I have a 15 month old and he has done really well in the transition to 'big people food'. Lately, he seems to be bored with steamed veggies, green beans, cheese and anything else I come up with. He is not a fan of pasta too much or potatoes (what is wrong with him, I don't know!) He loves fruit. He was recently introduced to, dare I say, a hot dog and loved it. My guess is because it was different, but I am out of ideas. Please suggest some! THANKS!
Go to the following website, http://stepbystepcc.com/menu.html
Its the best. Its a daycare menu, so everything on it is geared towards kids. Not all of them will work for you, and it may be hard to follow each meal everyday, but it will give you ideas when you cant think of any.
Good Luck and I hope the website helps
Lunch Meat
Tacos without the shell
Black Beans (usually in a quesadilla with cheese)
Smoothies (we buy the light yoplait ones and both our daughters love them)
Rice (usually I put veggies and chicken with it)
Advocado
Cottage Cheese
Like the other person said anything you eat as long as you cut it up small.
No matter what - keep giving those veggies!! They're the most important. Speak positively about them and make them fun. If he's hungry enough - he'll eat them. In my house, it's not an option. The kids have to eat them and they do. They love them. The parents' example of eating is how the child will eat. My kids love Bush's vegetarian baked beans. They're loaded in protein, fiber, and iron. Taste great and easy for a toddler to eat. Also, the vegetarian variety does not have any "freaky" chemicals added to preserve the meats sometimes added to other baked bean varieties.
Plain, organic yogurt with thawed frozen berries is good calcium, protein, antioxidants and acidophilus cultures. Very low sugar. Avocado's are great.
If you're going to do hot dogs - please get either turkey dogs or preferably organic hotdogs. They have less additives and preservatives.
Eggs are a perfect food. Boiled, scrambled, etc. are perfect.
Hi A.,
I am a mother of a 2 year old (Helen). The foods I was giivng her at 15 months were: veggies hot dogs (I liked these better than real hot dogs cause they did not have the nitrates in them), veggies burgers (Garden Bruger brand), Quesadillas (cheese and bean in tortiallas), sauted veggies for a little different spin on the veggies, peanut and jelly (if there is no history of peanut alergies in your family 1 year is ok to introduce peanut butter, but do it slowly just in case, I gave Helen just a tiny taste from on my finger), bagels and cream cheese, tomato soup, grilled cheese.
I hope these give you ideas, the main thing is to cut things up. We started giving Helen what we were eating (cut or mashed up at about 9 months) unless it was really spicey. Now she eats like a champ.
M. F.
My daughter has always loved dipping her food in a sauce. It doesn't matter what it is. She'll use plain tomato sauce and any number of healthy dressings. I think she just thinks it's fun to dip. I sometimes just steam and puree some veggies for her or even use applesauce. I figure that way, even if she is only licking the dip off, she's still getting something healthy.
At 15 months he should be eating everything you do. You will just have to cut it up in really small pieces, but if he has teeth, he should be eating whatever you put on the table. I started my babies on table food at 6 months. Of course, at 6 months you start with the veggies and fruit and go from there, but at a year, you are suppose to have them off the bottle (put them on a sippy cup) and on solids. Just cut everything up into bite size pieces, and let him have at it. He will have his likes and dislikes like all babies, but even if he dislikes it, keep putting it on his plate. Their taste change and one day he might love it. I don't make my kids eat anything, but I do offer it. Hope this helps you.
I also was feeding all of my boys regular food by 15 months. Actually they were all switched over by 12 months. If it was on the table and they wanted it they got it. You do have to cut up anything that they can choke on and just like us there are going to be things that just don't taste good to them. Each of my boys went through phases where they like different things. At one point I had all three favoring a different portion of dinner. If they wanted seconds they had to eat a little bit of the other two portions of the meal before they could have more of their favorite.
They also will stop eating things they liked a week ago and not touch them for months.
If he wants meat, feed him meat. If he wants veggies, feed him veggies. He doesn't like potato's, but does he like tater tot's or french fries? It may be the texture he doesn't like.
Just go with the flow. Have dinner, if he eats it good. If not have canned soups, sandwich materials or other quick easy things in case of emergency. But don't get into the habit of making a separate dinner just for him or you will be doing that for years.
Hope this helps
My daughter is 2 and a half, and sounds very similar to your son. She loves meatloaf, ham and "softer" type meats. She also loves dipping raw veggies in ranch, but you'll have to wait until your son has all of his teeth. She also loves yogurt and plain wheat bread.
When my daughter was starting finger foods, she loved cooked spinach; soup cooked with peas, carrots and kidney beans; and cheerios. Her pediatrican also recommended that we let her eat whatever we were cooking for ourselves such as lasagna. You may want to just let him have a taste of whatever you're eating. That way you don't have to cook separately for him.
It sounds like he just needs to get used to the idea that those foods he's familiar with are just gonna keep coming back. Because let's face it, even if there were a million and one different options to give him, chances are strong that we're not going to do something new and exciting everyday. You're doing exactly what you should be and if you give him time, he'll get used to eating all the normal stuff regularly.
My son is 18 months now, but at about 12-15 months we started introducing my son to practically everything we were eating, but cut into smaller peices. If I cook it, I put it on his plate! Lunches and such, he eats tons of veggies (I've bought all kinds of different veggies to try something new, some he likes, some he doesn't), mac and cheese, hard cheese, lunch meat tore into peices, hot dogs occasionally, try mashed potatoes with a little cheese mixed in, sweet potatoes my little one LOVES, fruit (canned or fresh), soups drained so they can eat it with fingers. But definitely start trying to give him things from your plate. Once he got over the first shock of REAL flavor (veggies can be kind of boring), he loves just about anything I can fix. I guess I'm really lucky to have such a good eater.
My 15 month old loves mac and cheese, any lunch meat cut up in small pieces, drained chicken noodle soup and any bread product cut up. I would try giving him anything you would eat cut up in small pieces except spicey things or anything he could choke on. My son also loves the fork and spoon set I got him at Wal-mart with thick handles he can easily hold onto. He is not very coordinated and still uses his hands most of the time but he loves practicing eating like we do. Also if he loves hot dogs you can cut up the low fat, low sodium turkey ones so they are healthier (my son loves them also so that is what we buy to not feel bad about it!).
Try beets. That age usually loves them.
