Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée is a delicious and nutritious baby food! This purée recipe a great way to introduce green vegetables into baby’s diet when starting solid food. Did you know that when babies are continually exposed to green vegetables in their food, they are more likely to eat them later on [1]? Combining them with apple adds just enough sweetness for baby to enjoy their greens in this perfect first food.
Commercially prepared vs. homemade baby food
When Baby LJ started solids I never bought much commercially prepared baby food. I did find having a couple of squeezie packs/pouches in the nappy bag for outings though a /great option. Very early on I bought a brand-name ‘spinach, apple, broccoli and pea’ purée, but got annoyed when I read the ingredients list and nutritional information. A sensible adult would assume the most significant ingredient would be listed first in the title on the actual product packaging. Wrong! It had just 4% spinach and 70% apple, it’s no wonder he liked it! 🤦🏻♀️ So many of the ‘vegetable and fruit’ purées I looked at contained mostly apple. And so I bought reusable pouches and started making my own purées to fill them. Importantly, I increased the vegetable content and reduced the apple content to about 50/50.
I tried even less apple in this recipe once but Baby LJ wasn’t a fan 😂. Let’s be honest, not many of us would love just a green purée of broccoli, pea and spinach. The apple definitely adds a much-needed hint of sweetness to this baby purée.
Not too long ago I discovered the Food for Health Alliance campaign, Kids are sweet enough [2]. One of their three key action areas is to ensure baby and toddler food product names accurately reflect the ingredients. Yes! I couldn’t agree more! I personally felt a little deceived by the naming of some baby food products when I looked closer at the ingredients list. Parents who opt for commercially prepared baby food deserve transparency and shouldn’t be misled or confused by the name of it.
If you’re able to, make your own though! Your homemade purées will generally taste better, have more nutritious goodness and be way cheaper than commercially prepared baby foods. Plus, you can be guaranteed that there are no added colours or artificial ingredients. Try this tasty green combination of fruit and veggies, and see for yourself!
Ingredients needed for Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée
You need just four ingredients to make this baby food recipe:
Apples – I use sweet red or pink varieties of apples, like Pink Lady, Fuji, Royal Gala, Red Delicious or similar. Don’t go for green – they can be a bit tart and the sweetness is needed to balance out the greens in this recipe.
Broccoli – Fresh broccoli, chopped into small florets.
Peas – Frozen peas are perfect. Just make sure they are loose and not frozen together in a clump when adding to the simmering basket or steamer.
Fresh spinach – I use either English spinach or baby spinach in this recipe.
How to make Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée
Steaming (rather than boiling) is always my preferred cooking method when making purées. It’s often the best way to preserve both taste and nutrients for baby.
Thermomixers? I use the simmering basket in my Thermomix. The exact cooking time may vary depending on how small you’ve chopped the apple and broccoli pieces. Make sure you’ve cooked them until just soft before adding the peas and spinach. Once all ingredients are cooked, blend in your machine with a small amount of added water.
Conventional cook? This is just as easily done on the stovetop with a pot and steamer basket. Steam the apple and broccoli until just soft before adding the peas and spinach. Once all ingredients are cooked, blend the mixture in your food processor or baby food maker with a small amount of added water.
See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and detailed steps for both thermo cooker and conventional cooking methods.
How to serve this green purée
Serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or as desert! For a while there Baby LJ wasn’t sleeping, and one of MANY suggestions was to offer two courses at lunch and dinner. The theory was that babies can become bored before they are full, and so by changing flavours they may continue eating until full. This purée was served as dessert, and my boy was a bottomless pit 😂. He still didn’t sleep though 🙄.
The consistency of this Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée is great for reusable pouches. Check out my Apple, Pumpkin and Sweet Corn Purée recipe for another fruit and vegetable purée to use in the first stage of your solids journey.
You might also like to add a little cooled water and turn this purée into a green smoothie for older babies and toddlers.
If you try this Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest too for more delicious recipes.
Happy puréeing,
Chloe x
Apple, Broccoli, Pea and Spinach Purée
Category: PuréeTap or hover to scale
Ingredients
- 1 large red apple peeled and roughly chopped (approx. 170g) (Note 1 )
- 70 g broccoli chopped into florets
- 70 g frozen peas
- 30 g spinach
- 500 g water
Thermo Cooker Instructions
- Put the apple and broccoli into the simmering basket.
- Pour the water into the mixing bowl. Insert the simmering basket and cook for 10 minutes, Varoma, speed 2, MC on.
- Add the peas into the simmering basket. Cook for 2 minutes, Varoma, speed 2, MC on.
- Add the spinach into the simmering basket. Cook for 1 minute, Varoma, speed 2, MC on.
- Remove the simmering basket. Reserve the liquid in a jug.
- Put the apple, broccoli, peas, spinach and 45g (3 tbs) water into the mixing bowl. Chop for 1 minute, speed 7, MC on, making sure to increase the speed gradually to avoid the fruit and vegetables immediately sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl (Note 2).
Conventional Instructions
- Steam the apple and broccoli using a steamer basket over a saucepan/pot with lid for 10 minutes or until apple is tender.
- Add the peas and continue steaming for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach and continue steaming for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Reserve the water used for steaming.
- Blend the fruit and vegetables with 45g (3 tbs) of reserved water, using a food processor or electric hand blender, until you are happy with the consistency (Note 2).
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
[1] Spinach, 2023, Solid Starts Inc.
[2] Kids are sweet enough, 2023, Food for Health Alliance.
[3] Homemade baby food, 2023, Raising Children Network Australia.
