My son just turned one and aside from all of the changes the pediatrician suggested, I have been struggling with what to feed him. I have recently removed the bottle and formula from day time meals (he gets one bottle at bedtime with whole milk - just because he still doesn't drink enough throughout the day) and he still has baby food and I am trying to introduce more adult foods like cut up fruit, crackers, anything softer and healthy. What I am struggling with is variety. I want to introduce cut up things, but I am not sure what is healthy and balanced enough for him at this age and, since he does not have molars yet, what should I hold off on. The pediatrician says that if he still likes baby food, there is no problem with that, but I want to introduce new things. Aside from this dilemma, my husband and I have a horrible eating schedule (our jobs lead to bad timing), not to mention that I am not sure I want my son eating what we eat (Chinese, hamburger helper, McDonalds). Anyone have any ideas?
My one year old eats everything we eat. He only has his 2 bottom teeth and that doesn't stop him at all from eating steak, ham, chicken, pasta, meatballs, fruit, diced veggies, mashed potatoes. The possibilities are endless now! He just went off formula and he's doing just great.
S.
T.,
I have a one year old and four year old and a GREAT book with tons of food ideas is First Meals by Annabel Karmel. It ranges from the first cereals & purees to age 7, ideas for family meals, snacks & picky eaters etc. The recipes are super easy too(I'm not Martha Stewart by any means in the kitchen!) and even has weekly menu ideas to help with making sure you're serving a balanced diet. A lot of my friends have borrowed this book for ideas and have loved it and maybe it could help you out too. Good Luck with your little one! :)
My 14 month old loves cheese. The easiest cheese for her to eat is Kraft Cheese Crumbles. Little pieces of cheese that ar just right for her to pick up and eat. They are sold in a package right next to the shredded cheese. She also likes lunch meat. I pick the thin sliced lunch meat (usuallyturkey). I give her some cheese and some turky and either small pieces of bread(regular bread or tortilla shells ) or goldfish crackers and she has all the ingredients of a sandwich.
She does very well with cut up canned fruit.. peaches, pears fruit cocktail and her favorite mandarin oranges. She likes cut up bananas also.
Canned veggies are soft and easy to eat. she happens to like green beans, and peas... but maybe your child would aslo eat canned carrots- or the canned mixed veggies.
My daughter will eat chicken pieces (but doesnt really like breaded chicken nuggets) she has had a chicken soft taco from taco bell and ate it... _just chicken cheese and the shell - no sauce.
hamburger helper is fine.. just try to give him some veggies and fruit with it and can be a balanced meal.
My daughter likes chicken and dumpling in the can- the dumplings are nice and thick and easy to pick up.
Also look at some of the cans of chunky soup- ones thathave big noodles and pieces fo veggies that he can pick up himself.
The only food we are feeding my daughter is her oatmeal cereal, and yogurt.. other than that she is self feeding.
LOL, your schedule sounds much like ours! You can try soups like Chicken & Stars or Chicken & Rice, etc. Just be sure the chicken pieces (which there aren't many) are small enough. I didn't much care for the amount of sodium in condensed soup, so I would either purchase low sodium broth or make my own and add small noodles. They make tiny alphabet pasta, etc you can use. Spaghetti is good if it isn't spicy. You can cut it up really tiny. Mac-n-cheese can be cut really small also or made with the tiny pasta I mentioned. Mashed potatoes, any rice dishes, small soft veggies like green beans, peas, soft diced carrots. Applesauce, pudding, yogurt, etc.
Gerber 3rds has some pastas and things that are similar to the Gerber Graduates, but more age appropriate. My son liked those for a while. He even liked the Gerber meat sticks, but we removed the casing and cut them up until he was a little older even though it is pretty soft. Hope that helps give you some ideas. Our worlds sound quite similar... Best of luck and if I think of more I'll add it to the list!
Hey lady!! This is my first time on here but I have good ideas for you!! I feed my 15 month old cut up cooked and seasoned chicken, green beans, cooked cut up carrots, cheddar rice cakes, roast beef, and a host of other foods. We try new ones all the time: spinach, avacado, popsicles when teething, etc. All this he was eating at 1 year too! I sometimes still have to supplement with baby food also as I don't think he feeds himself enough as sometimes he likes to play with his feed instead of eat it!!! I am happy to offer more feeding advice if need be, otherwise GOOD LUCK!!!
