Baby food blender for little cuties
It's exciting when it's time to introduce your baby to the tastes and textures of food. Of course, you want to wean your baby gently and naturally, with nutritious foods that will be kind to their body, stimulate their senses and support their development.
Step in, the baby food blender. This is the tool you need to use for making tasty, homemade baby food - turning even the toughest ingredients into velvety purées, quickly, easily and thoroughly.
Benefits of blending baby food
The great thing about making your child's blends yourself is that you know exactly what's in them. As a maker, you can decide on precisely the taste, ingredients and serving quantity that's just right for your baby. You’re also in control of the texture, from the first super-smooth baby blends, to thicker, chunkier ones when your little one is ready to move on. It’s a pleasure to see them get to grips with soft little lumps as they grow and begin to explore new sensations and mouthfeel.
Weaning your baby
Always consult a health professional before introducing your baby to solid foods, but guidelines tend to recommend that you start weaning when your baby is around 6 months old. At the beginning, it’s all about getting them used to the idea of eating. They'll still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula. Purées are the perfect way to introduce your little one to first foods, either every mealtime, or in combination with baby-led weaning, offering your baby soft food to pick up and try.
Is homemade baby food healthier?
These days, lots of baby foods available in the shops are made with natural, organic products, and often contain minimal ingredients. But many people still prefer to make their own at home, using fresh, nutritious local produce and whole foods. And, when cooked in bulk, homemade baby food will be a lower price than shop bought purées.
Homemade baby food also allows you to try out all sorts of flavour combinations and gradually introduce your little one to a wide variety of healthy foods to pave the way for good eating habits. Making it at home is quick and easy — and you know they’re getting the highest quality.
The mighty Blender K400
All KitchenAid blenders will create high quality purées and give you quick results for feeding a hungry baby. You can whizz up delicious baby food in a flash, and also make nutritious soups, smoothies, sauces, dips and recipe bases for feeding the rest of the family too. Stir, chop, mix, purée, liquefy and crush ingredients to get plenty of fresh, healthy food into your diet. The Blender K400 - Artisan, however, gives you the option of BPA-free 200ml small batch jars, just the right size for storing baby portions. Choose the small batch jars with blade assembly, and you can even blend your purée straight into the jar. You’ll get smooth blends every time and, because it’s KitchenAid, you know the blender is built to last – sturdy, durable, compact and stylish.
How to purée baby food
Some purées can be made with raw food, like bananas. Simply fork or blend up the ripe banana with a little milk or water. Other purées, like sweet potato, butternut squash or apple need to be cooked – either steamed, baked, roasted or boiled until soft. Add a little water, apple juice or the baby’s usual milk to help the blending process and whiz up in the blender to create the consistency you're looking for.
The purée should be perfectly smooth when the baby is first introduced to solid food at around 6 months old and then you can gradually introduce a slightly lumpier texture when they're between 7 and 9 months. Virtually all fruits, vegetables, meats, pulses and fish can be steamed and blended up for baby food –- so try some imaginative combinations.
Irresistible first purée combinations to try
Unleash your creativity as a baby food maker with these ideas for blends:
Pear and avocado – creamy, yummy and nutrient-rich
Carrot and swede – delicious and packed with vitamins and flavour
Apple and beetroot – beetroot is a good source of iron, and tasty too
Butternut squash and broccoli – sweet squash works perfectly with a healthy green vegetable like broccoli.
Baby food blender tips for new makers
Want only the best for your little one? Some thoughts to consider when planning your baby food menu...
Begin with little servings
At first, babies only need tiny portions of purée, so it's a good idea to batch cook and freeze them. The Blender K150 or K400 have optional accessories to help. The 200ml jars with lids are BPA-free and the perfect size. With the blender expansion pack, you can even blend directly into the jars.
Consider allergens
Be aware of allergens when weaning little ones. Common allergens include wheat, peanuts, eggs, and shellfish. When introducing any new food, don't be too quick and be on the look-out for reactions. It can help to keep a food diary so that you keep track of what you have introduced.
