I Need Some Ideas for Feeding an 11 Month Old.

My daughter will be a year next week. I feed her avocados, squash, she eats BBQ chicken, corn, just to name a few. I always just give her what we are having for dinner and just cut it up smaller. The other night she even ate salad. =)

small pasta with scrambled eggs is great. My kids love it! Try small macaroni and then scramble and egg or two and toss in with the pasta (no sauce). I put butter, a little salt and parmesan cheese.

You've gotten a lot of good food suggestions here so I jsut wanted to recommend a great book I had called Super Baby Food Book. It's purple & comes in paperback. It has all kindsa great ideas for finger foods as well as lotsa recipes. It also also home-made cleaning recipes & ideas for arts & crafts projects. My fave was the part that tells you what fruit & veggies are best in what seasons.

I echo the other moms, and grandma, who say feed her what you eat. Give her just a bite (teaspoonful size) of a new food to try, then more if she likes it until she gets used to the new tastes. The one thing that I feel is importatn but I don't think has been mentioned is to be sure you are having her eat meals with the family at the family table. You will be giving her snacks in between, and I also think it's good for you to sit with her during these times rather than just to give her the snack and do other things while she's eating. This helps a child learn good eating habits and social skills at the same time.

I'm only a grandma, but our little one could also each peas, bananas, soft cheeses, peaches etc. Look when you are shopping--I'm sure more will pop out to you.

Avocado, Baked Potatoe, banana's, yogurt, waffles, Mac n Cheese, small chunks of cheese or string cheese, any fish you eat, green beans. Whatever you feed your 5 year old you should be able to adapt for your 11 month old.

sweet potato fries
almond butter and jelly sandwiches cut into little squares
turkey and swiss sandwiches cut into little squares (can spread soft avocado on the bread too)
(I usually cut about 4 times length wise and 4 times width)
steamed cauliflower with a light swiss cheese sauce (swiss cheese, milk, wheat flour to thicken)
Veggie booty (whole foods)
string cheese
ritz cracker "sandwich" with soy nut butter inside
sauteed green beans with a drizzle of soy sauce or stir fry sauce(saute until very soft -trick is to saute the garlic/oil and beans for awhile, then add a little water to help cook them and the water will steam off so don't add too much)
my daughter loves Tofu (sauteed with a tiny bit of asian sauce)
Rice a roni in several different flavors
Pasta roni (my daughter loves the basil angel hair)
mac & cheese with diced carrots and peas mixed in
egg omelette with spinach and shredded cheddar
(keep a block of frozen spinach in the freezer and scrape some off to put in any dish at any time)
toast with cream cheese (the whipped kind spreads great)
mini waffles
frozen mini bagels (great for teething)
at thai restaurant: pad thai or veggie dish
japanese restaurant: miso soup with tofu, veg tempura, chicken teriyaki)
steamed asparagus spears are fun
you said she loves avocado have you tried mild guacamole with pinto beans?
the mini small corn spears
chicken corn dogs cut up small
rotisseri chicken from Costco
mashed potatoes (for easy get the powdered kind)
sphaghetti o's
fish sticks
stuffed squash (summer squash stuffed with ground beef and rice mixture and simmered in a tomato sauce- its an arab dish called Mashi and my daughter loves it) it takes a little effort to make but stores well in the fridge for quick microwaving later in the week)
i haven't tried hambuger helper yet, but I may soon
one of my daughters absolute favorite is sauteed spinach (onions and olive oil in pan first until onions soft then put in the spinach and a little water until wilted) fast and easy to make but need fresh spinach

Around that age my daughter went through a phase where she loved creamy things like cottage cheese, yogurt and avocados. Then she hated them and only wanted crunchy things like crackers, freeze dried blueberries/strawberries, pirate booty and rice cakes. Friends recommended frozen peas which she loved, smushed kidney or other beans which she didn't love. Also around this time, I think I introduced "dipping" which is still a big thing at 17 months. She LOVES ketchup, ranch and HUMMUS is the big winner. She can take down a WW pita and a bowl of hummus in no time. She even got praise from the staff at a middle eastern restaurant for her hummus consumption! We often boil carrots and halve them so she can eat them like sticks when on the move. good luck!

Hi K.,
My daughter in law just asked me this question the other day. We also have an 11 month old.
Scrambled eggs,frozen chunks of banana's(they will love this too if teething)
chunks of cut up tomato & other easy to eat vegies. My boys loved to finger eat too. I use to love to put them in the high chair while I was cookiing dinner & give them cut up finger foods from whatever I was cooking.
I still can't figure out why BUT when they were little they would eat anything I put in front of them BUT NOW..all my kids grew up to be picky eaters.....??
Maybe it's just MY cooking...LOL
Sorry, little joke on me.
Good Luck, all the mom's here will give you some wonderful advice.....

My father told me many years ago that by the time a child is a year old he can eat what his parents do... It did work with my children. My pediatrician told me that after the protein, the plate should have a green vegi and a red/orange vegi. The choices that you give your daughter are wonderful but for variation you can add more red/orange. My daughter's favorites were carrots and sweet potatoes, or yams. Also, all summer and winter squashes. My mother used to make spinach pancakes (more spinach than batter) and since than we always loved spinach...

Enjoy!
D. Orr
daliacoachesparents.com

My son is now 2 and 1/2, but we have always fed him everything. He is now a great eater and we believe it is because we always gave him a vast diet.
Your daughter is probably capable of eating almost anything as long as it is cut small enough for her.
My son loves avacados and bananas. Also, lunch meat is an easy thing to tear into pieces for her. Tomatoes are great as well as little cubes of cheese.

waffles, oatmeal, boca burger patties, peaches, yogurt, scrambled egg yolks, cheerios, pears, flavored tofu cubes.

