Good Finger Foods for an Almost 1 Year Old?

My daughter loved (and still does) cut up avocado. It's packed with vitamins and the good fat babies need. She even got handy at using her spoon to scoop out the avocado from the shell.

Seems like a lot of people have said a lot of the ideas I had. My kids also love ravioli... cut into little pieces, or, my older daughter loves to just hold them and nibble. (you can try meat ones, rigotta, or even the spinich rigotta... they don't taste any different). Also, get some frozen meatballs... they are easy to just microwave a few at a time. My 15 month old son who isn't much of a meat eater (only has his 4 front teeth), loves meatballs because they are soft. Also, try meatloaf. You can add anything ie. veggies, eggs and oats to the ground meat with the seasonings...
Just try anything. Some people make the mistake of thinking they won't like something so they put off trying it. However, my 3 year old daughter LOVES steamed spinich to this day... we started giving it to her before she was one. (my son isn't as fond of it, but he likes some things she never did).... trial and error... then try again!!
Good Luck

at that age both my boys were eating whatever we ate....just in smaller pieces....even steak....even younger....their gums are hard and strong and can mash anything.....dont limit her choices...except for nuts, she can have anything....thats what parents all over the world do....kids eat whats available to them and its no problem.
as far as him being bored with the choices....little ones really dont care about variety...thats an adult attribute, not a tots...you seem to be doing fantastic.

we always try to feed our kids (boy,4 and girl,1 also in june) what we eat so we are not stuck having to make 3 differant meals. Probably not a big deal now for you but it will be down the road. My one year old rarley will let me feed her solid foods she always feeds herself. Some of her favorites are: Yogurt, cottage cheese, grilled cheese,any cheese really, black beans, broccli,carrots,lima beans,the frozen veggie steamer bags are great, tortalini, spaghettios with meatballs, toast,turkey, chicken, steak,all mexican, refried beans, rice,ect. She is even really into letttuce right now, I think she thinks I'm letting her eat leaves :) I just think varity is important. Good luck

Cook a sweet potato in the microwave, peel and cube - kids love them and they are sooooo healthy. Also, I would buy canned beans, just rinse and pile on the high chair - excellent source of protein - black beans were my kids favorites. I also bought frozen veggies instead of canned and would literally just thaw on counter in some luke warm water and the kids loved them that way. Cheesy toast was also quick and easy.

Remember, now is your turn to totally form her pallet, so don't be afraid to throw some herbs - mint with peas, basil, etc. to let her get used to the flavors.

Most of all, have fun!

We have given our daughter table food from the beginning first blending it and then as finger food. For the most part she eats what we are eating. If we are eating something she can not have then she gets leftovers. Other staples in our house are avacado, canned beans (she loves kidney, black and garbanzo beans) and frozen peas and carrots. You can also try cut up grapes, apple and pears. We have given her fish fresh or frozen fish sticks, brocolli, chicken... She eats better than me, she even likes brussle spouts.

Just try everything and anything. She may like it one day and not the next but keep trying new things. I also found that ranch dressing makes everything better and at 15 mo she has to dunk it herself.

Firstly, I want to say that your daughter already eats a great variety of foods--my 3 1/2 year old doesn't eat that many different things! I few other additions could be: pizza (cut small), chicken, cheese, cereal and crackers! Good luck!

you can give her slices of cheese, any kind that she'll eat (my daughter likes the sharp ones just as well as the mild ones), you can make a batch of corn bread muffins, keep them in the freezer and take out as you need. feta cheese spread on pieces of bread is great too.
you can give her all sorts of veggies: corn (fresh or from the can) and beans are great, as they like to pick them with their little fingers (corn comes out the other end pretty much the way it went in, so don't be surprised). Cucombers, tomatoes, fresh peppers are also great (cukes and peppers make a great snack to bring outside too).
and you can give her any fruit, mango, mellon, watermellon (an absolute favorite), orange, starfruit, peaches, papaya, anything you can think of and anything that's in season. fruits make a mess for a little self-feeder person, but she'll have so much fun with them (eating and squeezing them all over).
an omlette (make any variety you want) makes for great finger good.
I would stay away from hot dogs and hamburgers at this age, opt for organic chicken (grilled or baked) instead.
have fun with it!

