Kale Pear and Carrot baby puree

Kale is considered a super food for adults, but what about babies?? YES, kale is a very good and healty choice for baby food too!

Kale is a cousin of cabbage, high in essential nutrients (vitamin A, C and K), fiber and protein. Funny fact: kale contains more calcium than milk (considering a same amount of quantity in weight. i.e. 100 grams of kale have more calcium than 100 grams of milk). Kale is also naturally rich in iron, a very important element for your baby’s growth.

In addition to that Pears are high in fiber too, rich in potassium and Vitamin C. They are also a nice natural remedy for constipation 🙂

Cooking kale for babies is very easy. Today I prepared a Pear, Carrot and Kale baby puree’. I liked the sweet flavor of the pear and carrot combined with the Kale one. Also the pear gives a nice creamy texture to the mix. All the three ingredients are a appropriate for a baby starting from 6 months, so this baby puree could be a nice choice as a very first baby food.

Few basics suggestion when cooking kale for a baby:

• As for any other fruit and vegetables for your little one, try to buy them organic. It’s the only way to avoid insecticides or pesticides on the skin/surface.
• There are few varieties of kale (red, Lacianto, baby, deeply green and curly…). For babies I prefer the “baby kale” variety, sweeter and more tender.
• Once you buy it, try to use it as soon as possible. If you leave it in the refrigerator for few days it will get a bit more bitter day after day.
• When cooking for a baby (6/10 months) I prefer steaming the kale to make it easier to digest. You can always puree’ it from raw, but it will be more difficult for your baby’s digestive system to process it.

With the quantity suggested below I prepared 4 baby meals. You can store them in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3 days or you can easily store them in the freezer and enjoy within 3 months. If you are interested in the Baby Food Glass Cubes with lid and tray (so useful!!), they are from Green Sprouts

If you just started preparing your homemade baby food (awesome choice!!!) you might be interested in these videos too

• HOW TO FREEZE BABY FOOD
• HOW TO THAW BABY FOOD
• HOW TO THIN BABY FOOD
• WHEN TO INTRODUCE DAIRY

Print

Kale Pear and Carrot baby food

Ingredients

• 2 pears
• 1 carrot
• 1 Cup baby kale leaves only
• 1/2 Cup thinning liquid. I used the residual water from the steamer you can also use breast milk or baby formula or regular milk

Instructions

1. Peel the pears and the carrot; without the peel it will be easier for your baby to digest
   
2. Chop them in big pieces
   
3. Prepare the steamer and when the water is boiling reduce the heat and place the carrots at the bottom of the tray, the pears on top of them and than the kale (harder ingredients at the bottom, softer ones on top).
   
4. Let the vegetables/fruit steam for 10 minutes
   
5. Transfer in a deep container, add 1/2 cup of thinning water and puree everything with an immersion blender.
   
6. How creamy or running the puree' should be is totally up to your baby's taste and age.
   
7. You can store the baby puree' in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.