Nutritional Recipes Needed for 18 Month Old Demanding to Self Feed

Since you've gotten many good ideas here, I'm going to just say this:

Think of the components of a healthy meal: fruit, vegetable, protein, carb. (and yes carbs are essential, despite the bad press of late)
You can make any meal for a toddler using the categories above. Remember it doesn't have to be Betty Crocker. My BEST experiences were using one of those cafeteria type trays (a friend of mine used ice cube trays)--and filling with plain noodles, peas, corn, chicken , tofu, etc.
Have fun with it, make it colorful and full of variety and see what they try.

Hi N.,
At that age my kids loved cut up vegies & fruit! I would cut up vegies for them while I made dinner,I would sit them the highchair.Anyway hope this helps.

Just about anything that is soft enough for her to manage and can be picked up, as the other suggestions stated.

You are SO lucky that she wants to feed herself at this age. The sooner you get her feeding herself and working with a fork and spoon, the better. It's messy at first, but well worth it. Most babies her age think it's too much like work and will prefer to be fed by someone!! You're lucky!

Hi N.,

It's actually very easy to cook for your baby girl. She's at an age now where she can eat almost everything you eat. When you make dinner for yourself and your husband, give her the exact same thing but cut it up for her so she can handle it with her hands. It's good for kids to learn how to use a fork but if she's enjoying eating with her hands, then let her have at it! Here are a few suggestions:

-Steam veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.)
- Baked chicken with skin removed (dice up for her)
- Meatballs
- Diced fruit
- Fun pasta shapes (shells, fusilli, bowties)
- Rice balls (just take some cooked rice and form into balls for her so she can pick these up easily)
This website has great ideas for baby food and finger foods:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyfingerfood.htm

Remember, never give a toddler a hot dog, grapes, cherry tomatoes, or anything that they can choke on. When you dice up food, make sure it is small enough. Here is another website on choking prevention: http://www.med.umich.edu/1Libr/yourchild/choking.htm

Good luck!

Does your daughter use a spoon or fork yet? There are many healthy foods it's just more time consuming. My son loves broccoli, beets, asparagus, avacado, tomato and many more. The younger you start them with healthier food the easier it is. They wont know anything else. We chose not to do the kid menu items as they are just about all unhealthy. Every morning my son has some kind of fresh friut (when they're in season) now's the best time. He'll either have oatmeal, scrambled eggs (loves them) sometimes I'll throw in spinach or some kind of veggie, and sometimes cereal. Don't get me wrong he has a very strong personality for being 2 and lets me know if he wants it however I'll move it to the side and put something else there and he eventually eats what he didn't want. I try not to replace something he doesn't want because he'll think he can always do that. They're smart.

For lunch I cut up tomatoes,and avacado sometimes he'll have a tuna sandwich ( i cut it into bit sized piece so he can just pick it up ) I do that with any sandwich. Turkey, p and j. When it's cold I make homemade soup so he'll have that. I make enough to freeze some. Canned soup has a lot of sodium, however we keep some on hand for last minute meals. My son loves cottage cheese, with or without fruit or with apple sauce.

For dinner he always has a veggie, loves broccoli and he loves fish. We don't eat very much meat so we do have pasta often. Again I make homemade sauce and freeze the rest. I cook the cork screw pasta so it's easier for him to pick up. with his fork or without. I bake eggplant, he enjoys it.

When we go out I'll sometimes take frozen peas, he loves them, nice and cold on their gums and it's healthy. He wont eat them warm. Loves, frozen blueberries, and veggie chips. eddemame too, I'll take sring cheese,grapes, raisins.

So all of this can be finger food it's just getting them accustom to it. I saw many of my friends get into the child meal idea and that's all their kids will eat. If you don't give it to them they wont know till later (when they see other kids eating it) and by then they have a taste of the good stuff. When I hear parents say my kids wont eat that I can understand to some extent but you have to keep offering it to them, just like when they start eating baby food. Try more then once.

I work as well so it is possible. :) Hope this helps.

