Food Suggestions for 1 Yr Old

Updated on September 25, 2008
M.M. asks from Ballwin, MO
15 answers

Now that my daughter has tasted table food, she refuses to eat any baby jar food. She is still picky though when it comes to table food. So far, she will only eat chicken nuggets, cheerios, gold fish crackers, the meat inside toasted raviolis, cheese pizza, steamed carrots (sometimes), turkey or chicken lunch meat (sometimes), mashed potatoes (sometimes), bananas (sometimes) and peas (she ate once and will no longer eat). She will not eat any kind of pasta, apples or cantaloupe. She drinks plenty (is still drinking soy formula but we will be introducing her to whole milk; she also drinks plenty of water and fruit juices). How much table food does she need to eat? Does anyone have any food suggestions? Thanks!

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F.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I think this sounds pretty typical. Offer her what everyone else is having, snacks when she is hungry that she likes, and her formula. As long as she is gaining, she is doing well. Don't push the food issue too much, because then it becomes a worse issue down the line.

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C.G.

answers from Columbia on

Here are three articles that may help you. None of them are very long, and all are worth reading:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp "Feeding Toddlers: 17 Tips for Pleasing the Picky Eater" It has good ideas for introducing new, healthy foods to toddlers.

and
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T040200.asp "ABC's of Teaching Nutrition to Kids" I thought this one was especially good because it teaches parents how to make learning about healthy food fun for kids. It talks about how to educate kids so that they make healthy choices on their own later on and so they know which kinds of food are healthy and why. The only thing I didn't agree with was that he suggested rewards, but everything else was pretty good advice. The article talks about referring to "grow" foods for kids. Your son is not too young for this. The earlier you start, the better.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/1...

It's really important that she get used to eating vegetables as young as possible. You probably also want to stay away from processed foods like chicken nuggets, lunch meats, and sugary things. The processed foods have all kinds of additives and chemicals that can cause all kinds of problems, including behavior concerns. The more whole, fresh food she eats, the better, especially while her body is growing so quickly and using up all those nutrients in whatever she eats.
Best wishes!

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M.L.

answers from St. Louis on

Thats alright she should start eating what you all eat by now anyway. You feed her she will tell you when she has had enough. Just keep introducing foods to her repeatedly. They change often. You can ground hanburger and put gravy or catsup on it like a sloppy joe not spicy though, mac and cheese. I bought for my grandaughter she is two and still loves these, they are like TV dinners on the shelf near the foods for toddlers. warm up for 30 seconds and let her feed herself. they have real tender green beans and noodles with veggies. I think they are by gerber.

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H.L.

answers from St. Louis on

My kids as little ones and still today LOVE vienna sausages. Those little hotdogs that come in a can. They are very mushey so there's less of a choking hazzard (why I liked them for little one) and it fits right in their hands which they love!! She won't eat Mac-n-cheese,speggettios?
Keep offering her the same foods, as she may start eating it and liking it. She can still be getting use to texture of the food. Pasta may just feel funny to her. Maybe try cutting it up finer. She should be able to eat just about everything you eat at dinner (with modifications)I would blend up my kids meat and then mix it with mashed potatoes.
But it sounds like you are off to a good start. Keep up the good work mom!

M.B.

answers from St. Louis on

When my baby reached 1 year her doctor said no more jar food and formula. For breakfast I would make her quaker old fashion oats in the microwave and then cut up bananas and strawberries really small and put it in the oatmeal. She loved it! Shes three and just recently stopped eating it when she discovered frozen waffles!! For lunch I would put meat and vegetables in a food processor together. She would usually eat what we had for dinner, I would just cut it real small. She was weird about somethings like potatoes, I couldnt get her to eat them in any form and still cant. I guess you just have to try different things all the time. Im still having to do that.

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L.B.

answers from St. Joseph on

The guidelines I was always given was that your childs stomach is roughly the size of their fist. I would continue to provide her with a broad spectrum of foods but realize that she might be a picky eater because you are dealing with a textural differece from the baby food. I've had 2 kids...the first was GREAT on baby food and sucks on real food...at 5 yrs old he continues to give me grief sticking stauchly to cheese pizza, hot dogs, pbj, ham and cheese and little else...the 3 yr old daughter wasn't great on baby food and plows through ANYTHING you hand her now... All I can say is keep exposing her to different things and hope for the best. I have found that everyone sitting down and eating together occasionally helps...also, if you can send her to a friends for play dates...often, the peer pressure or a new place will get her to eat different things that she normally wouldn't eat at home. I would still pack your friend an "emergency bag" of the stuff she will eat, but encourage a friend or family member to try different stuff on her. I would hear the most amazing stories from my sister-in-law of all the things my son would eat at her house...but NEVER at mine... Good luck Oh, and BTW- I don't really limit my daughter's food. I make sure that she has healthy choices but her body will tell her when to stop eating. My friend tried to control what her son was eating and all he would do was sneak and hide food around the house so mommy wouldn't know he was eating all the time...growing kids need the nourishment...they don't have the compulsions we have to keep eating beyond our full limit. So don't start a psychosis by holding back food from her. Just no sense in it. She'll be fine.

