When I was registering for baby items, I happened across this BÉABA baby food maker. I was initially drawn to it because it is more then just a food processor. It is supposed to cook, and blend the food. I was thinking, heck yes, all in one! Sign me up! I was fortunate enough that my coworkers at Merrill Corporation all chipped in and surprised me with this wonderful gift.
So here I am several month later. My son is ready to start testing is taste buds, and I’m all about saving money and making sure my son has the best nutrition possible.
So this was what was in the box. There is the baby cooker/processor an instruction manual, recipe book and flyer.
Next, I opened the instructions, and weirdly the first language isn’t English. Now wait before you judge me, I am a User Experience designer and I’m geared to notice trends of usability in all things. And I was happily surprised to see that there were several instruction translations. The instructions it advised running 3 steam cycles for optimal sanitization and to hand wash all the parts with soap. I did 2 sanitize cycles and washed the parts twice.
Step 2: Search through the tiny booklet to find the table that says how much water should go into the tiny hole on the top of the gadget. Warning, there are measuring lines on both sides of the processor. The one for water is on the back (if you could consider it the back), at the bottom where the three lines.
I cut up organic carrots 1/2″ by 1/2″ (as the book instructs) and put them into the plastic basket inside the processor. I then re-attached the processor. The next step in the instructions is to push the round steam button. Which I did, several times. Growing more and more frustrated because I couldn’t tell if it was on, in the process of working, or if simply nothing was happening. It wasn’t until about 20 minutes later that I realized that the processor had to be rotated until it clicked. That should have been specified in the instructions, or there should have been a clear indicator on the machine “Insert here, and rotate”.
Once I realized my mistake and had the processor properly attached, I selected the round steam button. Now it seemed like something was happening. The steam process took about 20 minutes and it beeped when it was done.
When the steam cycle is finished, there is a spatula/spoon on the side of the machine. Take that out, detach the processor, put the spatula through the loops on the top of that basket that the carrots are in. Lift the basket out. I dumped out the extra water and then poured the carrots into the bottom of the processor. At this point, you do not need the basket, so I put it in the sink. (Side Note: I did notice that the carrots stained the clear plastic basket on the first use).
Now for the fun part. The blending and pureeing of cooked food into something my little monster can eat. To activate the blending part, you rotate the circle around the steam button. The cooked carrots weren’t blending well, so I added about 5 oz. of breastmilk. This didn’t improve much of the blending.
What I would normally do with my ninja blender is shake it to get the contents to go towards the blades, but the blades for the processor are small, at the bottom and there are only two of them.
I eventually got tired of waiting for the carrots to turn into a smooth puree, so I took out my ninja and finished the blending process.
Overall, I think this is a really great idea in theory, but I don’t think BÉABA hit the mark. The blending was a disappointment. Also, this isn’t very good for making large amounts of baby food. Honestly this is a Pass, I wouldn’t spend the money on this baby item. I would rather recommend getting a Ninja Blender. Not only can you puree baby food, but when you’re done breastfeeding you can make a delicious margarita because you are an awesome Mama!
For more Baby Food Making Help here are some articles that I recommend.
https://feedingmykid.com/article/getting-started-making-baby-food/
#BabyFood #MomLife #ProductReview
