Ideas for Toddler Meals

You just have to experiment because some kids take a while to get used to some textures. Try all kinds of things. My kids loved eggs at that age so I'd do scrambled eggs and often mix in something like spinach or other really mushy veggies such as broccoli or carrots. Grilled cheese, over-cooked pasta. Bananas and strawberries. Meatloaf or pieces of meatball. Snacked on lots of cheerios. Pancakes... you can mix a lot of things into those too.

For all 3 of my kids, once they reached the age where they did not use baby food, I fed them what I ate, just cut it up in small pieces. Pasta is good, give it to them with a little butter or oil so it doesn't get messy like spaghetti. Use cherry tomatoes and grapes, but cut in 1/2. Since it's summer time, freeze some grapes, they make great healthy snacks. Hot dogs are good, also wraps so that you can cut them in slivers. Crackers or to avoid fat, cut your bread in slices, roll it flat and bake until crispy. Do the same thing with tortia shells that you use for wraps to make chips. Try chopping up veggies and serving them with Ranch Dressing. Also, make finger sandwiches, just cut whatever sandwick in small slices instead of half or quarters.

Hope this helps.

I love Susan's ideas and will try those too! My little man is 14 months and here are our staples: bananas, blueberries, grapes (quartered), nutrigrain bars (big hit), rice cakes, peas and carrots (the frozen medley), avacado, sweet potato (I under cook a little and cut into pieces), yogurt. I haven't had any success with meat or eggs but I keep trying! I used to be really concerned with him having a "meal" but now we do kind of a mish mosh and I just make sure he gets a good variety of fruits/veggies throughout the day. Good luck!

I feed my one-year-old cubed tofu. He loves it. He'll eat it straight from the refrigerator. Some of his other favorites are steamed broccoli and carrots. I steam them super-soft so he doesn't have a problem getting them down. He also likes veggie-burgers and cheese. For breakfast, I give him oatmeal with yogurt mixed in it - it's a great trick because it cools the oatmeal down really fast and sneaks in some extra calcium and protein. He'll eat any fruit I put in front of him - bananas and watermelon are always a hit. Hope this helps!
Jen