K. J.....I have an 11 month old grandaughter and my daughter feeds her everything..Just start giving her the same things you eat. Just chop them up...Just sticking to these special things will create a picky eater..I have several friends that when raising their kids I would see them give them the same old same old...mac n cheese ..hot dogs...chicken nuggets..you know...Now these older kids are very difficult to please if you go out and eat...Giving them the variety is great!! My grandaughter eats literally what they eat and she loves to go to chinese food!! finely cut up the different foods and you will see what a diverse eater you will have...of course stay away from the nuts and honey and peanut butter...good luck...let me know how it goes!!

this is what i give my 10 1/2mo old son...loves a whole variety of foods: peas, corn, asparagus (canned cuz softer), avocado, baked: yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes. cooked carots. banana, mandarin oranges (he can’t eat those fast enough!), peaches, pears, cheerios, gerber puffs or like, veggie sticks (trader joes kind or any grocery store), yogurt melts (i cut them in half), boiled/shredded chicken, cheese, cottage cheese, graham crackers. when i crock pot beef those veggies are always so soft & flavorable.

Thanks for asking this question! I have a 10 month old I have been thinking the same thing about : - )

Some things I give my daughter are: avacado (she would eat these everyday if I let her...and I heard they are very good for them with good fat and other nutrients), yogurt, cherrios (more than puffs cuzz they have more nutrition in them), potato prepared anyway, smashed blueberries, cottage cheese (she loves this to), refried beans, good luck~!

You can keep giving her the same stuff again and again --- she won't get tired of it, and you're feeding her a nicely balanced diet. You might want to see if she likes yogurt. My oldest son, who's now 18, didn't want anything but yogurt for months, and he would literally try to bathe in it. I have the cutest pictures!

Another idea I didn't see mentioned before is french toast. We have that for dinner often, usually with whatever fruit I have available chopped up and put on top. It's a big hit. Nectarines, peaches, quartered grapes, and blueberries work well-they are soft fruits. Also, if you make oatmeal a little thicker than usual, it sticks together and she can pick it up by herself. It works for sticky rice as well. I have to agree with the other posts- as much as you can, feed her the same things you are eating! Often, you may have to vary it a little in order to make it easier for your daughter, but it will pay off in the long run!

Hi- I always fed my babies what the adults were eating. At 11 months just chop it up a bit. You have a good list of snacks for when she may eat alone. I would bake sweet potatoes for my kids at that age. They also loved black beans, nearly any fruit, sweet green peas and tofu or veggie dogs. Try to expose her to lots of "adult foods" at a pretty young age, you'll be happy later that she may be more happy eating what you are.

What about scrambeled eggs? Bits of cheese? Small pieces of cracker? Peas and carrots (the chopped ones from teh freezer are perfect), yogurt is good to eat with fingers, raspberry's are soft.....oh and cheerios are good too.

In addition to what others have already said, our 13-month-old daughter enjoys cheese and tofu cubes, peaches, bananas, avocados, and graham crackers with cream cheese or peanut butter. We also cook chicken thighs or legs just for her, and cut them up at dinner time (alternative to the nuggets, if you're looking for something like that). I have an oatmeal-based breakfast that I make for myself every morning (oatmeal, granola, peanut butter, yogurt and banana) which my daughter goes CRAZY for. We've discovered that she's much more interested in food when we're eating with her, and she's typically super interested in WHAT we're eating, so we do try to feed her "normal" food whenever possible. Sometimes, though, the timing just doesn't work out, so it's definitely good to have foods available for her that are "hers." Sounds like you're doing great!

When my kids were little, we also gave them peas which they could pick up easily. As for pasta, I always tried to do ravioli with some type of vegetable filling. Banannas are also easy for them to handle at this age.

J. F.

Your a great mom to want to give her variety.

Potato cut into cubes and baked with a little seasoning on them is a good one. Sweet potatoes done the same way are great. You can even buy them already cut up in a plastic pouch in the produce section. Do you give her brown rice? Too much pasta is a lot of white flour which isn't great for blood sugar. Maybe you could try whole wheat pasta to get them used the the flavor while they are young.

In my opinion, it is a good idea to give her small pieces of chicken without the breading. It is much healthier for kids to eat broiled chicken instead of learning to only eat it in the form of fried nuggests. The earlier you introduce it the better! Not sure what kids of meatballs you are using but ground turkey is also a good. Some garlic salt and italian seasoning and they love it.

I almost forgot...when my daughter was that age, I used to mix kidney beans with mixed vegetables (the frozen peas and carrots work well). I'd add some tomato sauce(not too much, you want the mixture thick so she can practice with a spoon!) and warm it then sprinkle on a little parm cheese. She loved it! You can even shred a little zucchini into the sauce. She'll never know it is there.

The broccoli and green beans are great! Lots of veggies at this age when they are still interested in trying things is great. Try to introduce lots of different colors so they get all differnet vitamins. I cut up sweet yellow peppers and my kids love them! Another easy one to eat is spinach leaves. They can eat them raw and dip them in some dressing. They don't have that funny spinach smell when they are raw. Great source of iron! People never think their kids will eat these things but you will be surprised!

Nectarines are very soft. So are kiwis. Does she like bananas? Sort of high in sugar but a couple of times per week is good. Can sometimes cause constipation. Look out!

The more variety the better and the lesser the chance of developing food allergies to foods eaten several times per day. Rotating foods is the best.

There is a great book called "Deceptively Delicious" that you might want to try. Great recipes tested by kids!
http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/

Good luck!

i agree with the other moms, she can each what you eat. sweet potato french fries are a hit at our house, and i sneak in pureed carrots or pureed sweet potato to mac'n'cheese. any over cooked vegie, carrots, etc. good lucks, sounds like you're doing great!