Beets and Spinach with Pear

Beets and spinach are packed full of vitamins and minerals. Try this recipe for a boost of nutrition. The pears add a touch of sweetness to make this a delicious meal.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of spinach

2 medium-sized beets

3 large firm pears

Preparation:

Preheat steamer on high heat.

Wash your beets and remove the leaves, as well as the thin tip on the bottom of the beet. Peel the beets and cut them into cubes about an inch thick. Put them into the steamer, reduce heat to medium.

Wash and peel the pears. Cut them into quarters and remove the cores and seeds. Once the beets have been in the steamer for about 10 minutes, add the pears and continue steaming for an additional 10 minutes.

Some babies can handle eating pear peels, while others will get upset tummies. Depending on your baby, you can leave the peels on for extra fiber and nutrients. Keep in mind that firm pears have firm peels and you may end up with small pieces of peel in your finished product. We don’t like that, but some babies might.

Put your spinach in a large bowl and fill the bowl with cool water. Move the leaves around to dislodge any sand, drain away the water, and repeat. Refill the bowl with fresh water, dislodge any last traces of sand, and scoop the floating leaves from the top leaving any remaining sand at the bottom of the bowl. Remove any tough parts of the stems and give the spinach leaves one last rinse in cool running water.

The beets and pears should be just about done by now. The pears should be easy to pierce with a fork and the beets should be easy to pierce with a knife. Add the spinach on top and steam for another 5 minutes or until the leaves look wilted.

Remove everything from the steamer and place it on a plate lined with paper towel. Holding the edges of the paper towel, roll the beets, pears, and spinach back and forth. When mostly dry, roll them right off the paper towel and directly onto the plate underneath. Set aside to cool.

Put the room temperature, or slightly warm produce into a food processor. Run the machine on high until all ingredients are blended together into a smooth puree.

This batch will yield leftovers for a few days. The puree keeps very well in the freezer. We store ours in meal sized portions for easy dinners. You can keep the puree in the fridge, but we wouldn’t store it this way for more than a day as the nutritional value of purees quickly deteriorates unless frozen.

Take care when working with beets. The rich colour can stain clothes, porous surfaces, and skin. Clean up spills promptly and wash hands frequently. When feeding beets, wipe baby’s face well after the meal. Don’t be alarmed if you see pink in baby’s diaper after feeding beets. This is normal.