Spinach Baby Food Recipe

Recipe Book by Little Mashies, Spinach Puree

Homemade Spinach Baby Puree Recipe for reusable food pouches by Little Mashies

Why is spinach a great baby food choice for reusable food pouches?

Giving your little Popeye spinach, you are providing him with lot of benefits: spinach has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and thanks to a wealth of vitamin K it helps bone health too. So your baby won’t be immediately as strong as the Popeye character was, but your bub will be provided with all the health and vitality benefits needed for strength from an early age. For some reason many parents are scared to feed spinach to their kids. I think maybe it's from our own bad memories of sloppy food as children! Spinach doesn't have to be like that though. There are so many ways to make spinach attractive to kids but one of the best tips I have is just to start feeding green leafy vegetables like spinach to your babies as early on as possible because then they grow up with it, it's not a daunting task to introduce them to it. Spinach puree can be added to almost any meal. If you are using Little Mashies squeeze containers the monster works as a bit of a disguise if it is needed. For example if your little one wants a strawberry smoothie you can add a little spinach if it's served inside the Mashies squeeze pouch and they won't even know. It will still taste like strawberry but because they can't see the green they are none the wiser. To thicken spinach puree up for older babies, try adding a little mashed avocado.

Ingredients:

2 cups of spinach, stems trimmed

Instructions:

Step 1: Carefully wash the spinach and chop into 2cm pieces.
Step 2: Steam spinach until tender (about five minutes) in a stovetop steamer or a Beaba Baby Cook system. Drain, rinse with cool water for three minutes to stop the cooking process.
Step 3: Puree the spinach in a food processor or blender, using a little of the cooking liquid to get a desired smooth consistency (1 tablespoon). You can also use breast milk or formula to mix with the puree.
Step 4: If preparing your baby food recipe in bulk freeze the puree into ice-cube trays or spoon it straight into Little Mashies reusable food pouches and then store them in the fridge or freezer. For instructions on how to fill a refillable pouch you can read our blog. For info on how long to freeze specific baby foods for we have the information here.
Step 5: Label and date your homemade pouches so that you know when to use the puree by. There is a space on the back of the Little Mashies yoghurt and baby food pouches so that you can write all the details.
Step 6: To clean your reusable food pouches you can check out our Little Mashies video here. Little Mashies are see through when held towards light, so it is very easy to see that all of the food is washed out. Because of the specifically designed curved shape, all of the food washes straight out when held upside down under a tap. Little Mashies can also be used in the dishwasher and steam sterilisers, and are BPA free, Phthalate Free, and PVC free. 

Want more Little Mashies reusable baby food pouch recipes?

Here is a selection of recipes from our bestselling Baby Food Recipe Book (see video flick through here). Right now, you can use the coupon code RECIPE to remove 100% of the price of the digital version (save $19.95). Simply add it to cart, apply the code, and pop in your details as though you were a paying customer. We only ask that if you have time after using our book could you please leave us a review. Thanks so much in advance!

   

For Baby Led Weaning recipe ideas

I still think puree spinach is great for any age. I honestly do. In baby led weaning the concept is that bubs pic up the food, feel it, play with it, put it in their mouths and suck little bits off but with spinach and other greens is this really possible? My daughter spat her baby spinach leaves out every single time, except when I put balsamic vinegar on them (then she licked that off first). But green leafy vegetables are essential for every human (babies, kids and adults) so thats why I think pureed greens are fantastic until bub eats leafy greens. Now I do have to stipulate here though..if you only ever give your child pureed greens how will they ever get used to normal leafy greens? So do a combo.. use a puree when you actually want to get the nutrition in, and always serve some leafy greens up (similar to how you would with an adult) after around 12-18mths of age, along with the pureed version! A lot of Little Mashies customers put things like spinach puree into our little Mashies reusable food pouches, or they blend it into smoothies and use our pouches for those. These are also good ideas but I warn you.. with food always do a variety of things. Don't get in the habit of only serving foods one way because then it's hard to break that habit.

 

Little Mashies reusable food pouch reviews

We Love Our Little Mashies
POSTED BY A CUSTOMER
We love our Little Mashies, my youngest has just started Kindy and has certain diet requirements. They love their Little Mashie in their lunch box, i often get told off if I choose the wrong colour...purple seems to be a favourite at the moment! It makes my life much easier. So easy to fill, clean and re use! Thank you :)

I Love That My Kids Can Choose The Pouch Color
POSTED BY LIZ FREDRICKSON
I love that my kids can choose the pouch colour they like. Very easy to clean and a good serving size. They make a great ice block for lunch boxes. I have added frozen berries to yoghurt and no issues getting out of the pouch. The name section is really handy and they look different enough my 4 yo packs them back in his lunch bag.

Children Love Them
POSTED BY PETRINA
I purchased these for my toddler nephews but found that my teenage children love having them as part of their lunch boxes too! I didn't predict that they would love them as much as the little ones do, especially when I freeze pureed mango.

 

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BABY feeding FAQS

Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.

At 6 mths of age you can introduce a range of puree's to your baby (see our baby food recipe book and use coupon code RECIPE to remove 100% of the price at the checkout).

For baby led weaning you skip the baby food puree altogether and start with large (2 finger sized) pieces of the food. We would of course do this on our Little Mashies sucky platter! So from 6-9mths of age in baby led weaning foods should be the size of about 2 fingers so that the baby can pick it up and self feed. They also need to be well cooked so they are soft, and with no loose pieces (for example tiny florets that can break off on broccoli, or a slice of apple that's so thin it can break when gnawed on).