At a year old, she should be learning to manipulate a spoon and fork. You are setting yourself up by giving her different food. Feed her what you eat; that way when she is 3, 4, 12 she won't expect you to make her a separate meal because she doesn't want what you are eating. My SIL did this, and now with a 10 year old and 14 year old she ends up making 3 completely different meals almost every night. When my son was born, her kids were 3 and 7 and before he started eating solids, she told me to do myself a favor and don't ever set myself up the way she did herself!

My son has been eating table food since 8 or 9 months and now at 6, he is not a picky eater at all and will try anything, including raw oysters!

You can try some cut up yam. my son also loves loves loves beans (black or garbanzo). The black beans ensure that he has to get a bath that evening, but he really does enjoy feeding them to himself. Rice is also good, but it does make a mess. He also likes to feed himself steamed cut up celery and cauliflower. Oh, and peas.

I'm also trying to expand what we feed him, so I'm looking forward to seeing the responses you get. Good luck.

We found ourselves in the same rut a few months ago, primarily b/c I was worried about feeding him things that weren't marketed as "baby food". Then we went to visit my parents in FL and I walked outside to see my father holding my son (10 months at the time) feeding him salmon off the grill. It hit me then that he could eat whatever we were eating.

Some things my son loves:
- Diced chicken
- any pasta
- flaked fish
- diced steamed or roasted veggies
- sandwiches cut into "pick-up" size (I do ham or turkey and cheese with just a little mayo)
- grilled cheese
- sliced tomatoes
- cinnamon toast (Pepperidge Farm cinnamon bread with a little butter)

Keep in mind that little ones don't necessarily crave variety, so it's okay if she has the same things several times in one week as long as the meals are balanced!

S.,

With a few exceptions and barring any allergy problems, an 11 month old can eat just about everything you do. Cut her food up really small or make certain things like rice and pasta softer for her. One thing I would suggest is giving her fresh veggies instead of canned, we are heading into the season of fresh fruits and veggies, take advantage of it.

Good luck,
R.

My daughter loves those Earth's best mini waffles. They are easy to toast and take on the road too. I cut up canned pears and put a teaspoon or so of cinnamon in them and heat them slightly. My little one will eat those when she won't eat anything else! We steam fresh, cut up veggies and add things like olive oil with fresh dill or basil for flavor--no need for salt or sugar when there are so many different spices to try!

My daughter loves Dr. Prager's veggie pancakes. They are frozen and they have spinach and potato, broccoli and potato, potato, and mixed veggie. She also really likes veggie burgers and tofu hot dogs. She doesn't like too many meats so these are good alternatives. She does like ham. She loves ravioli too.

Hi S.

Congratulations on your soon to be bundle of joy! Also, I know how you feel--I went through this with all 3 of my girls and now again with my 13 mo. old son. You know what I do? I give him cut up apples, organic yogurt, diced peaches or pineapple, Pepperidge Farm whole grain goldfish crackers, small pieces of multi grain bread dipped in a little applesauce or yogurt, and small cut up pieces of cucumber and tomato (very small pieces b/c some foods can be a choking hazard at that age). I also gave my son some grilled cheese at 11 mos. for the first time and he's loved it ever since. I find that kids are like us: we like variety, don't you agree? I hope this helps you out a bit. Take care and again, congrats!!

Thin crust pizza, pierogies,(kids loved the mashed potatoes out of them,plus make different ways). I even started making boiled pierogies with little butter and added the cheese veggies on top. Can add chopped hamburger with it to. French fries with gravy or cheese or plain. Fruit cocktail. Or make your own fruit salad. My kids pick at that all day to this day. Cucumbers cut small with ranch dressing to dip or plain. Crackers. Crackers with cheese on side. Raviolis.start with some stuff you eat to.just small bite sizes. Peaches, pears stuff like that. Chicken,etc.

Wow I have to say that you are doing great on the eating so far!

