Microwave steamer for baby food

Can You Make Baby Food in the Microwave? – Anyday

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It’s Easy, Baby: How to Make Baby Food in the Microwave

The days of colorful jarred baby food seem to be over as more and more families turn to home-cooked meals for their infants. Making your own baby food fresh does have multiple benefits: You can control exactly what goes into it (no surprise sugar or additives), you can pick fresh, organic, in-season ingredients, and you can customize baby’s meals to his or her tastes.

There’s a lot of options when it comes to baby food makers on the market. Oftentimes, these appliances are all-in-one: they steam and then purée the food. But like many all-in-one appliances, these baby food makers are difficult to clean. Plus, they can only be used for one thing: to make baby food (obviously).

Chances are you already have the most powerful tool for making baby food in your kitchen: the microwave. Baby food is made incredibly easy with Anyday’s microwave cookware — and you can make much more than just baby food with it.

Here’s why and how to use the microwave to make your little one’s meals.

Why the microwave makes great baby food

Steam is the key to making baby food

Whether you’re making puréed baby food or doing baby-led weaning, the food needs to be soft enough to blend or for your baby to eat with their gums, with little to no oil. This means that steaming is the best option when it comes to cooking fruits and veggies for your baby. The microwave’s superpower is generating steam: It vibrates the water molecules in the produce itself, which heats them up and creates steam.

But you can’t just throw some broccoli into the microwave and expect it to come out tender. That’s where Anyday comes in. The glass dishes with airtight lids trap moisture and create a steam chamber to gently cook food, making soft fruits and veggies perfect for blending or for baby to eat with their hands (cut up, of course!).

Cleanup is a breeze

Other baby food makers have multiple compartments that need to be cleaned by hand. Anyday’s dish and lid are also dishwasher-safe, so you barely need to think about cleanup. The interior is made of polished glass, so even if you don’t have a dishwasher, food comes off easily with soapy water.

Microwave is the healthiest method of cooking

Yes, you read that right. Studies done by Harvard University, Cornell University, and many others have proven that the microwave actually keeps more nutrients in your food than other cooking methods. It makes sense — the microwave cooks at low heat, for a very short time, with no extra water, all of which preserves nutrients!

How to make baby food in the microwave

Make sure you’re following CDC’s guidelines for introducing new foods

Many parents start feeding their child solid foods at around six months. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has some helpful guidelines for safely introducing new foods into your baby’s diet.

Rinse your produce under cold water

It’s important to get your fruits and vegetables clean for baby, but that little bit of water also helps produce steam in the microwave. That’s right, no need to dry — just chop and throw everything into the Anyday and close the lid.

Cut your ingredients before cooking

The smaller you cut your ingredients, the faster they’ll cook in the microwave. Microwaves penetrate only the outer few centimeters of food, so if you cut your fruits and veggies to be a few centimeters in width, they’ll be done in a flash.

Introduce some grains

Try adding healthy grains to your baby’s food, like quinoa or oats. They’re also great cooked in the microwave. Check out our complete guide for cooking grains in the microwave, then add them to your baby’s purées.

Always lift the knob on your Anyday lid before cooking

Anyday’s lids are tight-fitting to trap heat and steam, but also have a knob to release excess steam to ensure the pressure doesn’t build. Lifting the knob before cooking is super important to allow that extra steam to escape. Otherwise, the lid may lift a bit — a safety feature we purpose-built — letting off too much steam. Rest assured, Anyday will never explode in your microwave.

Use an immersion blender for ease

Hauling out your countertop blender can be a hassle. Immersion blenders are easy to clean and allow you to make your purée right in the Anyday dish! Just place the blade on top of chunks you want to smooth out.

Have fun and play around with different ingredients

The good news about baby food is that it’s super easy to customize! Experiment with different combinations of fruits, veggies, dairy, grains, and even meat for well-balanced meals for your baby.

