10 Unexpected ways to use your PureePops Tray

You probably think a PureePops Tray is just for freezing baby puree. Fair enough. That's exactly why we originally started using ours.

We used it throughout starting solids with our youngest son, Theo, who is three now, and somewhere along the way I realised the tray had become one of those things that just never left the kitchen. The puree days ended, but we kept finding new things to do with it.

So here are ten of my favourites. Five for when you're right in the thick of starting solids, and five for when you thought you'd be finished with the tray completely.

Turns out, not even close.

While you're still deep in the starting solids trenches

1. Freeze single ingredients, not whole meals

This was one of the best things I did when we were introducing foods to Theo.

Instead of making a whole batch of pumpkin, peas and potato blended together, I'd freeze them separately. Pumpkin in one pop, peas in another, sweet potato in another.

It meant I could introduce foods individually, but it also gave me a little freezer library to mix and match from. Pumpkin and peas tonight, sweet potato and chicken tomorrow, without making a completely new meal every time.

And it doesn't have to stop at puree. As they move onto more texture, you can freeze little portions of cooked rice, pasta, sauces or other bits you can grab when you need them.

2. Get the pops out, and label them straight away

Once everything is frozen, pop the portions out, transfer them into freezer bags or containers, and get your tray straight back into action.

But please label them.

I learnt this after finding a mystery green bag in our freezer and having absolutely no idea what I had made, when I had made it, or whether I should still be feeding it to anyone.

Your PureePops Tray actually comes with a Chalk Pen, so while you're freezing a batch, use it to write the contents and date directly on the silicone lid. Then, when you transfer your frozen pops into a freezer bag, label the bag too. A permanent marker works well for most freezer bags.

And if you have both tray colours, here's another little trick: use one for sweet and one for savoury. It makes finding what you need at a glance even easier.

Much better than playing freezer roulette.

3. Freeze stock or bone broth

This one has saved so many half-containers of stock from being poured down our sink.

If you make your own chicken stock or bone broth, or simply have some left over from cooking, freeze it into individual pops.

Then when you're making rice, veggies, soup or dinner for the family, you can grab exactly what you need instead of opening another container.

One little pop into the pan and you're done.

Future you will be very pleased with present you.

4. Make proper frozen yoghurt pops

Not tiny little frozen yoghurt dots. I mean an actual mini ice lolly they can hold.

Add yoghurt, mashed fruit or a mixture of both to the tray. If you want a smoother, creamier texture, you can also use your KiddoKook Pro to blend the yoghurt and fruit together first, then pour the mixture straight into your PureePops Tray.

Place a flat slice of banana or mango on top and push a wooden stick through it. The fruit helps hold the stick upright while it freezes.

We used these during teething and on hot days, and they're ridiculously easy.

You can change the combinations too. Yoghurt and mango, yoghurt and berries, banana and yoghurt, whatever your little one already enjoys.

And yes, you will probably eat one yourself at some point.

5. Put the tray in the oven

This is the one that surprises people.

Mini egg bites, baby-friendly muffins, little baked snacks - portion them straight into the tray and bake them.

I particularly love this once babies start moving away from smooth puree and want to grab everything themselves, because you can make small finger foods without buying another tray that will eventually disappear into that cupboard full of baby things you swore you wouldn't accumulate.

Your KiddoKook Pro can come in handy here too. Depending on the recipe, use it to prep your ingredients or mix your batter, then portion the mixture into your PureePops Tray ready for the oven.

And when the puree days are over...

This is probably my favourite part.

There are so many baby products you use intensely for six months and then suddenly wonder why they are still taking up half a cupboard.

Our PureePops Tray somehow escaped that fate.

Theo is three now, and we still use ours.

6. Freeze all those annoying half-used cooking ingredients

You know the ones.

Half a jar of pesto. Two spoonfuls of tomato paste. Fresh herbs you bought for one recipe. Curry paste you definitely planned to use again.

Then three weeks later you find them dying a slow death at the back of the fridge.

Freeze them instead.

