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Food

Homemade Baby Food: What Equipment Is Required?

Making homemade baby food is really a very simple process and requires very little in terms of kitchen equipment. Additionally, the benefits of preparing food for your baby at home using organic produce are clear. It has been shown that children fed organic foods have one sixth the level of pesticide by-products versus children who eat conventional foods. Add to this the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly what your baby is eating and the extra effort in preparing homemade baby food seems minimal indeed.

There really are only four items that are needed to prepare and store homemade baby food, namely a good food mill, a steamer, air-tight storage containers, and a microwave oven.

Baby Food Mill

A food mill is a food preparation utensil for mashing soft foods, and a baby food mill is really the only absolutely essential piece of equipment required for making homemade baby food. This can be either a manual device or an electric device.

The hand-operated mills typically have a hand-operated crank and a strainer for separating seeds and skins from the puree for a smooth end product. In reality the manual mills don’t make food really smooth, although they can do a great job of quickly mashing foods provided they are cooked well to begin with. Additionally, the separation of skins from the puree isn’t perfect and it is better to remove the skins first. Otherwise, you will likely have to strain the puree afterwards.

A far better choice is to invest in an electric food mill. These devices consist of a bowl to hold the food, an electric motor, and a blade which purees the food. There is no strainer and so again you will want to remove any skin from the produce beforehand or you will have to strain the puree afterwards. Preparing homemade baby food with an electric food mill is very simple and these devices are highly recommended.

Steamer

A food steamer is a kitchen appliance used to prepare foods in a sealed vessel that limits the escape of air below a preset pressure. With steaming, fewer nutrients are lost relative to other cooking techniques, where most of the nutrients are discarded after cooking. The steamer is used to soften up vegetables and other foods so that they can be pureed in the food mill.

Air-Tight Storage Containers

When preparing homemade baby food, it may be desirable to make enough food at once for several meals. In this case, it is necessary to store the food in air-tight containers to prevent spoilage. Tupperware or similar containers in appropriate sizes for single baby meals are available and are nice because your baby can be fed directly out of the container. You never want to feed out of a container and then save unused food from that same container because of the contamination risk.

Microwave Oven

A microwave oven cooks or heats food by using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food. Nowadays they are found in virtually every kitchen. They are useful for heating single portions of food that have been prepared previously and stored in the fridge. It is extremely important to take great care to stir the food after heating and then test the temperature to insure that there is no risk of burns since a microwave oven can heat food very quickly to a very high temperature. It may require no more than 15 seconds to heat a single portion of baby food. Be careful!

Food

Fast Food and Catering: What Is Healthier? What Is More Convenient?

Should you go with fast food, or should you go with catering? With so many fast food and catering services, it can be difficult to decide what to order for an upcoming event, or just a night in with friends and family. You want something super convenient so you can focus on other elements of the event, but you also want something that is delicious, affordable, and as healthy as possible.

Fast Food Advantages & Disadvantages

The benefit to fast food is simply that it is fast. You can pull through a drive-through and it is ready, or you call ahead of time and have it ready in an hour or two. Some catering services can even prepare a special order of food extremely quick, though it is often lower in quality than the food you would get when more time is given for preparation. Either way, you get the fast food you want and your event is catered with little time investment.

The problem with this is that your options are limited, and the food is not going to be as healthy as it could be for your guests. The foods often offered for fast catering or through fast food restaurants tend to be foods that can be put together quickly. This means the food will be made from a lot of process and prepackaged foods. You won’t get the fresh ingredients that you would get from a better catering service, since there is little time to put fresh ingredients together.

Catering Advantages & Disadvantages

Catering services are a bit different from fast food services. They will typically use fresh ingredients and will take the time to put together higher quality foods that are then delivered well packaged and ready to eat. A catering service will typically offer a wider variety of food options, so you can put together the perfect meal plan for your upcoming event.

One big perk to ordering food from a catering service is that you can request healthier meal options if desired. You don’t have to worry so much about the food being drenched in grease and fat, like you do with most fast food options. You can enjoy healthier, better prepared foods, along with fresher ingredients that simply taste better than fast food.

Along with the wider selection of foods offered by a catering service, you will get a wider variety of dessert options. You don’t even have to stick with local food and catering services, since you can order cake delivery from all over the world. If you want a dessert that really blows your guests away, you will find amazing cakes and other desserts online, and they can be delivered to your front door.
Finding Food and Catering for Your Event

Do not leave arrangements for food and catering to the last minute of planning. As soon as you know this is going to be needed, start looking at your options. Determine the type of food you want to serve, and then find a good catering service that can deliver on time.