I used a kitchen scissors to cut up everything we eat to make it bite sized. I didn't make my 3 year old special food, he ate what the family was eating. For meats I'd shred his chicken, dice his pork chop, ect. Vegetables were easy because they already come bite sized (corn, peas, etc.). As messy as it is, your daughter will just need to practice using a spoon. I always did this at home so I could clean up the mess easier than at a friend's house or restaurant.

Hi N.,

I saw a recipe in a kids recipe booklet that recommended making "chicken nuggets" by cutting banana slices, coating them in Peanut butter (if you use creamy that would be good, or if she's allergic to nuts, just leave them plain) and roll them in crushed graham crackers (since she's still rather young crushe the graham crackers xtra fine). Hopefully she'll love it and you'll have an easy, healthy snack to make for her.

Also, cook pasta like elbow macaroni, penne and rotini, and give it to her plain or lightly coated with butter. Even just a few would probably encourage her independent self-expression in a healthier note and then you could feed her the usual meals you make.

The chicken nuggets made with chicken are so salty and oily. Eggs are also a good choice but maybe when she's a little older. Boil them and give her one peeled and sliced.

Slice and boil carrots until they're soft, and baked yams (just plain baked like a baked potato) are healthier alternatives to macncheese carbs.

Hope this helps :)
M., mother of two

Here are a few things that we have found to be good for our 18-mo self-feeder (little boy)...

cut yams or sweet potatoes into long pieces (like french fries) and bake them (maybe with a bit of olive oil and brown sugar)

green beans (I know... amazing, but they're a great little finger-food, he can't get enough)

add peas to mac & cheese

steam baby carrots... again, great finger food

hummus - she can dip her own crackers into it

Hopefully these are some new, fun ideas. :-)

As helping your daughter learn to use a spoon and bowl our new product the Cali bowl has a lip at the top of the rim to helps toddlers. The lip pitches the content onto to the utensil or cracker. I have four kids and when we were transitioning from finger foods to utensil the bowl helps. I would serve hummus and pretzels, gramcakers and yogart. Check out our website www.calibowl.com We will also have a suction cup and lid for the bowls. Good luck, I understand that it can be frustrating.
M. B

check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com for more ideas.

one easy finger-food hint is that if you have slippery finger foods (cubed fruits, veggies), roll them in the powdery dust from the bottom of the cheerios box to make a non-skid tidbit :-)

a favorite of my kids when they were toddlers (which we still make on occasion) is dipping banana slices into pancake batter and cooking them like regular pancakes - makes a cute, simple fruit-filled pancake that is the perfect size for little fingers to pick up and eat. Make a bunch and freeze them, then reheat in the toaster oven (sprinkle a little wheat germ on the tray to prevent the pancakes from sticking when you reheat them)

We have a 21 month old that hates to use his fork and spoon. We give him the same foods that we are eating and although it is messy he looks at everything as a finger food...yogurt, oatmeal, cottage chesse ...you name it. Some of the less messy finger foods that he loves are halved cherry tomatoes and grapes, thinly slice turkey rolled up, kidney beans,whole wheat bagels, puffins and bananas. A great way to find out which finger foods your child will like without buying out the whole store is to take them to lunch at Fresh Choice. Most of the vegies are already cut into bite size pieces and young children eat for free. We found out that my son loves beets, edamame, and olives after having lunch there(things we probably wouldn't have had for dinner at home). We just loaded his tray with a sample of everything from the salad bar and let him figure out his favorites. Good Luck

My 18 month old daughter loves bite-sized chunks of cheese! Also, I take steemed broccoli, spray a pan with Pam, and cook it with a little salt and pepper, then I cut off the stems, so she only eats the "tree tops"--it's one of her favorites. Ripe pears, no skin and cut into bite-sized peices are great too. She eats cooked chicken (skinless, boneless white meat). Well-cooked pasta is also a good one--try it cooked in some chicken broth for flavor. Freeze dried apple slices (found at Costco) are great for snacks--they like the crunch but they practically melt in your mouth! If you give her some foods she can eat with her fingers, she might be more willing to let herself be fed others.

My daughter is 12 months and has been insisting on self feeding almost exclusively since she first tried O's cereal! I find she can eat almost anything if I make it thick for her and put it on her tray in bite size balls (a blob from a spoon). She had lentils last night, for example. She picks up a handful and puts them in her mouth. She's also done well with stuff like mashed potatoes.