Looking for more inspiration? Here are some suggestions:

Author

Danielle Walsh

Danielle is the Brand Marketing Director at Anyday and a former food journalist, working for publications such as Bon Appétit, AFAR, and New York Magazine. She loves experimenting in the kitchen and finding new ways to cook.

6 Best Baby Food Makers of 2023

When you’re creating your baby registry, thinking about starting your little one on solid food may sound like a long way off. But, as is the case with so many things when it comes to babies (except for those middle-of-the-night feeds, of course), time flies, and before you know it you’ll be thinking of what’s on the menu for baby’s first meal.

Baby food makers are a great solution for making the process of cooking homemade food for your little one fast, simple and even fun. Here’s what you’ll want to know when you’re considering which baby food maker is right for you. Let’s get cooking!

In this article:

Babylist’s Best Baby Food Maker Picks
Do You Need a Baby Food Maker?
Baby Food Storage Ideas

Do You Need a Baby Food Maker?

Figuring out whether or not you need a baby food maker is going to depend on your lifestyle, culinary comfort level and what existing kitchen gadgets you already own.

Skipping the jars and pouches and making your own baby food will definitely save you money and reduce environmental waste. Your role as head chef puts you in charge of ingredients and quality, and gives you free rein to get creative and experiment with fun food combos as much as you’d like.

If you’re not super comfortable in the kitchen, don’t mind sacrificing some counter space and are looking for a foolproof way to dive into making your little one’s food, then a baby food maker is a wise purchase. No matter what type of gadget you go with, the process is pretty much the same: prep the ingredients, steam, puree or chop, and eat. (Your baby will add a few more messy steps in there…so be ready with the wipes). Check out our baby food-making how-to video for step-by-step instructions.

If you’d rather skip the baby food maker altogether, it’s definitely possible to take the DIY route, as long as you have a few key kitchen items on hand. Things like a large pot, a steam basket, some type of blender (a food processor, immersion blender or standard blender will all do the trick) and even your microwave are all key when it comes to making your own baby food.

Baby Food Storage Tips

Whether you’re using the kitchen gadgets you have on hand or letting your baby food maker do the work, you’ll need somewhere to store all of that delicious food so your efforts don’t go to waste. If you’re cooking up single foods (think carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.), we recommend making a few large batches in bulk and then freezing each food in trays like the ones below. After the food freezes, simply pop out the individual cubes and store them in large freezer bags so you can defrost—and mix and match—as needed.

OXO Tot Baby Food Freezer Tray
Mumu & Bubi Solids Starter Kit
BabyBliss Eco Friendly Silicone Baby Food Freezer Storage Tray

For multi-ingredient, more complicated recipes, or for storing food on the go, these storage solutions get the job done:

Sage Spoonfuls Glass Snack Pack
OXO Tot Baby Blocks Storage Containers

How We Chose Our Best Baby Food Makers

We asked thousands of real Babylist families about the baby products they love the most, then took the top products they shared with us and added our own research and insight to tell you about the best baby food makers.

Top Chef

What Our Experts Say

The ninja of baby food makers, the Beaba is a 4-in-1 wonder that steams, blends, defrosts and reheats fruits, veggies, fish and meat in just 15 minutes. The one-handed operation means you can hold your baby, sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and make a homemade meal all at once. Its compact design won’t hog counter space and it’s truly easy to clean, even after stubborn foods like spinach or beets. We also love that the stainless steel water reservoir holds onto the condensed water, which you can pour in while pureeing to get important nutrients back into the food.

What’s Worth Considering

Looking for more? Beaba’s NEO model has a glass bowl instead of a plastic one and a larger bowl capacity (5.2 cups for the NEO versus 4.7 for the Solo) as well as a stainless-steel steam basket. For even more capacity, check out the Duo. It features two separate bowls for a total of a 9.4 cup capacity, making it a good choice for multiples or if you want to make food in larger batches.