Portion them into the tray, use your Chalk Pen to label the silicone lid with what's inside and the date, then freeze. Once frozen, pop the portions out, transfer them into a freezer bag or container and label that too.

Then next time dinner needs a spoonful of pesto or tomato paste, you already have it.

The Chalk Pen becomes very useful again here because frozen pesto and frozen spinach become remarkably difficult to tell apart at a certain point.

Ask me how I know.

7. Turn it into a toddler snack tray

No freezer required for this one.

Fill the compartments with little snacks, pop the lid on and take the whole thing with you. The lid helps keep all those little snacks contained in their own pods, so everything stays separated and it's easy to transport without needing a handful of different containers.

Fruit, crackers, cheese, whatever your toddler is currently willing to eat this week.

We've used ours for the car, the park and trips to the doctor, which lately feels like our second home.

If we're taking yoghurt or a smoothie instead, I'll usually grab a SiliSqueeze Pouch, but for lots of little bits and pieces the PureePops Tray works surprisingly well.

8. Make summer ice play

This one is ridiculously simple, and the kids love it.

Pop a few small toys into the compartments, fill them with water, put the lid on and carefully transfer the tray to the freezer. The lid is particularly handy here because it helps keep the water contained on that slightly precarious journey to the freezer.

Once they're frozen, pop the ice blocks out, take them outside and let the kids smash and melt the ice to rescue the little toys trapped inside.

Give them some age-appropriate tools and let them chip away, smash the ice and work out how to set their toys free. It's the kind of activity that can keep them surprisingly busy on a hot afternoon while you sit nearby and enjoy something cold yourself.

You can mix it up too. Freeze flowers, leaves or other little treasures inside, or give them some warm water and let them experiment with different ways to make the ice melt.

Easy sensory play, no fancy setup, and all the mess stays outside.

Safety note: Always supervise ice play, particularly when using small toys or loose parts that may pose a choking hazard, and choose tools appropriate for your child's age.

9. Hand it over for sorting

Once you start looking at those separate compartments as something other than freezer moulds, you find all sorts of uses for them.

LEGO by colour. Pom poms. Buttons. Shells. Leaves. Whatever the boys have collected outside and decided absolutely must come into the house.

Give them the tray and let them sort everything into the different sections.

And when they're finished, pop the lid on. Everything they've carefully sorted stays contained in its own little section, ready to come back to later, rather than becoming another collection of LEGO pieces, pom poms and tiny treasures scattered across the floor.

No freezing, no food, and very little effort from you.

My kind of activity.

10. And finally, use it for yourself

Because apparently the children don't need to get everything.

Freeze coffee into pops and your iced coffee doesn't turn into sad coffee-flavoured water.

Make garlic or herb butter and drop a portion straight into the pan when you're cooking.

And here's one you'll thank yourself for later: freeze leftover wine. How many times have you opened a bottle of red just because your bolognese needs a splash, or a bottle of white for a risotto or sauce? If you've got wine left over, portion it into the PureePops Tray and freeze it. Next time a recipe calls for a little wine, you've already got the perfect amount waiting in the freezer, without having to open another bottle just for cooking.

Coffee, butter, wine... turns out the PureePops Tray grows up quite nicely too.

Turns out, it really isn't just for puree

That's what I like most about our PureePops Tray.

We bought ours for those early starting solids days with Theo, when I was making tiny portions of pumpkin and peas and trying to work out what on earth I was doing.

Three years later, the same tray is still in our kitchen.

It has held baby puree, yoghurt pops, muffins, toddler snacks, pesto, coffee and probably a few things I've completely forgotten about.

So if you already have a PureePops Tray, hopefully there's something on this list you haven't tried yet.

And if you've landed here because you're wondering whether you'd actually use one enough to justify buying it, that might be the best thing about it. You buy it for starting solids, then somehow just keep finding reasons to use it.

One tray, a lot more than puree

Designed for starting solids but useful long after the puree stage, the Kiddo Kitchen PureePops Tray is one of those kitchen staples that keeps finding new jobs.

Take a closer look at the Kiddo Kitchen PureePops Tray →

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