Eating More Table Food

My kids will only eat ground meats so I have made a lot of meatloaf, salmon loaf, meatballs, sausage and they enjoyed a lot of it. I would sometimes make it with the veggies mixed in (a little spinach or some broccoli) so that they would get their veggies if they ate the meat. I also find that for my kids, mixing the veggies with humus makes them eat more and gives them extra calories, though the diapers are pretty icky :). So they have peas & corn mixed with humus. My son who is 15 months will also eat Quesadillas with ground meat in it, or chili.

Hope that is helpful - I have found the transition to real food to be challenging each time. But once I realized that they just weren't going to eat solid meats, it made it a lot easier. But I know many other kids that do eat solid meats, even starting at an early age.

Good luck!

Hi There,
My son is 13 months and only has 2 teeth, so he is still working on the meat/texture thing... even soft stuff like meatballs. However, I remember my daughter taking time with meat also... I just kept on giving her a little of what we were having and she eventually began to try it. We are doing the same with my son with slow progress. My daughter always loved most vegetables though... my son still has trouble with the texture. For example, tonight he ate pureed green beens just fine, but when I cut up some cooked green beans, he spit them out!! He does like steemed spinich and sweet potatoes and any kind of fruit... try kiwi, melon, berries, mandarin oranges etc. My son also loves home made mac'n'cheese... I use the Barilla Plus pasta for more fiber and protein. My daughter started eating fish really early and still loves Salmon and Talapia. Also try French Toast, cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, organic cereal bars (my kids both love the earths best kind). Try some cereals for finger foods, ofcourse cheerios, but also try Kix, rice krispies etc. and other breakfast options such bran muffins, bagels with hummus or cream cheese. Just keep on putting new foods in front of him. Remember, it often takes a toddler 15 times seeing a new food before he will try it/accept it, so don't give up!!

try pasta- plain, with butter or a little tomato sauce, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, cut up cubes of soft cheese, frozen mix veggies (perfect size for little fingers), cheerios, toast- maybe sprinkle a little cinnamon on it, that's just some of the table food that my little guy eats. hope that helps.

We never did jarred/specially prepared baby foods. At 14 months my daughter ate pretty much everything that was on the table. We never did anything other than make sure the baby's food did not have bones or tough spots that could be dangerous. Basically we set a plate just like ours with smaller portions in front of my daughter and let her feed herself at her own pace. If she didn't want something, we didn't force it, if she wanted more we gave her more. Now she eats pretty much anything, except when she's feeling ill or has eating something that's been contaminated with soy (she's allergic), she will only eat a few specific foods.

I would suggest giving your son exactly what you and everyone else is eating for dinner and let him try them at his own pace. If he avoids something, note it and offer it again a few times, but be aware that there are some children that naturally avoid foods that cause them trouble (for example some egg allergic children will not eat eggs except when hidden). Also, try basic foods in different forms. At 1 year old (and even now come to think of it) my daughter would not eat steamed or boiled carrots, but she loves them raw, sauted, roasted, pureed with olive oil and as creamed carrot soup. For eggs have him try hard boiled eggs, well cooked sunny-side-up, maybe quiche, and chawan mushi ( http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/basic/chwan/chwan.html )
if you're adventurous.

Try cheese, turkey, grilled cheese, pasta with tomato sauce, mac and cheese, cereal and milk (cheerios or rice krispies), berries, bananas, corn, potato. If you scramble and egg with some melted cheese, he might eat it. Good luck!

In addition to what others have suggested, try mandarin oranges. They are small and bite size and sweeter than regular oranges. I rinse them a few times from the jar/can and my daughter feeds herself. Now they are sold in individually sized fruit cups which are great for on the go. If your son is teething, try freezing mini wheat bagels - presliced and cut in half (semi-circle). You didn't mention applesauce, pears, mangos (which are great in a bag in the freezer section), sweet peas. shredded cheese, steamed brussel sprouts cut in half, green beans well done. Keep trying!

hi tahara
you can try avocados- soft and fun and super good for babies (and us!), and i wanted to add cubed tofu (if there are no soy allergies of course;) as a finger food. you can also use silken tofu to mix into fruit shakes, soups, etc. i also made hot cereal (mixed grains or oatmeal) and would crack an egg into it while it was cooking. i cooked raisins in there too so they'd get nice and soft, and the raisins would sweeten the cereal so i wouldn't have to add anything but cinnamon and milk. my son also likes medium boiled eggs- about 7 mins. or so. yogurt mixes well with a lot, again unless there's a problem with dairy and his ears/nose/throat illnesses. oh yeah, my son really liked lima beans, beans & rice, and broccoli bits too- one of the few veggies he'll still eat. it is a good time to introduce a lot of things and keep trying ones he doesn't seem to like, it may change. - best of luck!

