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.
Which baby food blender shall I choose?
You can create high quality purées for a hungry baby with any KitchenAid blender. Whizz up baby food in a flash, as well as soups, smoothies sauces, dips and recipe bases.
The Diamond blender comes in 6 colours with a sturdy die-cast metal base. Its patented diamond-shaped BPA-free jar creates a powerful vortex to quickly stir, chop, mix and crush ingredients for healthy food.
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.
Which baby food blender shall I choose?
Choose the right one for you.
| BLENDER K400 - ARTISAN 5KSB4026 | BLENDER K150 5KSB1325 | |
 |  | |
| £ 299.00 | | |
| SHOP NOW | SHOP NOW | |
| 1.4L | 1.4L | |
| Glass | BPA-free durable plastic | |
| 5 | 3 | |
| Ice crush, icy drinks, smoothie, self-cleaning | Ice crushing | |
| 5 years | 2 years | |
| Base and dial | Dial | |
| Small batch jars, citrus press, personal jar (with easy-drink lid) | Small batch jars, citruc press, personal jar (with easy-drink lid) | |
| No | No |
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
Consider allergens
Start simple
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.
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.
Baby food blender recipe ideas
You don't have to stick to boring blends. As your little one grows you can introduce new taste sensations to satisfy their curiosity.
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.