My daughter is 10 months and really enjoys eating regular food as opposed to baby food. The problem is that she only has 2 teeth and I'm having trouble finding food to feed her that she can handle. So far I've stuck with rice, spaghetti cooked really soft, etc. Any suggestions for other things I can give her? I'm sure she's tired of mashed potatoes :)
Any food suggestions for toddlers are welcome!
-Steam a big stalk of broccoli until the florets are really soft, then hand her the stalk to hold onto. She can gnaw off the florets.
-Cut most of the flesh off of a mango and let her gnaw on the pit--great for teething, she can't choke on it because it's huge, and she'll get yummy mango
My cousin didn't get his first tooth until he was almost 2. Don't worry about what to feed her. Give her whatever your eating. As long as she chews it, it will be fine. My daughter totally gave up all baby food at 9 mos. She didn't have many teeth then either.
Hi,
Feed her food. Our family made dinner and then blended what we were eating for her with the braun hand mixer. She now eats what we eat and will try things even though she didn't like them in the past.
Good luck and read Sam I Am to her.
Just because she only has 2 teeth doesn't mean she can't eat regular food. My 1st daughter didn't get her 1st tooth until 11 months old and she was eating chicken nuggets, crockpot meats (tri-tip), string cheese, any pasta, pieces of hotdog, most raw fruit, peas, carrots, green beans etc... They use their gums to mash their food. Just cut whatever you are eating in small pieces and she should be fine.
The most important thing is to ask your pediatrician where they stand on giving foods at that age.
Our pediatrician shifted his thoughts between kids (21 months apart) when the American Academy of Pediatricians reversed their position on introducing new foods.
Currently, their position is that children can have ANYTHING regardless of age as long as it's not a choking hazard and is not a known family food allergen.
That doesn't mean a 10 month old should have raisins/fruit snacks that are really hard to chew, but it also means you don't need to worry about a 12 month old having peanut butter as was previously preached.
Canned foods almost always have way more sodium or sugar than is needed.
So, I'd recommend frozen/fresh fruits and vegetables. Vegetables should be cooked really well to make them easier for a young child to chew.
I'd advise staying away from processed frozen foods such as chicken nuggets. They're easy to make fresh (Jamie Oliver has a great recipe on Oprah.com).
Our kids, at that age, loved thinly shaved lunch meats from the deli, sliced White American Cheese, taco meat, cheese, pears, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, apples, yogurt, pasta, fresh tortillas with melted cheese, etc.
Let your child explore, be there to address any concerns with not being able to chew appropriately, and monitor for allergies.
Good luck!
At that age our kids were eating just about anything we were
My daughter loves any type of cheese and nutrigrain bars. For lunch sometimes I give her a piece of bread and a slice of cheese, for some reason she does not like them together, but she will eat them separately. I use nutrigrain bars more for a snack as well as yogurt.
Hi. She doesn't need any teeth for these...
Veg-all is a good veggie medley for little ones - vitamins and minerals
string cheese - calcium, protein and natural fats
yogurt - calcium, protein, cultures and natural fats
cottage cheese - calcium, protein and natural fats
peaches - vitamins and minerals
bananas - vitamins and minerals
pears - vitamins and minerals
green beans - vitamins and minerals
steamed carrots - vitamins and minerals
cream of wheat - carbs, vitamins and minerals
oatmeal - carbs
waffles with a little butter - carbs
pancakes the same - carbs
scrambled eggs - protein and natural fats
diced, cooked potatos - carbs, vitamins and minerals
etc..
All of this can be eaten (gummed really) as finger food as long as the pieces are the right size. Use your imagination on this one. She can eat just about anything that isn't super crunchy or sharp (like chips) and would require teeth to grind up before swallowing.
Ripe fruits and cooked vegetables, diced.
peas from a can, cooked carrots (very soft), beans, cubes of sweet potato, squash, turnip, banana, blueberries, diced peaches, pumpkin puree, soup, stewed meat or chicken, lentils.
My son is almost 9 months and has NO teeth but has pretty much given up baby food. So far he's eaten:
Soft fruits - pears, bananas, cooked apples (with cinammon), strawberries, honeydew, cantaloupe
Well cooked veggies - green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes
Grains - pasta including ravioli, mashed potatoes, bread (smashed or dipped in some kind of liquid), puffs
Dairy - cheese (shredded), yogurt melts
Meats - small piece of lunchmeat or well cooked chicken
I think she can eat pretty much what you eat as long as it's cooked well and is very soft and smaller than a pea. I stay away from anything I think it would be hard for him to get down without really chewing since he doesn't have teeth. He tries to gum everything but I am sure lots just goes right down into his stomach!
Stuffing is too funny to watch him eat (kind of like mashed potatoes!) Messy but cute!
Our Pediatrician told us that we could feed our 9 month old son (who also has two teeth) small bits of chicken and ground beef. We just "shred" the chicken and he "gums" it. He loves it!! He also is a big fan of avocado, bananas and green beans.
Lots of good options listed already, just wanted to add a few more:
Avacodo (high in protein and good fat)
Adamomie (sorry on spelling) also high in protien
Anything you eat she can eat, just mash it up and add a little water. We had a small food chopper we used even for chicken and beef. My husband is a chef and he refused to give her jarred food.
Its all trial and error, but remember to try something a few times before giving up.
Good Luck
Avocado and sweet potato are almost perfect nutrition. Most babies love them both. Avoid the simple carbs this early in her diet if you can. Exchange red potatoes for the white ones. Fruits are good too. Plums, peaches and bananas are great with few teeth and I'm sure you can think of others as well.
God bless,
M.
My daughter didn't get her first tooth until she was 13 months, but was gumming pretty much everything before then ;) Whole fruit (fist size or larger), was great for her she'd gum at it until it was soft enough to swallow. Same thing with a lot of vegetables. Soups were great. I think the only things we were especially careful with were tough meat (Cut small or chop with a food processor) and whole nuts.
If you can mash it with a spoon or fork she can eat it ;)
Oatmeal, cream of wheat.............french fries if they aren't crisp..........she needs to get some teeth!! You can also make other pasta, just make sure it is really chopped up...........
With summer coming, you can do egg, chicken and tuna salad.........some people make potato salad with mashed potato's......I don't like it, but some do.......that's an idea.......
Good Luck and take care.