I pitched the baby food around 12 months and just went to really soft foods. My son loves most veggies, but found I had to cook them soft for him to really eat them up. But by 14 months I was trying to do mostly a one dinner a night thing where he would eat the same food as mom and dad. So, pasta was good. I love having homemade meatballs in the house because you can control what goes into them. My son will eat meatballs made out of anything! all fruits I owuld cut up. Start trying stuff, he will tell you what he is interested and where his limits are.
Also--BTW, I think the teeth thing makes a difference. My son had 16 teeth fully in by 13 months, so food wasn't a stress. if your son is still teething or started late, softer foods may be better for you and him.

Tahara,

Not exactly a keen thing to hear about the dinner table, but if the food comes out looking the same way it went in, then it still needs to be pureed. Still trying to teach DH this one. <sigh> IE: carrots are still noticeably carrots, spinach the same, green beans, etc. Things like cooked sweet potato, on the other hand, you shouldn't have a problem with in chunks that are small. You know your kid, you know how he handles food. All I can say, after trial and error with my 18.5 month old. He didn't digest green beans, but he didn't have a problem with them until recently. They are even hard to puree, and they are DS's favorite.

Jars are not bad, but anything YOU puree from the table would be better.
Good luck,
M.

my son is now 20 months and for at least 8 months now, he's eaten everything we do...with the exception of peanut butter and fish..
spaghteti and meatballs, meatloaf, chicken, pork, steaks, kielbasa etc. for dinners...potatos, veggies, pretty much everything! sky's the limit hon! if he doesnt like what we are eating, i can always throw together a quick grilled cheese with ham and tomato or something for him..my son never ate jarred baby foods, i used to make my own and puree them which i think is why he's sucha good eater!

Hi. My daughter also loves baked beets, cut up into chunks (watch out for the red pee), corn on the cob, cut up meatballs, fish sticks, cheese slices, French toast, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, peppers, grapes etc.

Hope that helps! I once googled baby finger food and found a lot of ideas.

Good luck!

Y.

My son is 13m and I feed him like you do....mostly table foods, but I still add a jar of fruit at breakfast and veggies at lunch and sometimes a jar of veggies with dinner if he's not eating enough of the table food. Some table foods that he likes are mashed potatoes (he loves!), meatloaf, meatballs, ditalini (pasta that's a perfect little shape to pick up), grapes (sliced), banana, apple (whole, peeled...he loves to hold it), tortellini, pizza, yogurt, grilled cheese, chicken, scrambled eggs, bread and butter.
There's no special prep at this age, just cut things small enough.
Good luck. You're right...it's far more important to have him eating than to worry about whether it's coming from a jar or not. Just keep feeding him both until he eats less and less from the jar.

You've got a lot of good suggestions already but two foods I didn't see listed below but are great finger foods are garbanzo beans and broccoli. They both are power foods packed with good nutrition. Some say to grate parmesan cheese on the broccoli, I don't but if it will help entice your son go for it.

I will say that we just had our 15 month appt and the Dr. said eating jarred food is still fine so long as the baby can feed themselves too. The jar food is good to continue giving them a well rounded diet until their palate expands.

we never did jarred food either. Some of my son's favorites were mashed up banana or sweet potato in organic plain yogurt. He had the banana mash every morning for breakfast until he was 3! Sometimes I would cut up some ripe plum into tiny bits and mix that in as well. He loved peas with cheddar cheese mixed in while they are hot so the cheese melts. He loved green beans, steamed zucchini and asparagus cut into little bits. He did and still does love a black bean dish with corn and bell peppers over rice, the beans and peppers are cooked very soft. For dinner, he started eating exactly what we were eating by about 9 or 10 months, cut up small enough that he could feed himself.

Are you still feeding him or does he feed himself? Does he do better with table foods that he feeds himself than he does with ones you feed him? Just a thought, as he is at an age where they make a big lurch toward independence!