Start simple
First of all, stick to single-ingredient purées like carrots, banana or sweet potato. This way, you'll know which flavours baby enjoys. As they grow, you can start to combine ingredients. Fruits can be mixed with veggies to create delicious blends, like apple-and-potato, avocado-and-banana, pear-and-butternut squash.
Why choose organic for your baby food blender
It's a good idea to choose organic food when you cook, wherever possible. Organic food is better for all of us, because it's produced with stricter environmental standards and without exposure to chemicals, petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, hormones or antibiotics.
Organic meat and dairy products come from livestock reared and housed in a spacious environment with access to roam outdoors and organic feed – which means they tend to be leaner and healthier, with less fat. Similarly, organic fruit and vegetables are highly nutritious as they're grown with natural methods in healthy soil.
Benefits of steaming food
Steaming is supreme! When you steam food ready for your baby food blender, you retain more of the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes), as well as the beautiful colours and the taste. It also removes the need to use any oil and fat in the cooking process, giving you light and healthy meals. Don’t worry if you don’t have a steamer available, you can use a metal sieve over a pan instead. With steaming, there's less mess and you don't have to worry about burning or overcooking. It’s particularly good for some foods like leafy greens or fish, because it won’t dry out the delicate flesh.
How much should my baby eat?
All babies are different. Some love solid food from the off, while others need a little longer to get going. WHO* recommends starting with 1 or 2 spoonfuls of purée, 2-3 times a day, alongside their usual milk, and gradually increasing to 3-4 times daily between 9-11 months and 12-24 months. As long as your baby is growing well, gaining weight, has wet nappies, and enough energy to play and explore, then they're most likely doing fine. But always check with your doctor or health visitor if you’re at all concerned.
*World Health Organization
Do I need to peel fruit and vegetables for baby food?
If you’re making purées for your baby, it’s always best to peel your fruit and veggies first. Not only does it help prevent choking, but makes them easier for your baby to digest. Some skins, like carrot, can also taste slightly bitter. With foods that barely have a skin however – like cherries, strawberries, peas, etc – you don’t need to worry about peeling. Just make sure you blend thoroughly, especially in those early stages of weaning.
Tips for weaning your baby
Don’t add salt – babies’ bodies can’t cope with too much
Keep introducing rejected foods – often babies need to try something new a few times
Don’t freeze food for more than one month – be sure to add a date label
Let your little one decide how fast or slow they want to eat
Just as with adults, aim to introduce a rainbow of colours – white potatoes or bananas ar not enough
Have more than one spoon ready – babies love to play with them!
Cleaning up after baby food blending
We know that weaning is a messy business. So you’ll be pleased to hear that all our blenders are designed to make your life easier when it comes to cleaning up. No only do the Blender K150 and the Blender K400 have a soft-start feature to avoid splattering, but all the parts (other than the base) are dishwasher-safe too. All you'll need to mop up are those cute little hands and faces.
Get creative with food blenders
Expand your culinary creativity with a blender on your countertop. Anything from a fresh dip to a nut butter or spicy sauce can be perfected with a powerful motor, stainless steel blade and optimised jar shape.
Super soups, super quick
Soup is a great way to squeeze (or even hide) lots of nutrition-packed ingredients into a meal. If you use a blender, you can throw in all sorts of tough, or fibrous, foods and still get a beautifully smooth texture that everyone will love. Choose our Blender Power Plus - Artisan and, thanks to its exclusive Thermal Control Jar, you can not only blend, but heat soup too, in just five minutes!
Dreamy smoothies
Try kick-starting your day with a smoothie for breakfast. Whizz up a smoothie in the blender for a healthy and delicious creation in seconds. As well as classic ingredients like strawberries, honey or bananas, you can experiment with nuts, leafy veggies and herbs too. Our Blender K150 - Artisan makes light work of a tray of ice cubes if you like your smoothies extra cold. Make yours pink, green or yellow to brighten your mood and rely on our blender to make it velvety smooth.