Tuesday, 22 September 2009
-
Making BPA-Free Baby Food
Grace had her first taste of solids today! We started her off with organic whole grain rice cereal. She did really well for the first time.
The last couple of weeks I've been researching the best way to make baby food. I think it'll be more healthy and cheaper too. Well, I went out a couple of days ago and bought the $50 Magic Bullet at Bed Bath and Beyond. Here's a picture of it:
I absolutely loved it. Hubby and I spent a few days making the best smoothies ever. But then it dawned on me...the whole contraption is made out of hard plastic. So I went online and did some research and yes, it does contain BPA. BPA is a no-no. BPA has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, infertility and developmental problems in children. Last month, French politicians have proposed a law that would ban this controversial chemical that comes into contact with food and drinks. Yikes! So I immediately went back to the store and returned the magic bullet.
Now that still leaves me with a couple options left.
1. Buy a food processor that is BPA free. The Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Food Processor is around $80 and is BPA free. It is pricey but I can use it later after Grace moves on from the pureed food stage. I would have to steam veggies in a pot though. More dishes to wash. Blah.
2. I could use my current glass blender that is bulky and hard to wash. For those of you who have $600 to spend, the Vita-Mix 5200 the latest blender Vita-Mix has come out with one that is BPA free! According to their website it also "releases hidden nutrients" too!
The other downside to using my blender is steaming veggies in a pot. Most of the nutrients go right into the water.
3. Here's what I really want to get. The Beaba Babycook. It's $150 (pricey too) but is very cool and BPA free. It steams, purees and warms baby's food all in a quick 15 minutes. How cool is that!? I've also read reviews and some have said that the only downside is how small the container is. It'll just make maybe 2-3 days worth of food. Also the compartment where the water goes in works best if you don't have hardwater. That's where my filtered tap water comes in handy!
So, I'm still debating on what to use. Any recommendations from moms out there who make their kiddos baby food? Any help is much appreciated!
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to momaroo's Momaroo Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in momaroo's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: tinakimchan@xanga
- Name: Tina
- About Me: ...HAPPILY MARRIED... First and foremost, I am a child of God. Someone anxious to do the will of God and help those around me. I am Matthew's wife. His best friend and companion. And more recently mom to Grace Ellen. I took time off from teaching elementary school kids to raise my daughter. I am now the happiest stay-at-home-mom ever!
-
Lifetime
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 2 Views: 0 1045 Comments: 0 43 View all posts by tinakimchan@xanga
Comments (19)
#3 might be worth it
I'm curious myself, because when my son starts solids, I am going to make his baby food for various reasons. I have a good Cuisinart glass blender I'll use, but that Babycook sounds interesting and might be worth the money. My question is, how does it cook the food while keeping the nutrients? I'll have to look into it, because that sounds like a worthy investment. Too bad about the Magic Bullet.
although the magic bullet does have bpa I was reading somewhere this is only harmful when the plastic containing bpa is heated? correct me if i'm wrong. .
@viarah@xanga - you are absolutely right!
Yes the Magic Bullet and some Tupperware pieces (the Rock N Serve and Heat N Serve series) contain BPA. But what you need to know is that these plastic pieces have to be heated to liquid state before the BPA will be released into your food.
If you have questions or concerns about the levels of BPA, just contact the company you are purchasing from and they HAVE to tell you.
I fed my first jarred babyfood but with my second I decided to venture into the world of homemade. I loved every minute and will definitely do it for any other children I have! It saved money and I loved knowing exactly what my baby was eating. I too drooled over the Babycook, but instead went with a simple food processer. For me, this ended up being the best option, because my daughter only ate the pureed foor for 2-3 months (I started her on solids when she showed readiness at 5 1/2 months then by 8 months she wanted nothing to do with it since she'd figured out how to feed herself). I'm happy with my choice- it wasn't too pricey and did the job great. If this is your first child and you intend on having more, I'd say the Babycook is a good investment, but it's certainly not necessary!
@LadyGwenivere@xanga - that's what I had understood too - and couldn't understand the big fuss over the plastic bottles. Who heats them up to that high of a temp anyways?