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A.D.

answers from Springfield on

Have you tried the Gerber lil entrees? There are about 6 different ones. They each have an entree and a veggie. They are in the baby food section. If anything thay are good in a pinch. I always kept one in the diaper bag in case we were somewhere that I couldnt find healthy food to feed my boys. just an idea.

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K.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Sounds to me like she's doing pretty well. I don't think she sounds picky at all. Just remember that children don't have the same taste buds as we do, but I think she's eating alot of different types of food. My son on the other hand is super picky. I wish he liked everything your daughter does. As long as she's gaining weight I wouldn't worry about it.

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T.R.

answers from Joplin on

well, at one she seems to eating pretty well, really. and if she's eating all of that stuff you need to start milk and nix formula or she'll be getting too many calories. just re offer over and over, finger foods are great, and just mix them in with other foods all together. it's not uncommon for them to be picky eaters.

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N.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I have had some of the same issues with my one year old daughter. I did end up going back to some babyfood meals because it seemed the only way to get some nutrition. She seems to change her mind about what she likes each day and just when I thought we were finished with the babyfood, she started eating it again. I have had to hid her fruit or vegetables in plain organic yogurt. ( she will eat anything in yogurt.) I usually put fruit and applesauce in her oatmeal too. She used to love bananas in there, but now she refuses them. We have moved on to pears. She also loves Chex cereal. When she starts refusing oatmeal, I put some of those on her tray and in her little to go cups when we are away from home. She also loves string cheese as a snack. I was told by my pediatrician not to worry if she is eating at least one good meal a day. Hope that helps a little!

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C.W.

answers from Kansas City on

You have a lot of good advice already on ideas on what to give your daughter, Take those to heart and remember the more it is offered over time, the more she will develope a liking for it.

In regards to how much a little one needs... I know that our Parent/Teacher educator told us that when our son was two that he only needed about 2 Tablespoons of food per meal for his little stomach. So remember that they fill up on very little... & Still now at 3 1/2 he does not seem like a big eater yet. For example if he grabs an average size bananna as a snack when we get home from work and daycare and eats it gone, he will barely eat dinner.

Another trick we started with my older son and have carried it on with the younger is, we want him to eat a bite for how old he is before he can be done with dinner. So now as a three year old, he knows he has to at least eat 3 bites for him to be excused from the table. This trick works and makes us feel better because he at least put something solid in his stomach. We carried this on with the older one until we saw that he would eat a decent meal with out our prompting him too which was around 8 or 9 years old.

Good luck & remember they will eat when they are hungry.

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A.H.

answers from Kansas City on

My one year old loves oatmeal mixed with yogurt or applesauce. She also loves to eat yogurt plain. She also likes ground beef plain or with taco seasoning. You might also try shredded cheese or cheese crumbles. Cottage cheese is a big hit too.

You would be surprised how little they actually eat. If she is drinking 12-15 ounces of milk a day, a few table spoons of food at a meal is plenty.

other things:

crackers, graham crackers, fish sticks, steamed white fish or salmon, chicken burgers, freeze dried fruit, baked potato with cottage cheese, rice, chicken noodle soup with most of the broth drained, pancakes with applesauce, eggs, french toast, taco meat, baked french fries, raw green beans, tomatoes, shredded wheat, string cheese, ritz crackers with cheese, dried banana chips, a tortilla with cream cheese, frozen waffle with cream cheese, hot dogs with the casing removed

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C.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I agree with the others, she's actually doing really well. My son would eat just about anything we put in front of him, but it took him a long time to start eating pastas, they were too slimy and tricky for him to pick up and eat. Also, in the peas department my kids LOVE peas, because I buy the frozen kind and put them in a bowl, run really warm water over them and let them sit and just barely thaw, so they are still somewhat cold and crispy... they eat them like crazy! My son also didn't start eating fruit until later on, he just didn't like anything very sweet for quite some time. Although I'd stick with real fruit over fruit juice, most doctors will tell you that's just extra sugar they don't need, and dentists will tell you that sugar on their teeth is pretty bad.

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H.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I have a food chart and here are some suggestions from it for toddlers.

serving sizes
Bread 1/4 to 1/2 slice
rice, pasta, cereal 1/4 cup
cooked or raw veggies or fruit 2 tablespoons
canned fruit 1/4 cup
milk and yogurt 1/2 cup
cheese 1 ounce
meat, poultry, fish 1 ounce
eggs 1/2 an egg
beans 2 Tablespoons

of course if she is still on formula then she wouldn't require full servings of anything and food is just a change of taste and learning experience but hopefully this food chart will help when she is off of formula and eating food for every meal.

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K.O.

answers from Wichita on

She actually eats a lot for her age. Children also go through "food jags" where they will only eat certain foods for a week or a month or so. Just be patient and keep offering her a variety of choices and she will eventually try new foods (sometimes this can take up to 15 introductions of the same food). Hang in there. She will eat what she needs when she is hungry for it. As long as she is healthy, there is no need to worry. Have a great day. K.

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