Is the Williams Sonoma BabyCook worth it?

[Anonymous]

Before I go spending $150 on yet another baby accessory, I'd love some opinions on the BabyCook. Is it worth it? If not, what equipment did you use to make your own baby food? We don't have a microwave, so that's out for us.

Thanks -- just don't want to end up with another hundred or so dollar item that is useless (a la our baby swing, my fancy sling etc.)

[Anonymous]

Yes! This product has been around in Europe for a long time, before WS got a hold of it and branded it.

It's great, and the thing I liked best about it (besides its ease of use) is that you can very quickly make what we would call stews or soups into a form a small baby can eat. That way, they get a combination of nutrients and food groups all at once, rather than 'here's your jar/homemade pot of mashed carrots.' 'ok, now here's your jar of pureed meat.' 'ok, now HERE'S two spoons of beans.'

Esp. bc you don't have a microwave.

[Anonymous]

Yes and no. Yes, because it really helped me to get use to making baby food and it does it all steam and puree with automatic timers etc. I was really happy I made all his baby food. No, because once the baby gets bigger or you want to make bigger batches to save for freezing it only makes a few portions. Also, a baby really only needs pureed food for a few months before it starts eating finger food.

BTW, I really had a hard time between puree and finger foods because I was so afraid of the baby choking or dc gagging on things he didn't like. That was an awkward stage for ME.

If you don't already have a food steamer buy one anyway because it is good to have around. And then use your food processor to puree the baby food. You can make much bigger batches and freeze for the week. That is what I ended up doing.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP, but I'm curious to know what the advantage is of having this separate contraption over owning a food processor and a steamer. Is it just that it handles smaller portions? I made stews by adding all those same ingredients (carrots, chicken, etc.) to my blender, or just mixing them together once pureed.

[Anonymous]

we just use a blender. works great!

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP, but I'm curious to know what the advantage is of having this separate contraption over owning a food processor and a steamer. Is it just that it handles smaller portions

I cannot say whether this is worth $150, or not, but there are a couple of advantages:

* yes, it's smaller, and therefore you make little individual baby portions. The food is the freshest it could be, bc you make it to order, so to speak. As opposed to making a big stew for the family and freezing the remainder and then reheating little batches as mealtime rolls around, day after day. (To some people, getting the most nutrients out of a particular food (say, a carrot) is paramount, and every time you freeze/store/reheat, some nutrients are lost. To others, this would be less important.)

also, the food would taste fresher.

* it's one small piece of equipment that can live on your counter, like a toaster, so you can use it at every mealtime if you wish. Personally -- and this is highly individualized, I realize -- I am not going to drag out the big Cuisinart and steamer, and then clean all the moving parts, on a whim for a quick lunch. With a BabyCook, you can do that easily.

* I think the BabyCook start-to-finish process is much, much faster than the process of making a stew, or steaming a head of broccoli, then transfering it to the food processor/blender, then scooping it out into a separate bowl. This is due to the fact that you're using a tiny little appliance that uses the same parts (bowl) for everything.


The latter 2 items make things easier for me personally, which means I'm more likely to actually USE the equipment, which means DB is getting fresh-cooked food more frequently than she would otherwise.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone, good feedback. How easy is the babycook to clean? When I think about cleaning my cuisinart daily (or more), it makes me sigh. As if all those pieces of the born free bottles weren't enough of a pain.

Also, does anyone use a stick/immersion blender instead? would that work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone, good feedback. How easy is the babycook to clean? When I think about cleaning my cuisinart daily (or more), it makes me sigh. As if all those pieces of the born free bottles weren't enough of a pain.

Also, does anyone use a stick/immersion blender instead? would that work?

I haven't tried a babycook (hadn't even heard of it until this thread), but I've used an immersion blender a lot to make my son's food. It's super easy after steaming and it's a breeze to clean (just stick it in some warm soapy water and turn it on!).

[Anonymous]

OP, depending on how much you care about this, I've heard the Beaba BabyCook is not BPA-free. I can't confirm this, but that's what I've heard. Which kind of seems silly to me!

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/news/?p=135

but then this says it is BPA-free, so I don't know what to believe on this:

http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/beaba-babycook-bpa-free/

[Anonymous]

OP here- I'm looking at the WS catalog, which say it is BPA free.

[Anonymous]

PARENTING HAS BECOME RIDICULOUS!!!

boil/cook stuff in your stove top and use the blender!

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I think it is a very useful piece of equipment but not a necessity. I just received the BabyCook as Christmas gift (my daughter is 11 months old) and love it. Before then I just used our regular steamer and then pureed with a stick blender. The system worked fine but it was a bit of a pain to lug out the big steamer every time I wanted to make her food, so I mainly just cooked her food in big batches and then froze the rest. Now I just separate out a few pieces of whatever I am cooking for the family and throw it into the Baby Cook for her. As the other poster said, it is small enough to keep on the counter and very convenient that you can steam and puree in one container – much less to clean up and then you can just throw both pieces in to the dishwasher. I don’t puree her foods anymore but I still use the steamer function almost daily. I have even pureed adult food (dips, etc) when I don’t feel like lugging out the Cuisinart. If I had to do it again I would have gone ahead and splurged on the BabyCook when DD started on solid foods. HTH.

[Anonymous]

I considered the BabyCook too, because it combined all the functions into one machine, but like the OP I couldn't bring myself to drop yet another $150 on gear that will only be used for a couple of months.

Instead I'm using my immersion blender right in the pan in which I've cooked the food, and it's great. It cuts down on items to clean and allows me to make as much or a little at a time as I wish. And I make multi-ingredient soups all the time- don't know what that other poster was talking about.

[Anonymous]

I think it's much more efficient to make a few larger batches of baby food (whole squash in the oven, etc) and then freeze them. But if you've got the money for this, why not.

[Anonymous]

I bought it 5 months ago and use it ALL THE TIME!!! That and my ergo carrier are the two best purchases I have made for DD (and me). It's super easy to clean and use. I think the thing I like best about it is that I know it is a dedicated appliance for DD -- I have a blender, I have a food processor, etc., but I use the Beaba only for her food and I am extremely careful about keeping it clean. The only other suggestion I can make is to buy a whole bunch of the Baby Cubes (little plastic cubes that go in a tray and into the freezer). I make a batch of pears (or whatever) fill up the cubes, label them and into the freezer they go. They are individual serving sizes, with lids so you don't have to worry about filling an ice cube tray, popping out the cubes and putting into a ziplock bag only to discover upon retrieval that all of your cubes have stuck together!

In any case, I love the contraption and plan to use it beyond the puree stage. I'm still using it to steam veggies which I then chop up for finger food.