Cuisinart Baby – The Easiest Baby Food You Will Ever Make!

I love, love, love the idea of using fresh ingredients to make our own baby food. If I can prevent introducing preservatives and other ‘junk’ into my child’s diet for as long as possible, I’m going to do my best to do so. Of course, making baby food isn’t always as easy as just grabbing a jar off the shelf; and there are plenty of products out there that you can use to help you in the baby food making process. So which one is right for you?

Choosing a baby food maker

It really comes down to a personal preference and what you need, but for me, the Cuisinart Baby Food Maker is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’ve tried other baby food makers and this one takes the cake! It is so quick and easy to make baby food using the Cuisinart that I couldn’t believe how fast we were done.

The reason I like this machine so much is because it not only purees your food (as you would expect any baby food maker to do), but it steams in the same bowl you use to puree. This means less dishes to clean, less time spent getting your ingredients ready, and quicker processing time. Another huge bonus is that everything is top rack dishwasher safe. Some of the other models I’ve tried are hand-wash only, and I cannot tell you what a pain that is!

The Cuisinart baby also has an included bottle warmer. So not only can you use this machine once your baby starts eating solid foods, but you can use it long before as well. …you know, when you need to heat up bottles in the middle of the night.  🙂  The idea that I could use this for years (baby – school age) is a huge benefit. Right now making homemade applesauce for my school age kids is an additional benefit and really shows how versatile this machine is!

Making Baby Food – Apple Puree

I decided to go with apples this time because…well, it is apple season after all and we have a ton of apples! The directions say to make sure the food pieces are uniform in size. The apples from this particular tree were really small this year, so I just picked four small ones and cut them in half (after coring and peeling).

Add your ingredients to the bowl. Make sure your blade is in place before you add your ingredients.

Place the bowl lid on. The lid has a rubber seal on the inside so you can steam right in the chopping bowl….this is an amazing feature!!

Using the provided measuring cup, measure out the correct amount of water (directions are included in the guide).

Pour the water into the steam chamber and replace the cup. The cup also has a rubber seal around the outside to prevent steam from escaping through the top.

Close the top of the machine, you should hear or feel a click.

Turn the knob to the steam setting. A blue light will indicate it is working properly, and the machine will shut itself off when done so you can just walk away and not have to worry about checking on it.

Once it is finished steaming the blue light will turn off. The apples are noticeably done, but for other foods like carrots or harder veggies you may need to remove the lid and test with a fork to double check.

Now it is time to chop! Turn the knob to the chop setting a few times to pulse, hold to puree.

Look how smooth that apple puree is. You can’t get baby food this awesome in the store! 🙂

Now that your baby food is ready, either use right away or put in a storage container for later use (fridge or freeze).

Another great feature on the Cuisinart Baby is that the blade locks in the bowl. This makes it very easy to pour out any purees without worrying about the blade falling into your dish, or having to try to carefully remove it.

An integrated bottle warmer

The Cuisinart Baby also features a bottle warmer. Like I mentioned earlier, I really love this feature because it gives added life to the product. You simply measure out the required amount of water (based on bottle size), pour into the steaming chamber and then insert your bottle. Turn on the steam and wait for it to be done. If you have smaller bottles you can use the attached adapter ring to keep the bottle stable.

The only thing that I am concerned about with the warmer is how well it will work for glass bottles. We plan to primarily use glass bottles this time around, and I have not had a chance to test out how well this warms liquids in a glass versus plastic bottle.

I also have some concerns about excess water in the steaming chamber as there is no way to clean inside the chamber. The directions say to tilt to the side to empty any water, but I’m slightly nervous about buildup that cannot be cleaned off. I suppose you could run vinegar through the steam cycle a time or two to remove build-up but I’d have to research this a bit more.

Cuisinart Baby Food Maker & Bottle Warmer Demo

More about the Cuisinart Baby Food Maker & Bottle Warmer:

• Steam, chop/pureé and bottle warmer functions
• 4 cup work bowl
• Patent-pending Bladelock System holds the blade in place while pouring
• Steam blade creates even steam distribution for quicker, more efficient results
• Bowl seal to prevent spitting and improve steaming
• User-friendly dial control with LED indicator light
• Powerful motor for quick steaming and precise chopping
• Recipe booklet, spatula, bottle adapter ring and integrated measuring cup included
• 18-month limited warranty

Hungry for more info? Check out Cuisinart Family & Health and follow Cuisinart on Twitter!

Buy now on Amazon:

So tell us….

What was your baby’s favorite food to eat? Have you ever tried to make your own baby food?

The Mommy Bunch received a Cuisinart Baby Food Maker for review, all opinions are our own.