L. H.
You can go to this website myfreshbaby.com. They've got good ideas on things to eat for little ones. Good luck.
My husband found a really great book with ideas for baby food, and toddler food too. Its called Super Baby Food and you can get it on Amazon. They have ideas on what to feed babies at every stage... my son loved just about everything that we tried to make for him (especially the mac and cheese).
Make sure he has several choices of finger foods. Lightly steamed veggies, fresh fruit, lunch meat,and cheese avoid processed foods whenever possible so he doesn't get too much salt. Our daughter Jessica is now 23 and was a very picky eater when she was little I was so worried and did everything I could think of to get her to eat more. She grew up just fine and is now 5'9" and about 135# Be sure everything is cut very small to prevent choking, no hotdogs, popcorn or peanuts. To prevent tooth decay don't put him to bed with a bottle. Unless he is sick I wouldn't worry about how much he drinks during the day but you can give him a spill proof cup of water to take to bed. He's at an age where he wants to make some of his own decisions but for his sake limit them to healthy ones. Limit his carbs to whole grains. Most people don't realize that processed grains can lead to colon cancer or tiny pockets in the colon as one gets much older which can cause a whole list of problems. If he learns healthy eating habits now it should considerably reduce health problems as he ages. There were many good ideals from some of the other mothers.
When my son turned 1 i gave him like canned carrots, meat sticks ( either gerber or vienna sausages) mac and cheese , hamburger helper would work if you want to feed that to him just make sure the hamburger is in small enough pieces, marshmallows as a treat, canned fruit like peaches, pears ect. spaghetti cut up into small pieces pretty much what you eat just in very small pieces and portions. even give him a piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so he can feed himself just cut into fours. hopefully this is helpful good luck
hi T.:) When my son started self feeding, avacados were/still are one of his favorites! Also string cheese sliced into little quarters are an easy snack as well as the standard cheerios, those little puffy snacks (sweet potato is yummy) basically anything that can be mashed. Cooked veggies that aren't too fiberous like peas, beans, potatoes (sweet and mashed), ripe pears and melons...even grains of rice. There's a lot they can have! Once you get started I know you'll think of lots of ideas for yourself. :)
Hi T., I have an eight month old and two older kids. Soft tofu is a good way to get protien. Scrambled eggs. I use to put apple sauce on pancakes with a little cinniman. advacado too. If you are on the go those little gerber hot dog things are good too they smell nasty but they have tons of protein in them just try one jar at frist one of my kids loved the other hated them. If you get a cheese shredder you can shred apples cheese anything like that. Good Luck M.
There are so many things that your son can eat at one year. My son is 13 months old and he pretty much eats what we do for the most part. But you'd want to make sure you were eating healthfully. Here are a few ideas:
beans (kidney, pinto, black, garbonzo)
avocado
cut up fruit and veggies
rice dishes
soup
pasta
yogurt
muffins, bread, toast
scrambled eggs
graham crackers
tofu
cooked brocoli, cauliflower, edamames, peas, corn
waffles, pancakes, french toast
pieces of burger
cucumber, tomato,
peeled apple (golden delicious are pretty soft as far as apples go)
dried fruit like raisins, apricots, apple, banana, pineapple, mango, and papaya,
squash, yam
hot dog
olives
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cut up
If you like to have quick things on hand, check out the frozen food section and canned goods. Lots of quick veggie and fruit ideas.
Pretty much if it isn't hard like a raw carrot, you can serve them what you are eating, just in small chunks.
Have fun.
I have a daycare and have twin girls right now that are one year old. I try to feed all my kids healthy foods and since they only have so many teeth yet it makes it tricky. You would be amazed at what they can eat, as long as it is soft enough and cut up small enough. I dice most of the food I will recommend. Here are some examples, broiled chicken, hard bolied eggs,most fruit. Mangos,apples(without the peels),grapes, bananas,pinapple(fresh cut). They love oatmeal! Cucumber, beans,aspragus,egg plant(yes they love it in my veggie lasa). I hope this gives you some ideas. Your friend, D.
Hi T.-
I feel your pain. I had one good eater and one not so good. my daughter loves peas! Frozen, heat them in the microwave for 45-60 secs. She can't get them in fast enough! Corn is the same. Watermelon is easy to eat with few teeth. Other favorites are grapes (cut up pretty small), apple,pasta (like rotini or penne is easier to grab than spaghetti),chicken. Good luck. Don't sweat it too much.
