Gearing Up for Our Book Launch: What Kitchen Items Do You Need?

Since we started writing our book one of the most common questions we are asked is: What kitchen items do I need for cooking for my baby/toddler? Do I need fancy equipment, or things specifically for baby food?

You’ll be happy to know that the answer to this question is: No! You don’t need anything fancy to make our recipes, and you definitely don’t need anything designed specifically for baby food. We like to keep things as simple as possible for ourselves, and for you. After all, wrangling small children is hard enough – who has time to wrangle appliances?!

We don’t have fancy tools, and certainly nothing special or particular for “baby”. Not to mention, as we’ve seen by now, how much stuff comes along with little ones! We don’t need to add to that clutter.

So, What Do You Need?

Do you have a blender, or food processor? An ice cube tray, or a set of small storage containers? Some freezer bags, and a basic set of pots and pans? Then congratulations, you are just about fully stocked.

To be more specific, here is a short list of the kitchen equipment items we use for our recipes that will appear in the cookbook:

a decent blender/food processor
basic set of pots and pans (frying pans, sauce pots)
kitchen knives (particularly a chopping knife)
cutting board
mixing bowls
baking sheet/muffin pan
strainer
basic kitchen utensils, such as: measuring cups/spoons, spatula, whisk, vegetable peeler, grater, garlic press, can opener

For food storage:

set of small food storage containers (these are our favorites)
freezer bags

Appliances used (other than a blender) are:

toaster oven
oven
slow cooker (we have one recipe in our book – Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos – that utilizes a slow cooker)

Optional items:

Label maker (I keep this one on top of my fridge and use it to mark the date/type of food)
Magic Bullet (or Baby Bullet, if you already have it), as an alternative to a blender, for blending small amounts of food

As you can see, there isn’t any fancy kitchen equipment necessary. There isn’t even anything you need specifically for baby, which makes sense since we aim to feed the whole family with many of these recipes. Besides, there is so much on the market for babies that it could make a parent’s head spin, and who has room to store all of it? Certainly not us.

Less clutter, simple appliances, and full, happy bellies for the whole family? That, we’ll take.

If you enjoyed this post, sign up to receive our newsletter for other great ideas on feeding your baby, toddler, and family. Look out for our upcoming cookbook What a Good Eater! for baby & toddler recipes with healthy herbs and spices to add flavor and broaden your baby’s palette, expected May 2016.

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About Alessandra Macaluso

Alessandra Macaluso is author of What a Good Eater! and The Real-Deal Bridal Bible, host of the Real-Deal Brides Podcast, and blogger at AlessandraMacaluso.com. Alessandra’s work is featured in several anthologies, most recently But Did You Die? which is the fifth installment in a New York Times bestselling series. She has contributed to The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and many other online publications. Her original screenplay “Polar Suburbia” placed as a semi-finalist in the Moondance Film Festival. Alessandra is mom to two toddlers and a twenty-five pound Maine coon cat who believes he is a dog. She spends her time driving her OCD husband completely nuts with her constant rearrangement of scenery in their home. Learn more at AlessandraMacaluso.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.