I'd also be curious to know what the vita-mix company means by "releasing hidden nutrients". Huh???
When I made baby food, I did it when my babies were old enough to have been tested and tried most veggies and meat. Then I made two big pots of soup - chicken and beef/vegetable, and then pureed them in my glass blender. My babies loved it. Of course, by baby #4, all my ideals went out the window and I bought the Gerber baby food jars.
(but then put them on table food as soon as they could tolerate it!)
years ago, in the "olden days" before anyone even knew what BPA was, I used a simple baby food grinder. I got it as a gift and could not afford to buy anything else, so I didn't even consider buying anything else. Yes, it took, time, not it was as convenient as a food processor, or blender, but I didn't know any better, and loved using it to make my baby's food.
when i was a baby no one worried about bpa... and i turned out fine. i think its all just a thing to worry new moms into buying more expensive baby stuff.
@nicolevw@xanga - I am told by Nestle that the reason everyone is being warned about bpa in plastic water bottles is because of people leaving bottled water in their cars on very hot days, and days after drinking it. There is a risk they could get sick, though I would expect that from any water drank after being left in a hot car for a week.
But hey, thats just what customer service told me. I am only repeating. I use Nalgene bottles myself.
Ive used my magic bullet to make baby food a lot. But I don't own a microwave so the only way our food gets heated is on the stove, then it goes in the bullet and then to baby when cooled. It works for our family.
@LadyGwenivere@xanga - i too use the magic bullet and i love it. . however i don't cook in it. . i cook the food the needs to be cooked on the stove or in the oven and don't even puree it until the next day when the food has cooled because otherwise the steam creates too much pressure in the bullet however because i've heard that the plastic needs to be heated extremely hot to release the bpa i haven't worried about using this. and it does a VERY good job at pureeing most foods i don't even need to cook before hand
BPA products need to be heated to extreme levels to be released into food and drink.
I used my glass blender and in one steaming, blending session, I ended up making enough for 4 months. If you boil, you can add some of the water to get the nutrients back before blending. And, you could always use a steamer insert in your rice cooker.
everyone's comments sounds good. i did my own purely for cost. i used my rice cooker w/ the steamer insert if i needed to cook anything. fruit i did strait from the can (it was winter and i couldn't get fresh) or thawed from the freezer. i used my big glass Kitchen Aid blender and it worked great. one blender full would make enough for about a week or two. i usually did about two batches at a time, so i was good for a month or so. takes time, and as my little one was on pureed food for several months, committment, but it's worth it!
I used a processer we already had, I also had a grinder that I used for soy and other beans for super baby oatmeals and stuff. It was time consuming but I would just do everything on sunday for a couple weeks then freeze it. I would recommend getting the super baby foods book I can't remember the author but there are good recipes and food ideas that you should start with.
I sell Tupperware and I also use it!! The microwave pieces are BPA free!! We have a great steamer as well as the coolest food chopper!! I use them for my boys all the time!!
Kudos for being willing to spend the time to put the best in your children!!
@r4valilswitz@xanga - I sell Tupperware too, and what I said is information I have documentation to prove right from the company. Im sorry to say but the Rock N Serve, and Heat N Serve and the new stackable set (that looks like it could sit on a steamer but goes in the microwave) or not BPA free.
Sorry. I will be happy to dig it up and email the documentation if you'd like.
@r4valilswitz@xanga - here is the link.
http://order.tupperware.ca/pls/htprod_wwwcan/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=safety2&fv_section_name=help&fv_category_code=search&fv_item_category_code=200510
That Babycook looks pretty nice! I know it's expensive but also maybe worth it. And if it's really that quick and easy to use maybe making food twice a week wouldn't be so time consuming. Otherwise I'd go with just a straight food processor that could be used for other things too.
Sorry, but BEABA COOK is NOT BPA FREE!
Please check your info before publish it...Dont buy it , it a polycarbonate (PC) bol and its fully of BPA (bisphenol -a) ..sincerly,Lace Wigs
Wedding Dresses