Apple Pear Spinach Puree

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Apples (approx 500g)
• 1 lb Pears (approx 500g)
• A bunch of Spinach
• Water as needed to achieve desired consistency (or breast milk or formula)

Recommended for:

• Different sources have different recommendations for when to start baby on spinach, ranging from 6-12 months. Check with your doctor if you are concerned or unsure if spinach is right for you little one.

Yield: 

• Approximately  20 oz
  

Directions:

• Chop apples & pears into cubes & steam until tender. You can also boil or bake, whatever works for you.
• Rinse spinach and steam until soft and somewhat shriveled.
• Puree! Add water as needed, you can use the water from steaming/boiling the apples & pears (do not use the water from the spinach, see note below), alternatively you could add breast milk or formula in the place of water.

Notes: 

• Spinach naturally has higher levels of nitrates than many other vegetables. Some of these nitrates come out in the water while steaming, and while the levels of nitrates are really unlikely to post any sort of risk to your child, so you should not reuse this water. For more information on the nitrate levels in spinach, I recommend checking out this article on Wholesome Baby Food: Myths and Facts about Nitrates and Homemade Baby Food.

Storage:


You can use whatever type of containers to have on hand to refrigerate or freeze your baby food, but there are a couple things that you should keep in mind:

• Any baby food you put in the fridge should be consumed within 2-3 days.
• Frozen baby food is optimal if consumed within 30 days, but can be used for up to 60 days.
• Keep baby food in small portions, as you will have to discard any left over from each feeding. This is because babies (and adults!) mouths are full of bacteria, once this bacteria touches the spoon and gets into the food it starts to grow. If you put this food back in the fridge the bacteria will continue to grow, and feeding this to your baby later may make them ill. 
• Do not freeze puree that has been made with previously frozen breast milk. If you want to use breast milk in your puree, it is best to use fresh breast milk.