We give her a lot of stuff just cut up in pieces (not recipes, just food). Garbanzos, cut up fruit. Cut up veggies that are steamed until soft.

It's messy, but just about everything works. With purees, I mix them with baby cereal until they are thick enough for her to eat with her fingers.

I have a 2 year old son, and what I have found to work for him, (Because it wasnt easy with him either.) I make the box mac'n cheese. But I get vegetable baby food and the chopped carrots baby food for the toddlers, they come cubed. And instead of putting as much milk and butter I put half of the vegetable baby food,or whatever kind you want. And then add the cubed carrots. He loved it. It still has the cheese flavor. Also You should buy this great book. I think this is the best book out there for toddler and eating habits. Its J. Seinfields Book. "Deceptively Delicious" -Simple secrets to get your kids eating good food.- It's a recipe book.
http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secret...
Or I have heard "Sneaky Chef"- Hiding Healthy Food in Kids favorite meals- I heard this one was good too!

http://www.amazon.com/Sneaky-Chef-Strategies-Healthy-Favo...

Hope you like it!
- J.

fresh fruit cut up with yogurt dip, steamed veggies with ranch dip....also Trader Joes's has many pre-cut veggies that you can just microwave--such as squash and sweet potato cubes. we also buy the morning star famrs soy burgers from there and cut them up. hope this helps!

My daughter is also 18 months :)

For some reason she loves steamed broccoli cut up into small pieces. She also enjoys raisins, dried cherries, brown rice, bananas (cut up), lunch meat rolls, string cheese, and for breakfast shredded wheat w/ a small amount of milk & cut in half (it helps her learn how to use a spoon)...

Hope this helps a bit!!
A.

18 months is not too young for your child to self feed with a spoon. Yes, it is messy but with a bit of practice she will get very good at it. With a spoon she can eat whatever you are eating. As for finger foods, my daughter loves tofu, quesadillas, cooked veggies of all kinds, tofu dogs, beans (especially black beans), whole wheat pasta and the list goes on...

My son is 17 months and is a great eater. I have never fed him meat. He is vegetarian and loves all fruits and veggies. Use caution with raw veggies until they have several molars. He eats veggie burgers, tofu dogs, beans, cut up fruits, cooked veggies, some of the Gerber Graduate finger foods, mini bagels, pb&j, yogurt, pastas and Mac-n-cheez occassionally. In a pinch, Amy's frozen foods (developed by a busy mom who wanted quick, healthy, vegetarian meals for her kids)are a life saver or the Morning Star brand. My son also uses silverware as well as fingers. One of his favorite breakfasts is Cheerios with milk and strawberries. Just keep trying healthy foods. Good health and good luck.

My daughter is also 18 months and can use a fork and spoon, but not very good. I make her grilled cheese on whole wheat bread or give her slices of lean deli meat and cheeses. She usually has fresh fruit or vegetables with every meal. Also, I started freezing Gogurts (yogurt) and my daughter can eat those easily and she loves them. They are usually given as a snack or dessert. She still does eat Chicken nuggets and Mac-N-Cheese sometimes, but usually eats what my husband I eat for dinner. Have you ever bought the graduate meals from the store- my daughter loves them. They have different kinds of Raviolis and chicken meals that are supposed to be healthy for them. They are in the baby section of the store and are perfect finger foods.

My 18 month old eats what ever we eat. and she uses her fingers even if it not "finger food" she loves fruit & veggies cooked and raw so we do a lot of that. I make homemade mac & cheese. I do giver her chicken nuggets I just make sure I buy the all white meat chicken nuggets. Good luck getting kids to eat what you want them to eat is never easy.
(mom of 3)

My daughter is 20 months and eats everything we eat basically. If you eat healthy already, give her what you eat in bite sized pieces. Also, my daughter was so excited to get her own silverware, and it really encouraged her to eat things that are not finger foods. We went to Target and she picked them out, and I handed them over to her at meal times. It made a big difference for us. Good luck!