Some other ideas for finger foods: edamame, other beans, when grape tomatos (you judge if she is ready for these now/not. you can cut in half initially), crackers, little sandwiches - like hummus between wheat bread, cheerios (my daughter loves them so much I call them baby french fries. but they are good for you) - cascadian farms has an organic one with less sugar than cheerios (or no sugar.. I forget), potatos - baked wedges, or like cubed and sauteed, try veggies - zuccini sticks or wedges (depends on what she likes) , brocolli, peas, corn, diff kinds of beans/peas.

here is a good website: wholesomebabyfood.com

good luck - sounds like u r doing great already!

At 1 I pretty much tried to feed my girl the same things we were eating, just cut small.

My 21 month old son was totally feeding himself by one year--with some exceptions.
I agree with everything on your list. I also give my son a veggie soup which is great to use up leftover veggies, carrots, corn, zuccini, broccoli, spinach, anything that is lying around. I also put in small pasta like orzo or the little balls that you find in wedding soup. and you could add meat too, really anything which is what I love about soup!
I make meatballs out of any ground meat, beef turkey or chicken which he LOVES! the ones you buy premade have too much salt and filler in them, so I make a big batch and freeze them, then take out two at a time and microwave them for him! He loves chicken sausage too. Rice is good, but I make it sticky so he can pick it up. Sometimes I will put stirfried veggies and chicken or pork with it.
Any kind of pasta like you said is good, we also love lasagna and we give him that too.
Additional veggies that we have had luck with, corn (we buy it frozen), broccoli-the hands down fav, and mased potatoes and mashed butternut squash.
And by the way, all of the above are things that we eat ourselves. So I usually make enough dinner to have leftovers and then he eats them either with us or the next day. John eats dinner about 2 hours before us, because we both work full time so I can't walk in and get a meal on the table for the family in time for his bedtime(plus hubby works late alot). So leftopvers really work for us and help with the evening time line.
I haven't done this in a while but I used to make him lentils and mix in a little oil and sweet curry, couldn't be easier, takes like 10-15 minutes to boil soft. I ate tons of indian food and crave spicy foods when I was pregnant, so he never seems to mind bold flavors.
On nights when we are too tired to fight about food we have frozen chicken nuggets and fish patties (he doesn't like the sticks, just the bigger patties). and that is always a winner.
Fruits are also always good--we do everything you say but also blueberries and apples and grapes. There are great freeze dried fruits that my friends get like the "just apples" or I think there is a different brand at costco. When John was really little we would cut the grapes in half, but he is bigger now and doesn't eat too fast, so we are giving them whole at this point.
Good luck! I am sure you will get lots of help on this one!

My daughter eats what ever we eat. Except things that are hard to chew like steak and pork chops. She loves mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, chicken, any kind of pasta with red sauce, applesauce, yogurt, crackers. We just put it on her plate and let her feed herself. Might be messy but that is what they make soap for. She is very independent and wants to do things herself. Depending on how many teeth she has you have to be very careful what you give her. Somethings may be hard to chew without teeth. Saltine crackers are good cause they dissolve very easily. My daughter is now 16 months and loves hotdogs, popcorn, pretzels, fish sticks and french fries. I make them in the oven so that they are less greasy. But she also has 13 teeth and she can chew them better. Use your best judgement and let her go at it. As she gets older you can give her more to TRY. Ask your pedi if they have a list of what foods to feed her. Mine keeps a whole folder on the wall to take. When in dought look it up on the internet. Hope this helps. Good luck and Congrats on the new baby!

Some more suggestions: Green peas will keep a toddler busy for a long time! ALso, but a wheat pita in half and put a half slice of cheese in each half. These fit nicely in your toaster and lightly toast to melt the cheese. Let cool of course and then cut into smaller triangles for her hands. Also, mandarin oranges are affordable in a can or jar and don't have the tough skin like navel oranges. They are bite size and a perfect toddler meal. I also but the fruit snack cups (in water or light syrup) and rinse the syrup or drain the water. They are nice and small chunks already. Buy frozen mini-ravioli or cheese tortellini too.