Thursday, November 11, 2010

Infantino Annabel Karmel Feeding Accessories {Review}

I have to admit, both of my kids are pretty good eaters. In fact, I have been known to tease my husband now and again that Little Sister B eats healthier than he does, which he doesn't find too humorous. But hey, when she asks for more spinach and broccoli, I'd say that my joking is actually fairly accurate.

Whether it is luck, their personalities or the excellent job I did feeding them a variety of foods when they were babies (I'm leaning towards option #3, naturally) making your own baby food is a great way to help ensure that your baby grows up healthy and happy. Thanks to Infantino and their new line of Annabel Karmel feeding accessories, cooking, storing, freezing, transporting and feeding your own baby food is even easier than ever before.

When Infantino's products arrived, I was amazed at the variety of ways that they have made the world of baby food so much more convenient than what I previously knew. All of my attempts at making food for my kids involved multiple pots and pans, large, clunky ice cube trays and attempts at cleaning out tiny jars in hopes of reusing them.

Let's just say that it wasn't pretty.

So, although my baby food-making days are past, I was still interested to see what the Annabel Karmel products could do, as well as how they would still work for older children. First up: the Double Decker Mealbox.

Designed to help store small and large meal portions for eating on the go, this double layer storage box ensures that food doesn't get squashed and stays separated. Right away I liked the stackable design and the ability to use this foodbox in a variety of ways to suit your needs.

The microwavable, dishwasher-safe, BPA free containers easily pop in and out and can be used together or separately for eating, storing or freezing your baby's food. Plus, with child-friendly utensils included right on top, this is all you need to be ready for mealtime wherever you go.

We have been using the Double Decker Mealbox for packing our lunches and the convenience and portability of it has been great. The large container fits a sandwich with room to spare and the two smaller containers are just the right size for a portion of fruit, vegetables or snacks. As each piece has its own individual lid, I can easily distribute them between Big Sister E and Little Sister B for a happy mealtime for all of us.

Next up: the 6 Stackable Food Pots.

These colorful food pots are not only easy to fill, use and see inside, they stack on top of one another for easy storage. I love the way that the lids attach right on the bottom so that I don't have to dig for them in a pile of containers and that the individual portion size is just right for small additions to our meals.

Keeping these BPA free pots clipped together in the freezer or refrigerator, they save room and are extremely easy to pull out whenever they're needed. Because they stick together, I have really liked the way that they don't get separated and lost from each other or tip over - they're always waiting in a cute tower for the next time we eat.

As any mom who has made their own baby food knows, freezing is a huge part of the process. With my prior attempts at using a traditional ice cube tray, I was constantly trying to keep the food level and from getting freezer burn, two things that made a big difference in the end result. Infantino has helped solve both of these issues with their convenient Freeze Tray.

Perfect for freezing small portions of baby food, this Freeze Tray is just the thing to allow parents to only have to cook batches of food once or twice a week. The nine 1 oz food cubes are the right size that you can pull out as many as needed and not have to waste any leftovers, which is great. And, of course, when you're done, this BPA free container goes right into the dishwasher for next time.

Although they don't eat pureed baby food, Big Sister E and Little Sister B love ice cubes and having a frozen snack. I knew this tray was going to be easy to fill and store, but before I tried it I hadn't realized that by being soft and flexible, that it would cause it to be extremely simple to just push up on the bottom and pop the cubes right out. It really has allowed us to always have some frozen fruit ready to pull out at a moment's notice for a fun, unique treat!

But when it comes to frozen treats, there is nothing that my girls like better than a fruity popsicle. Instead of spending money for sugary ones from the store, I love being able to use the Fill & Freeze Puree Pops for homemade, healthy goodness that we all can enjoy.

Whether you have a teething baby and are looking for a way to sooth their sore gums or older kids (and, ahem, adults) who like an icy fruit pop, this easy to fill, BPA free container has four small sections for your favorite puree and four easy to hold handles that snap right into place.

After filling and freezing this container, all it took was a little warm water run on the bottom and we were ready to have a delicious end to our meal. Yum!

Even though I no longer have a baby to puree, store, freeze and feed baby food to, we have still been able to enjoy Infantino's Annabel Karmel feeding accessories, showing the extended amount of time that these can be used. I have no doubt that if I had these items four years ago that our homemade baby food experiences would have been much easier and more successful!

But wait, there's more. We also tried out the Fresh Food Mill, Steam Release Micro Dish and Mash & Serve Bowl from Infantino. Head over to this post to read about our experiences with them!

I am a participant in a Mom Central Consulting campaign for Infantino and have received various Infantino products as part of my participation.

4 comments:

Liz Mays said...

I like the little ice pop freezy things!

Anonymous said...

Oh the trays look wonderful. We make frozen treats and frozen pudding treats with ice cube treats, it's always a messy job. I have to get me one of these!

Jodi said...

Following from the blog hop today!

Please stop by and follow back when you get a chance. :-)

Have a great night!

Jodi
http://amomhavingfun.blogspot.com
http://www.jodishomebiz.com

MIG said...

All of these items look amazing but I'm especially in love with the Stackable Food Pots! I think with my next baby I'd really like to make my own baby food. I'm going to keep these in mind. :)