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Friday, August 27, 2010

I have never won anything!

I follow a ton of blogs and most of them I check every day. I enter absolutely every giveaway and without fail I always loose. Well, my luck has changed. I entered a giveaway at the Martha Stewart blog for baby food. A week later I got an email saying I won something, but didn't give any details. There were three things in the giveaway and I was just anticipating what I could have possibly won. So I give my address and wait. They send me a tracking code and I check it daily. Today it finally arrived and I was so giddy with anticipation. There was an official Martha Stewart logo on her address and everything.


I carefully open the box and to my delight I received all three prizes! I am so excited!! I called my mom and my husband to share in my enjoyment. Ok, so what I actually won was...


1) "Beaba baby cook - steam cooker blender" to make your baby food
2) "Beaba multi-portions silicon" to freeze and store the baby food
3) "Beaba babycook book" with yummy recipes to use with the above mentioned

ok, so because I was so blessed to receive this great giveaway I thought I would try them out and give a review to those of you who would be interested in using these products.

The Beaba babycook book

Lets look at the cookbook first. It is written by a Chef who is also a dad who wanted to give his kids the best food possible. He starts out with infants and purees and they develop into interesting discoveries. He presents them in a way to spark curiosity in the child through color, texture and of course taste. He also talks about specific fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices and proteins. He says when they are in season so we can get the most nutrients out of the food. He lists the nutrients as well. He also provides a chart for when to introduce certain foods at what age.

Every recipe has a symbol to show what age is appropriate and how long it will take to make. Usually each recipe has an infant part and an older child adaptation. He also gives "Good Points" tips of how this recipe will help your child. Like carrots are good for eyes and skin and the best way to pick the right carrot. A few chapters are dedicated to the seasons and the food that is most prime during that period.

In the back he describes some of the words used that a normal mom might not know the meaning of.He also gives explanations of certain cooking processes and utensils.
Each page has a beautiful photo of the yummy food and the colors used through the book are pastel and calm.

Beaba Babycook steam cooker blender

I don't have an infant at the moment or one that eats food, so Ben will have to do for this experiment. I chose the recipe "French styled mashed potatoes". I thought this was safe and Ben likes mashed potatoes so this should work great. The directions were very thorough and it seems really easy to run the machine. Kind of like a Cuisinart with a steamer.
So I placed the diced, peeled potatoes in the basket and filled the water to the number 3 line. Then put the lid on and turned it to steam. The little light went off after a second, and I thought this was weird, but I didn't know if it was normal so I just left it for 15 min. I came back and felt the machine. It was hot, but I felt the potatoes and they were cold. When I read the instructions they told me to fill the basket to the line and the tank. I didn't understand this. There is a lid to the left and I thought it was weird I didn't put anything in there to begin with. Well, I was supposed to fill it. So you fill the steamer tank and the basket. Then I set the timer and set it to steam. Then it worked.
Ok, small hiccup, onward...after the 15 min it smelled like yummy potatoes. I took off the lid and they have this cute little spatula to help lift out the steam basket. I drained the water and pured the potatoes into the big basket - minus the steam basket. I add olive oil, butter and parsley and put the mixing top on. I blend it a little and realized I have to use the spatula to push the chunks around for the blades to pick them all up, because there is so much. It worked great and soon it turned into lovely mashed potatoes! I loved the machine and it was easy to use and very quick. Plus the food was steamed so it retains all the nutrients. Cleaning was a breeze by hand and I am supposed to clean the heating tank with vinegar and the directions seem clear and easy.

Benny's take: Yummy! He ate them without any complaint and I tasted them and they were quite good. Nothing like potatoes and cream, but really healthy and good for kids and babies.

Beaba multi-portions silicon

This just looks like a glorified ice cube tray that is silicon. The compartments are huge for an infant, but perfect for an older child. I guess you just don't fill it up all the way for an infant. It says 1 1/4 c total for all the compartments. It has a fun shape and a great lid. It is used in the freezer and is microwaveable and dishwasher safe. I think you could also use this for homemade Popsicles. Because Ben doesn't need to freeze all his food, I think I will make little fruit pops with this... I poured a pink lemonade mix into the center circle and popped in a strawberry. Because it doesn't have a Popsicle lid I used cling wrap and poked a hole in the center and placed a straw cut in half...Freeze away...I will post the results later, I can't wait to share this with you all!

I am in love with all of these!

Prices on Amazon.com
Steamer/Blender - $137.50
Silicone - $20.95
Cookbook - $34.95
Total - $193.40

5 comments:

Brooke Monsen said...

Hey Brit, thats so funny. My mom just got me that stiff for my shower. They have them at williams and sonoma. I heard they are the diggity bomb. How cool that you won!

Erin said...

Wow! You won the mother of all giveaways. Way cool! I'm excited to see what you make! I never did very good at making my own baby food- bananas and avocados fine but if I have to peel, slice, steam, then puree it I'll just buy it. BUt then I didn't have the cool cookbook etc. I'm so happy for you!

{Steve and Amanda} said...

That's so cool that you won that! It's always exciting to win things and get packages in the mail.

Rachel said...

I ALMOST BOUGHT THOSE! I made all E's baby food so I really wanted these. I ended up using a kitchen-aid processor and it was OK, but often didn't get it as thin when he was younger. But I LOVE the idea of the portions for the silicone freezer. LOVE it.

Michelle C said...

I was so excited when you told us briefly on Saturday, but then when I saw the picture I had to laugh because I was browing online at toys r us on Friday and was reading about that exact maker. Way expensive, but that is SOOOOO incredibly awesome that you won it. That is such a huge blessing. I can't believe it. I guess I never win anything because I don't enter any giveaways, lol. I'm glad your determination has paid off. That will sure come in super handy!!