There’s no denying the health benefits of spinach.  Once Audrey was old enough (around 8 or 9 months), I couldn’t wait to introduce her to it.  And rather than steam and puree it without any additional flavors, like many recipes will tell you to do, I added some love  to it. If I wouldn’t want to eat plain old steamed spinach, why would Audrey?  By adding butter, cheese and spice, she still gets introduced to the flavors and textures of spinach, but hopefully in a way that will keep her eating it for many years to come.  The version I created here has become a staple in our house, plus it’s one of the easiest, quickest, and tastiest purees you can make.  It’s great on its own as a side dish, tossed with pasta, stirred into tomato sauce, mac n’ cheese or mashed potatoes, added to pizza, mixed into meatloaf & meatball mixture, or spread onto a sandwich.  The possibilities are endless…

Parmesan Spinach Puree

Makes approx. 1/2 cup puree

9 months + up

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 lb. baby spinach leaves (about 1 large bag)
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt and pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter.  Add spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes, until soft and wilted.  Remove from heat.  Add spinach along with remaining ingredients to a food processor and puree until smooth.  Stir in more parmesan cheese if you’d like.