[Hot Cook] I was able to easily make vegetable paste for early-stage baby food by steaming it until soft and using a blender
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Before starting baby food,
the thing I was most worried about was making vegetable paste.
Even though they only eat a little bit,
boiling it every time,
mashing it,
and straining it...
Just imagining it seemed like a lot of work.
In fact,
with my first child, I made it using a pot and a mortar.
However,
with my second child, I started using a Hot Cook and a blender,
and making baby food became much easier.
Today,
I will introduce the method we continue to use in our home.
It is recommended not to make too much during the early stage of baby food
In the early stage of baby food,
they really only eat a tiny amount.
Therefore,
if you make too much,
My frozen stock doesn't seem to go down at all.
In our house,
I try to make only as much as will fit in the Richell storage trays.
I make sure to make only that much.
I have two 25ml trays and two 50ml trays,
but from the early stage of baby food to the weaning stage,
these four trays were enough.
For vegetables, too,
I often make about three kinds at once using what's in the fridge.
This time,
I made it with one carrot,
half an onion,
and three cabbage leaves.
These are the vegetables I used this time.
If I increase the variety too much,
I won't be able to use up the stock,
so I feel that about three kinds is just right for our home.
With my first child, I made it using a pot and a mortar.
For my first child's baby food,
Since I didn't have a Hot Cook,
I would boil vegetables in a pot,
and mash them with a mortar and pestle.
Vegetables would get stuck in the grooves of the mortar every time, and washing it was surprisingly difficult.
To check for allergies,
the basic rule is to prepare vegetables without mixing them.
Carrots.
Onions.
Cabbage.
I was repeating the same thing over and over.
The cooking time is only about 10 minutes,
but these 10 minutes feel very long.
If the baby cries,
I have to leave the stove.
When I come back,
I sometimes forget,
"How many minutes did I boil them for?"
Because the amount is small,
it's easy to accidentally burn the pot if I'm not careful.
I have actually burned it before.
So,
I thought a timer was essential if making it in a pot.
With the Hot Cook, I could spend time with my child while it steamed.
From my second child onwards,
I started using the Hot Cook.
Cut the vegetables into pieces about 2cm in size,
and arrange them on the steaming tray.
Root vegetables cook through more easily if you cut them a bit thinner.
For cabbage,
if you wash it on the steaming tray after cutting,
you don't need to use a colander, which also reduces the amount of washing up.
Pour 200ml of water into the inner pot,
and start with the manual "steam" setting for 30 minutes.
The rest is taken care of automatically.
During that time,
you can play with your child,
or do other housework.
You don't have to stand in front of the stove the whole time.
Just that alone,
made me feel much more relaxed.
Using a blender also reduced the hassle of straining.
Once steamed,
put each vegetable into a container,
and blend them.
In our home,
we use the Tefal Baby Multi blender.
Carrots and onions
become smooth enough on their own.
Since cabbage tends to retain fibers,
adding about a tablespoon of cooled boiled water made it easier to blend.
When I tasted the steamed vegetables,
they tasted surprisingly sweet.
Especially with carrots and onions,
the natural sweetness of the ingredients was very clear.
Compared to when I used to make them in a pot for my first child,
it also left an impression on me that the vegetables tasted better.
For vegetables that tend to retain fibers, such as broccoli, spinach, and komatsuna,
they also...
A blender makes it quite smooth.
In our house,
"As long as it's thoroughly mashed, it's fine"
was our mindset,
so we didn't strain it every time.
Having fewer dishes to wash was also a reason it was easy to keep up.
With a blender,
you can easily clean off the dirt just by adding water and running it for a few seconds.
With just a quick rinse,
I could make the next vegetable.
And,
the Hot Cook that finished steaming the vegetables,
can also just be given a quick rinse with water.
Then move straight on to making dinner.
For example,
Steam vegetables for baby food
Boil macaroni for macaroni salad
Make teriyaki chicken
is the flow.
Instead of putting it away as an appliance exclusively for baby food,
you can use it as part of your regular cooking routine.
This is,
the point I felt was most convenient for our household.
I think renting a blender is also perfectly fine
Blenders are convenient, but,
I think there are people who are hesitant to buy one just for baby food.
We borrowed ours from my sister.
Honestly,
it was most useful during the early stages of baby food.
Once they reached the later stages, chopped food became the main focus,
and its usage decreased significantly.
Therefore,
besides purchasing,
I think options like renting or borrowing are also perfectly valid.
Freezing three types in bulk for storage
With our first child,
I used to make baby food with a pot and a mortar.
It was a lot of work.
Those days were truly tough, but
today, my husband and I
"We really did our best back then, didn't we?"
laughed as we reminisced.
The time spent putting effort into making it
is now a precious memory of raising our child.
However,
if I were to start weaning again now,
I would choose the Hot Cook and a blender without hesitation.
It reduces the time spent standing in front of the stove,
results in fewer dishes to wash,
and allows you to move straight on to making dinner.
Because it reduces the time spent struggling and increases the time spent with your child.
Weaning continues every day.
That is precisely why,
rather than just working hard, I organize my life through systems.
In our home,
this mindset also applies to making baby food.
Items introduced in this article
・SHARP Healsio Hot Cook
Once you put in the vegetables for baby food and press start, you can leave it to the machine while it steams.
Not having to stand in front of the stove and being able to use it for making dinner at the same time is what helps me the most in our home.
▶ View on Rakuten Ichiba (PR)
・Richell Wake Wake Freezing Block Tray
In our home, we use two each of the 25ml and 50ml sizes.
From the early stages of baby food to the weaning period, these four trays were enough.
Richell Wake Wake Freezing Block Tray R 25 8-block
▶View on Rakuten Ichiba (PR)
Richell Wake Wake Freezing Block Tray R 50 6-block
▶View on Rakuten Ichiba (PR)
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