What Do You Serve Your Little One for Early Table Foods.

Updated on October 15, 2011
H.L. asks from Saint John, IN
12 answers

I have an almost 11 month old DD who doesn't want anything to do with baby food any longer. She will eat it until she sees our food come out then that is it. I can't blame her, but I am running out of ideas on what to serve her. She has a lot of teeth (12) so she is capable of chewing food well, but still lacks the ability to not stuff her mouth full. A lot of them time I just use my food chopper to dice really small what we are eating but somethings I just am not comfortable giving to her like steak and other hard meats or a lot of dairy or other allergy prone things as she suffers from bouts of eczema as well. She has had some dairy but not a ton. Just looking for some additional ideas to supplement my own. Thanks in advance!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.A.

answers from Milwaukee on

We did a lot of eggs too. She also liked black beans with a little seasoning. To this day, I'm always stocked with avocado.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

M.L.

answers from Houston on

When they are in the mouth stuffing phase, I only put one or two pieces of food on the plate (high chair) at a time. Yeah, no steak, unless it's stewed or tiny, paper thin slices. But tender chicken, ground beef, salmon, tender rib meat can be done. She may do okay with hard cheeses or yogurt. Scrambled or hard boiled eggs, beans, pasta shapes, toast, pancakes, waffles, avocado, peaches, watermelon, pear, plum, mango, green beans, potatoes, corn, peas, cooked carrots, cauliflower... Pretty much whatever we ate!

4 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R..

answers from Chattanooga on

My DD ate everything I was eating at that age. She is 17 months old, and finally stopped stuffing her mouth super full. I just made sure that everything I gave her was about the same size as my pinkie nail, and I only gave her 2-3 pieces at a time. I actually DID give my DD steak (she got some for her birthday! lol) I shredded it into tiny little slivers, and she absolutely loved it. :P

2 moms found this helpful

J.✰.

answers from San Antonio on

Steamed carrots, diced up or cut bite / grabbable size.

Sweet potato cut into bite and grabbable size.

Black beans, maybe mashed a little. We added some shredded chicken to ours.

Make a non-runny homemade apple and pear sauce, maybe adding some strawberry too. Just get a pan, add diced apple, diced pear, a couple diced strawberries. Steam/cook them till soft. Add water if need be. Mash a little if need be. Let it cool to room temp or put in the fridge. It's chunky and sweet. My son loved it. Got other recipes from http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

1 mom found this helpful

S.K.

answers from Denver on

at that age both of mine would eat what we ate if they showed interest in it. So I would cut everything up really small, even steak you can get steak cut down to where if swallowed whole wont cause any issues. (Just a lot of cutting) if she wants to eat it I'd let her eat it. if she has an issue shoving her mouth just have a separate plate that you cut off of and then put on her plate to minimize the food shoveling. My son has only choked on one thing where i had to do the baby heimilich (sp) and that was a goldfish cracker, not steak, not table food. I also had to get one of those stupid first cracker things (forgot the name chewbaca or something) out of my daughter mouth because it was gagging her. I think there is a lot more harm in your everyday toddler snack than what is served for dinner

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

H.1.

answers from Des Moines on

I always fed my son exactly what we were eating at that age - with the exception of spicy foods and steak. On nights we had something he couldn't I would give him a staple like grilled cheese or chicken nuggets. But for additional suggestions, these are other things he liked/likes:
pieces of soft granola bars
frozen yogurt tubes (go-gurt)
bananas
toast topped with cottage cheese, applesauce, jelly, butter
pasta mixed with veggies (from frozen) and butter
spaghetti
frozen veggie burgers
black bean and corn quesadillas
cheese quesadilla
scrambled eggs with cheese
olives
ANy fresh fruit
ANY fresh steamed veggie
cottage cheese
applesauce

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.S.

answers from New York on

Eggs are a great starter table food. I make an omelet and cut it into thin slivers and serve her two at a time. Even if she stuffs the two slices in her mouth, it goes down easy!

We do the same sliver method with tortillas. We fill them with cheese, beans/or ground beef.

Bagels are great, too, with a little bit of peanut butter (if she's not allergic).

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.C.

answers from Johnson City on

I di dhte gerber graduates and cut what ever i was eating to about that size

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Whatever we ate, just in small portions.
She ate everything..

Sometimes, I tried to not over salt. My husband is addicted to salt so I gave him the salt shaker.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.L.

answers from Washington DC on

My youngest stopped eating baby food completely at 8 months. Can't say that I blame her (yuck). She LOVED frozen waffles. Sometimes I toasted them, sometimes I didn't (especially when she was teething, the cold felt good to her I guess) She still loves her frozen waffles and she'll be 8 in 3 weeks! One bit of advice, offer her Nutrigrain whole wheat waffles. They have much more fiber, etc. than homestyle ones. They definitely taste different, so start her off on the good ones now. My daughter won't eat any other kind to this day b/c she's only used to the healthier ones. (One thing I did right....)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.W.

answers from Seattle on

My kids' approach to eating was to
1. stuff their mouth to overflowing
2. try to chew
3. look frustrated
4. reach into their mouth and remove about 3/4 of what was in there
5. chew and swallow
6. repeat

I stayed present and alert to assist in case of choking. I never had to do heimlich, but I did have to help them unload their mouths a couple times. All meals were followed by a bath.

When we were out in public, their meals were limited to things like veggie booty puffs, which I handed to them one at a time.

After a few months, lots of experience, and some gentle coaching from me, they learned the concept of taking bites.

Feed her some real food. The "ability to not stuff her mouth full" is a learned skill gained with experience, not a developmental thing.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

H.M.

answers from Dallas on

I gave mine chicken nuggets, bannanas, hamburger. Just make sure it's in small bites. Almost anything you eat that is not hard she should be able to eat too. If you make stew give the the pieces of vegies. Cooked veggies are good too. Baby carrots can be fun. That way she can hold it and it's not hard to eat.

Good Luck and God Bless!

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions