Making your own homemade baby food can be overwhelming and time consuming especially if you do not have the essential tools to do the work. A mere fork and ingredients could leave you messed up not to mention that they will not give you the desired results. Below are some common yet very essential kitchen tools that you need for preparing homemade baby foods at any given time.
1. Pots and pans: Pots and pans come in different sizes and materials and you will find small ones suitable for preparing baby foods. The best material will be stainless steel cookware o help you cook and bake your baby’s foods hygienically.
2. Potato masher: This kitchen tool is made to look like a long-handled spoon but comes with holes or slits on the head. It is used for crushing soft baby foods such as potatoes and pumpkins among others to make them lump-free and smooth ready for baby consumption.
3. Vegetable steamer: This kitchen tool is ideal for cooking vegetables such as carrots, spinach and cauliflower among other things without adding any cooking oils. They leave the vegetables with a pure taste without losing their natural color. The crisp-tender vegetables cooked using steamers are always nutritious and healthy for the baby.
4. Steamer basket: Baby foods should contain more vegetables that any other ingredient for a healthy diet. Steamer baskets come in handy as they help steam veggies easily and in a healthy manner. Steaming your vegetables make them tender and easy to puree.
5. Baby food processor: There are different brands of baby food processors each with some amazing features for pureeing the food to your desired consistency. However, the best food processor should allow you to prepare baby’s food and refrigerate and then defrost or reheat in the same kitchen appliance whenever the need arises. There are suitable compact baby processors that are easy to operate and dishwasher friendly.
6. Strainer/colander: The bowl-shaped kitchen tool is used for draining baby’s food after cooking. The best strainers or colanders are made from stainless steel material and plastic and will help you separate liquids from solids during your cooking and baby food preparations.
7. Measuring spoons: These tools come in different sizes and capacities and are helpful in measuring different amounts of ingredients needed for making quality homemade baby foods. You can use them to measure both liquids and solid ingredients. They are available in different materials including plastic and stainless steel and some come with markers for precision.
8. Ice cube trays: After preparing baby food, ice cube trays come in handy as they help freeze the pureed foods for future use. Cube trays come in different sizes and you should consider one that can easily carry approximately one ounce of pureed food. Once the food has been frozen, you only need to transfer the cubes into the freezer bags before storing them in a freezer.
9. Freezer bags: These kitchen tools are necessary for easier storage of your baby’s food. Once the food has cooled down, pureed and frozen into cubes, it is transferred into freezer bags before storing it in a freezer. Using freezer bags is convenient and time saving not to mention that it is also hygienic.
10. Sharpie marker: Sharpies are suitable and especially when storing different types of foods in the freezer of refrigerator. You can use the markers to label different freezer bags and containers indicating the date of storage plus the type of food for easier identification. This will help avoid mistaking different foods that look similar to each other when frozen thus saving time and enhancing convenience in homemade baby food preparation.
Finally, there are many other kitchen tools but these 10 outlined above will guarantee convenience and help save time in homemade baby food preparation.
Merina is a passionate cook and blogger and she provides information on a number of food processors. There is a food processor right for your needs!