Hi N.,
I think it's important to let your daughter hold the spoon and try to learn how to use it. My son is the same age and we let him try yogurt with his spoon - it makes a mess and he often uses his hands but it doesn't stain and he loves to try and feed himself and he needs to learn to use the spoon. He's already figuring out how scooping works. Also - mashed potatoes work great as a finger food. I mix veggies and small bits of meat into the potatoes and he can pick it up easily - again messy but can be easily cleaned up. And it's a great way to slip the green veggies in that toddlers like to avoid. Good luck!

Hi N.!!

My son loves to dip, so i puree meats, veggies and rice or potatoes, then he dips Crunchins or Tings. I also roast baby carrots, brussel sprouts, sweet potatos, broccoli, cauliflower, basically, any veggie, and then he feed himself. I also like to make meatballs, but I saute carrots, zuccini, spinach, etc and mix into the meat. He loves them. Hope this helps.

My one year old daughter is the same way! She won't eat it if I am holding it. I have been letting ehr feed herself with a spoon since she was 6 months, at first she was a mess but she has gotten much better. I give her everything! With her hands she can eat; cheese, apples, toast, waffles, pancakes, french fries, pasta, ramen noodles and more. Really it comes down to how messy are you willing to let her be. There are also fish sticks, corn, peas, peaches, cut up weiners really just anything that she can pick up with her fingers.

My (20 mo old) son's favorites are quesadillas (some cheese and whatever else he feels like toasted in a tortilla) and little egg and cheese omlettes - both are super fast and can be cut up into peices that are easy to pick up. He also loves plain chicken breasts boiled or steamed, cut into cubes or cubes of firm tofu. If your little one has a more sophisticated palate, try giving her some 'dip' (catchup, yogurt, etc) with her finger foods... my son will eat just about anything if he can dip it himself.
Trader joes sells bags of 'sweet potato fries' frozen that are good - the whole family likes these.
Toaster waffles are an easy hand held breakfast...not sure how nutritious these are though.
Oh, and the absolute favorite for our son is freezed dried peas of all things! They are made by a company called 'Just tomatoes' (they also freeze dry other fruits and veg) and we order them in huge tubs direct from their website on-line since he eats so many ...he eats them like candy! I think I've also seen them at Whole Foods or similar grocery stores. These have gotta be good for fine motor skills too:)!

At this point you can start giving her anything you have on your plate, as long as you cut it up really small. But you can also make your own version of the boxed stuff (your own mac and cheese, your own chicken nuggets, etc). I would also suggest checking out what they put in those boxed dinners for kids and then make a healthier version at home.

hope this helps :).

I love this question and found a TON of healthy things to feed my son during that time. I have read that a persons food prefrences are developed within the first 3 years of life... so it meant a lot to me not to give him sweets or sugar. I would cut up vegetables for him and he could pick those up and eat them, or cook a grill cheese sandwich and cut it into strips that he can hold and chew on (which can help teething too if that is an issue), beans are good and cheap (my son loves pinto beans)....
The book that I fell in love with was called "Super Baby Food". It has a TON of healthy ideas. Even pancakes can be good finger food. Most of the recipies use maple syrup or apple juice instead of sugar. Hope this helps, have fun with your little ones new independence!

Hi N.!

It's always something isn't it? My son refuses to eat cut up food. So strange their little habits...

Check out the Petit Appetit cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Petit-Appetit-Cookbook-Organic-Reci...

I love the recipes and they are all pretty easy to put together. Each recipe has a nutrional facts page which is great too!

Good luck!
T.

What about your basic peanut butter sandwich? Kids love peanut butter - she can eat it herself and it's packed with protein. Also, steamed rice balls. Make the rice, let it cool and then form some into a ball and let her eat it. Kids love it!

it doesnt seem like she should only eat finger foods at her age. she should be eating whatever you eat at dinner (we sing songs about the veggies our son is not real into and that really helps). does she sit down with you at dinner? that is a big one too. as for yummy quick meals, my fave is to heat up some chicken broth with couscous (only 5 minutes to cook) and mix with fresh or frozen veggies. it is a 10 minute meal that my kid will eat every time. and you can make the couscous a little extra sticky by increasing the liquid until she improves with the spoon. it will be liberating for you when she is proficient with her silverware.