your pouches first to make it a bit easier. Slot three pouches into the station, and make sure it clicks firmly into place. If you are unsure, then it probably is not clicked in correctly. I thought there was a slight click, but when I went to fill the first pouch I figured out it was definitely not right..sweet potatoes everywhere! I reset the pouch, and there was a definite click. Screw the tubes on top of each pouch slot, again making sure they are tight and all the way on.
5. Squeeze the food down the tubes into the pouches. TIP: Don't fill all the way to the highest line. I would recommend stopping about half a centimeter underneath that to prevent the pouch being too full and leaking out of the top. TIP 2 (learned the hard way): Unscrew the tube BEFORE trying to pull the syringe part up. Confession: I didn't read the directions...had I, I would have known that earlier. Anyway..if you try to just pull up, it creates a bad suction and just messes everything up. So, unscrew the tube and then take out the syringe thing. I pushed out any remaining food into a bowl and used the leftovers to fill more pouches and ice cube trays at the end.
6. Slide the pouches out of the stand, and put the tops on. Those bright colored Target crates that were awesome for storing my frozen breast milk work equally well for storing frozen squeeze pouches! They sell fridge and freezer trays and racks especially for the pouches, but I think that is a bit of overkill.
A few other tips I have:
- I froze about half of my fruits and veggies in ice cube trays and then transferred to freezer bags. While the pouches are awesome and still end up being cheaper (even after filling with food) than buying ready-made pouches, I don't like using the pouches day-to-day. Using the cubed food is easy at home because it thaws super quickly in the microwave (don't forget to check for hot spots) and cuts down on the waste of the pouches. We usually reserve pouches for when we go out somewhere because they are fairly flat allowing for easy transport, thaw easily in warm water (just like warming up a bottle) and are much less messy for being on the go.
- When you know you are going somewhere, you can throw a few pouches in the fridge to thaw for a few hours, and then take them along with a little cold pack in your diaper bag. They will be plenty soft enough in time to use without necessarily having to heat up (unless you have a super picky little one!) You can also buy these little spoons that attach to the pouch for even less messy on-the-go eating.
Some pros and cons:
PROS:
- Easy to wash, dishwasher safe
- Good for on-the-go baby food
- Flat pouches are easy for storing in the fridge
- Financially friendlier than pre-made baby food (after initial investment)
- Reasonable price
- Pouches and accessories carried at a ton of places...Target, both major baby stores, Amazon, etc.
CONS:
- Pouches create waste.
- Lots of pieces to wash
- Can only fill three pouches at a time
The cons really aren't that bad, and there are solutions to all three. We already covered how to reduce the amount of waste of the pouches (by using your cubed baby food day-to-day). The pieces are numerous but still easy to wash, especially being dishwasher safe. And being able to fill three pouches at a time is really not a big deal. They pop in and out of the stand quickly and easily, so you can fill 30 pouches in a matter of minutes.
Another option I am going to look into is these reusable pouches. SO cute for one, and hopefully will limit waste. They have a zippered bottom which worries me for accidental spills, but I will have to check them out in person and let you all know.
So overall...this product is not a necessity, but I absolutely love having it and would definitely recommend it! This would be a great gift for someone who has everything on their registry, doesn't have a registry or even for a second-time mom. Because it is newer, not everyone will have it or even have heard of it. So glad to have discovered it!
OVERALL RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
See...Trent loves it! Ha!
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