13 Month Old - Healthy Easy Meals/snacks

Did you ever try just scooping out and cutting up a ripe Avocado? If teeth are an issue, which is probably the case, try to mash it up so it's safe and easy to eat.

We invested $8-10 in a little food grinder which can be carried even in the diaper bag. You can grind table food--whatever you are having for the meal--for her while it is still hot and she can enjoy the same flavors that your family eats. LOTS cheaper than buying baby food, too!

Sheena,

We are following a modified version of child led weaning, so DD has been eating chunks of solids since 6.5 months as she was able to feed herself. My little girl is 13 months old and has just her front teeth. She's working on the tops and bottoms just outside the front two. I was really surprised at how well she's able to chew things with just her gums.

I find that canned veggies have a great soft texture that makes it easy for her to chew them up. If we're out to eat, I sometimes get a cup of soup - like chicken noodle or beef barley and let her self feed the chunks out of those.

She started stealing chicken from my plate at about 8 months old. She also loves hamburger, ham, turkey, peas, green beans, yellow wax beans, sweet potatos, white potatos, gerber puffs, grapes, and all sorts of melon.

We offer her whatever we're eating for dinner, cut up into small pieces.

S.

My son is also 13 months old with only a few teeth. before he was a year old he has been eating whatever we eat. I just cut it up really small but big enough he can pick it up. He even eats steak! For lunch I make sure we have left overs from the night before and he eats that. You would be amazed what those gums can do!

Hi!
I got a book called (The?) "Toddler Cafe"...great recipes and some super healthy...I modify by using whole-wheat flour...also the book "Super Baby Food" is GREAT to learn about nutrition...for example, I learned to add "nutritional yeast" (you can get it a Whole Foods) to her yogurt for a serious vitamin boost...the book is filled with great tips like that. :)

Really, I would let her try anything you are eating she's interested in. You'd be amazed what they can chew with very few teeth. (chewing is molars anyway, and those won't be a full set for a while) Our neighbor's 14 month old daughter eats steak with 2 teeth. Not kidding. My 14 month old son eats table food with us, I just cook everything a little softer at the moment. He eats red and green peppers and zucchini cut in chunks and gnaws on broccoli florets. Peas and beans are good too, cooked soft.

Lack of teeth only limits your child from eating really hard foods like raw carrots. My son has been eating the same foods we do at dinner since he was 8 months old (he only had one tooth then). We just cut his meat, veggies, fruits into smaller pieces. We used a knife, no fancy choppers. Also, he has been feeding himself since 8 months. She should be working on that now too.
Good luck.

Hi Sheena,
Have you tried hummus? My son LOVES hummus- he eats it every day. I either buy it already made in the store or make it myself. My son really liked soup as well at that age (he's 18 months old now) because it didn't hurt his gums or teeth when he was teething.
P.

Sheena,
I have a small food processor by lack & Decker called the Handy Chopper Plus. It's small (holds about 1.5 cups) and top rack dishwasher safe.
Just cook & cut up fresh veggies (carrots, squash, peppers, etc.) If they are cooked, you can just put pieces on her plate. Also hardbboiled eggs, fruits (mango, papaya, orange, banana, peeled & halved grapes), whole wheat bread (better), goldfish crackers, cheese cubes, dry cereal, etc.
Try getting her to eat all of the stuff you & DH usually eat, just smaller & maybe softer (watch choking hazard foods.

Sheena A. There is wonderful product out there called a twister blender or majic bullet. that way you can take your table food and blend it up for your baby girl to eat and be able to enjoy. the base sits on the counter it comes with cups and lids. You put your food in the cup put the lid on turn the cup upside down into the base and press and it mashes up the food for baby to eat. clean up is easy just put the cup in the dishwasher and it is all done. I used to make my own veggies for my babies to eat. made enough of the veggies I would freeze some in Ice Cube trays and transfer to freezer zip lock bags so that I could pull out a cube at a time or more if needed. Good luck and have fun. J.

For the veggies...have you tried steaming, boiling, or microwaving them until they are tender enough for her to eat?

You mention that she doesn't like V8 juice. V8 makes V8 Fusion that I think is a combo of fruit and veggie juice and is supposed to taste more like fruit juice. Juicy Juice also makes a Healthy Harvest line that has veggie juice in it, but again tastes more like fruit juice.

Have you ever seen a "safe feeder"? It is a little mesh bag that attaches to a plastic handle. You can put table food in there for your daughter to suck on and chew on. I had limited success with it with my kids - they weren't too interested. But my SIL used it all the time with her daughters. She put mostly fruit and veggie chunks it it. In addition to getting her kids to eat more types of table food, she put frozen fruit in it to give them relief when they were teething or simply to give them a cool treat.

Although this doesn't address the issue of getting her to eat and/or like other foods if you are worried about her getting the proper nutrition you can hide pureed foods in the sauces you mention she eats. I used to put pureed carrots, squash, beans and peas in spaghetti sauce. Maybe mix some pureed fruit in the yogurt, oatmeal or applesauce. You can experiment on your own or get ideas from Deceptively Delicious - a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld devoted to hiding purees in food to get your family to eat healthy.