Toddler Friendly Spinach Muffins

Mar 29

Well, it was great while it lasted. We look back now and sort of cherish the times when James would eat whatever was on his plate without question. Gone are those days. Luckily, he isn't fully repelled by vegetables, but we have found it harder to make sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs.

I am not an expert on toddler foods, but these little spinach muffins have been a lifesaver for us. They're the perfect afternoon "treat" and make me feel a little better about the fact that he throws most of his veggies from his meal on the floor.

I ran across this Organic Coconut Nectar in my pantry which was clearly a Costco impulse buy that I had forgotten about. You can use any sort of sweetener you prefer. I've tried the recipe with both this and granulated sugar. There wasn't a huge difference between the two batches, in my opinion. I would always recommend using ingredients you already have on hand and are familiar with.

Ingredients

7 oz. (or larger) bag of spinach
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4-1/2 cup sweetener of your choice (agave syrup, maple syrup, granulated sugar, etc.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Puree the spinach. I emptied the bag (and added some handfuls from another bag) into my steamer for a few minutes before blending. Add the wet ingredients in with the already pureed spinach and blend again. The heat from the spinach brings the coconut oil to a liquid making everything a lot easier to mix together.

In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the blended wet ingredients. Stir to create a dough-like texture. Fill a cupcake pan until it's about 2/3 of the way full, allowing room to rise. This is the cupcake pan I use and I love it.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350F or until a toothpick comes out clean.