Most people bemoan meal prepping, but Mindy Kaling is not most people. Every weekend, she takes to the kitchen to ready some food for the tiniest member of her household: one Ms. Katherine Kaling, Mindy's 6-month-old daughter. Mindy started documenting her baby food cooking on Instagram — a la Jennifer Garner's Pretend Cooking Show — three weeks ago, and, well, it's just about the sweetest thing that's ever landed on social media.
In her first-ever meal prep video (they're all saved in her Food highlights now), Mindy calls the task "one of the most rewarding parts" of her weekend before admitting, "I never did this for myself before I had a kid." Week one, she boiled sweet potatoes, string beans, mangos, and poached salmon, labeling the containers in the fridge with the date. It was basic — child's play, even, compared to what she's done since.
On week two, things got crazy. Pureed food kind of crazy. Mindy took plums, apples, and spinach, put it all in a blender, and ended up with a mix that looked very "unappetizing" — her words, not ours. That's when she introduced "this cool thing [her] nanny Brittany found, which is basically like ice cubes but for baby food."
Most recently, Mindy mixed up another homemade baby food — bananas, dates, and peanut butter. (Hot tip: According to Mindy — and according to doctors everywhere — baby's kidneys can't tolerate salt, so you'll have to find a peanut butter without it.) This week's grub looked much better, and she declared, "This is one of those baby foods that I legit would eat," before pouring it into the baby food ice cube tray things.
Mindy tagged the freezer trays as the Kushies Silitray, but upon some serious investigation, they actually better resemble the Beaba Multiportions Freezer Tray. Regardless, both trays do the same thing: keep your baby's food (or your breast milk) perfectly portioned and sealed in the fridge or freezer.
Shop Mindy Kaling's Go-To Baby Food Gadgets
Now, Mindy acknowledges this whole process is highly unnecessary, but her take is this: "I know that there are so many good, prepared, organic baby foods out there that you can buy, but because I work, I like making them on the weekends because it makes me feel like I’m a part of my daughter’s life."
And you can't argue with that, right? And, uh, you definitely want to make that peanut butter glop for yourself, too, right?
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