michele's mommy memoirs

I decided when I was pregnant to make all of Ethan's baby food once he started eating it...and now our big guy is eating solids so I am one happy / busy momma! I dedicate one day (typically Sunday) to get all of my groceries (organic, of course!)...and spend a couple hours preparing and storing his food. I am only storing enough food right now for a 1-2 week supply...for a couple reasons, but one is that our freezer space is limited with my husband's ice cream addiction and my breast milk supply!

We introduced spinach to our big guy last night...

Here's step-by-step instruction's on how I made it...

First, wash your spinach - even though mine said 'pre-washed', I still wash it. Spinach is on the dirty dozen list of foods, so I like to be extra careful.

Next, pack as much of it as you can into a steamer. Spinach will cook down (a lot) so you can pack that baby full - let's just say, my lid didn't really stay on :)

Steam it baby! The leaves will soften pretty quickly, so just keep checking it. I took mine off after about 10 minutes. (as you can tell, it cooks down a lot!!!)

Blend it. I love my blender. It makes incredible smoothies...and really gets these puree's nice and creamy.

Pour the puree into a container. As you can tell by the picture, my packed steamer only gave me 6 ounces at first. I then steamed another batch to fill up the rest of the cooling cup.

Let it cool off a bit before you store it. I let mine sit for approximately 2 bath's and 1/2 of a bubble guppy episode :)

Next, you can store it. I like to fill up ice cube trays...they are cheap, the food pops out easily, they fit great in the freezer, and they are each 1 ounce - so you know exactly how much your little one is consuming!

Wrap up the ice cube trays with plastic wrap nice and tight and stick it in the freezer. These will be good for up to 3 months.

Of course Ethan was eager to try momma's spinach...so I mixed some up with a little bit of apple puree that I made for him last week, and he was one happy boy!

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas - I'd love to hear from you!