From around 9mths with baby led weaning you chop the food very small (to avoid choking). I would suggest 2-4 grains of rice in size. It's a small piece so that if they swallow it whole they won't choke. In traditional baby food recipes this is the stage where we mash food so it has a little texture.

At around 12mths of age in baby led weaning the food goes up to bite sizes (and this is the same in non baby led weaning kids), about fingernail sized pieces. Of course some babies will be on a different timeline depending on whether they have heaps or a few teeth.

Every baby is different and you just have to watch carefully and get to know how your baby is with food. Never leave them alone whilst eating, and I also recommend sitting them at a table with you for all meals if you can. It helps set the expectation for later in life and you can be a role model for how to eat well. Around 18mths you can offer your little one larger serves again (so a whole apple for example) so that they can learn to take smaller bites themselves, to chew, and to swallow.

It is widely recognised that babies should start solids around 6 months of age. At this time reusable baby food pouches can be really convenient to take your homemade healthy puree with you when you are out and about. Spoon attachments are available so you can feed your baby directly from the pouch from 6 months old. Without a spoon attachment babies usually start feeding themselves pouched food around 8 months old. This is when they hit their independant phase and what to do everything themselves. A pouch is a lot cleaner than a bowl and spoon in these circumstances. We do however advise that you give your baby a variety of meals, not just ones that are in a refillable pouch.

Refilling your reusable yoghurt pouches is easy! Simply turn the reusable food pouch upside down and open the wide double ziplock at the bottom of the pouch. Once the zipper is open you can spoon yoghurt into the pouch or pour it in (out of a jug or bottle).

If you are concerned about making a mess you can use a kitchen funnel so that all of the yoghurt stays away from the yoghurt pouch zipper.

Another idea that we commonly do at home when filming videos (but it would also be useful when holding a baby in one arm), anyway.. the idea is that you put the pouch upside down in a glass (with the lid on), open the ziplock and the glass acts like a second hand, holding the pouch still whilst you spoon the yoghurt in. This is what I do when I only have one hand to use for the refill!I also tend to refill my reusable yoghurt pouches in bulk. I'll buy a good quality yoghurt from Coles or Woolworths and will fill a whole 10pk of pouches in one go so they are all ready for snacks on the go.

My kids always want to eat when they are out and refilling the reusable pouches one at a time just doesn't work for us. The only time i do that actually is when I've pureed a meal that my toddler refused, put it in a reusable pouch, and given it to her again. Oh and the other time I do singles.. there are two actually. When we go for ice-cream (it is so much cleaner when in a pouch), and when I have leftover smoothie (again, it stops me getting smoothie all through my car, pram, or playroom).

Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches are compatible with pouch filling machines that are on the market. Our spout is universal so even though we don't think you need a filling machine, our reusable pouches will fit. All of our yoghurt and baby food pouches come with anti-choke lids as standard.

Cleaning reusable baby food pouches is easy! We have designed Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches without corners so there are no places for food to get stuck (we would hate your little one to get sick from old food stuck in corners)!

When you open the ziplock you can see all the way through the pouch to ensure it is clean. If you have a dishwasher you can clean the pouch using that, otherwise you can wash your reusable baby food pouches by hand and this takes around 20 seconds. Little Mashies squeeze pouches are BPA Free and are safe to wash with warm water.

If you need some meal ideas for your refillable pouch you can find home made yoghurt here, baby food recipes here, and pouch smoothie recipes here.

Now, to clean your Little Mashies food pouches by hand simply open up the ziplock at the bottom and take off the cap. Run warm water through the open ziplock with the baby pouch facing downward so the water comes out of the spout and into the sink. The shape of Little Mashies reusable pouches acts like a funnel, pushing out food and making the pouch very easy to clean.

To start washing your reusable pouch, squirt some dishwashing liquid into the refillable pouch, then use a baby bottle brush to clean the inside walls (just like a baby bottle). To clean the spout use a straw brush (like the ones we have here), and clean it in the same manner that you would clean the teat from a baby’s bottle. Give the reusable pouch a rinse and place it over a kitchen utensil in the drying rack to dry. If you don’t have time to dry it fully place it in the freezer until you are ready to use it again. Do not put wet reusable food pouches in dark cupboards or draws. They are very easy to dry if you have removed the cap, and placed something inside the zipper to keep the pouch open (we use a whisk, tongs or a spatula).

Note that if you continuously wash your pouches in the dishwasher the high temperature will make the zipper wear out more quickly. At home we wash our pouches mostly by hand because it is so quick and easy and then just use the dishwasher when we have had loads of kids over and served reusable yoghurt pouches or smoothies to them all.

Oh and while I remember if you use the code RECIPE at the checkout it will remove 100% off the price of the baby food recipe ebook so you can get some inspiration for your refillable pouches.

Some parents start introducing a sippy cup or straw cup to their babies around 6 mths of age. This can make it easier to transition from breastmilk or bottle feeding around 12 mths of age. Most paediatricians recommend babies 18 mths or older use an open sippy cup rather than a bottle, so anytime before then is fine. This is why we have a 4 in 1 sippy cup, so that you don't have to purchase seperate products as your baby moves through the stages of learning how to swallow and drink. To shop the Little Mashies silicone sippy cup, check out our baby feeding range here.

All of our baby food recipes are contained within our ebook. You can get a free download by using the coupon code RECIPE at the checkout. Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.