Having a new baby means at some point you will need to think about starting your little one on solids, in fact, you are pretty much asked from birth when you plan to start them nowadays. As a first time or 3rd-time parent like myself, you never know quite how your baby will take to it. Some will eat a little, some a LOT! So how to you prepare things without spending all day in the kitchen? Many of us have discovered the convenience behind making baby food in large batches, but when it comes to freezing it all… well, that’s where the challenge and freezer struggle begins.
Many times, if you’re starting them on either jarred food, or home made you’ll need to be able to freeze and store the food baby doesn’t eat, or else you’ll end up with quite a bit of waste. Let’s face it, kids are picky. One day they love something and the next they won’t touch it. So what do you do with the extra? Well, you save it of course!
When I was introduced to the Shape+Store and asked to give it try with my little guy, I was impressed with how easy it was right from the start, there is nothing complicated about it. This high-quality Canadian made item promised to make things a bit easier on a busy mom and I was game to test it out. They won’t ask you to freeze something into tiny cubes then pop them all out into baggies since the trays aren’t airtight.. oh no, Shape+Store has you covered.
Simply make or buy the food as you would, fill up the cavities in the Shape+Store, pop into the freezer, and VOILA! Single-serving sized portions that will vastly reduce the amount you toss out that is wasted. One small jar of baby food was portioned into 3 of the portion cups, so you can try it, and if baby doesn’t like it the first time, you can try a different flavour the next night. If you don’t have a few Shape+Stores on hand, you can quickly freeze a few different types in the tray, pop them out into a ziplock bag and move on to the next batch. With the slim cavity, foods freeze quicker, in an airtight compartment! Food WON’T stick to the inside cavities either, and the handy hex cutters inside the compartments do all the work for you, pre-portioning everything into the perfect size.
This is very flat and takes up little room in the freezer, and because of its sturdy design, you can put it about anywhere in the freezer (lol freezer Tetris anyone?) and not fear of it tipping and spilling and having a frozen mess to clean. I anticipate finding more uses for it beyond baby food, as it has a neat shape (hello Play-Doh) I know, there are a million baby food bullets, mixers, storage containers, etc but for me, someone who doesn’t care to have 10,000 baby gadgets in the kitchen, this is one I can get behind.
Ready for clean-up? The non-toxic smooth design makes clean-up a breeze, running it under the tap was enough to get any residue from our freezing session out of the cavities, then toss it into the dishwasher for a quick sanitize. The Shape+Store products are made with BPA free non-toxic plastic that is built to last!
Shape+Store isn’t just about baby items either which I kind of love, they also carry an additional line made for creating the perfect burger sliders and the perfect cookies – all designed to be pre-made, popped in the freezer and ready when you are. Can you say new mom dream? With two kids now in school, I anticipate many bake sales, sleepovers, and parties and I am so excited to have The Smart Cookie on hand to help me stay ahead of the cookie making game! I actually have a few of these now, make a huge batch in advance, freeze, label with the cookie type and you won’t be scrambling when the party notices come home from school.
All in all, the price point on Shape+Store is right where I would expect it to be, and they are sturdy enough to warrant it. The Smart Cookie + Shape+Store Baby Ready are certainly interchangeable if you need a bit more containers. I wouldn’t recommend mixing anything other than ground meat in the Grill Master one, since it will be holding raw meat most of the time. We loved the Shape+Store items and how it helped us get ahead of the game, we definitely recommend them!
Connect with Shape+Store
Website | Facebook | Instagram
{Disclosure: Shape+Store provided us with samples for this review, all opinions are our own. This post was written by a contributor who did not receive additional compensation for her review}
