What to Feed My 1 Year Old?

I have 10 month old twin boys who haven't had jarred baby food for months. I've read the previous responses and have just a few additions:

cherries- I buy the frozen ones and dice them up with frozen peaches, they are extremely healthy and good for the immune system

mango-I buy them frozen and dice them up

sweet potato fries-buy in the freezer section

crushed pineapple

pears

frozen butternut squash (this is one of the boys' favorites)

Good Luck!

Hi Katheryn,

I have a 4 yr old and an 11mo old. With my first daughter I too, was nervous to feed her anything besides baby food, and now I have a very picky eater. My second daughter on the other hand, eats everything we eat, from artichokes to onions. I haven't found one food that she doesn't like. So I guess what I am saying is, don't be afraid to let her eat new things, this is how babies learn. And it will save you a lot of hassle in the years to come. Good Luck, and have fun!

Hi Katheryn:
We've recently been expanding the menu for our 10mo. old and I've asked some mom friends the same thing. Here are some interesting and easy options:
--Birds Eye makes bagged mixed veggies (peas, carrots, corn) that you just throw in the micro for 5 minutes and they're steamed in the bag. Great finger food and easily storable in tupperware.
--My friend has a 13mo. old that LOVES simple quesadillas -- throw some cheese on a tortilla and microwave. All set!
--My other friend bought cans of soup and strained the broth out before giving the noodles, veggies and meats to his 15mo. old.
--Those Suddenly Salad boxes are great -- once you cook the noodles, put some aside for baby before making the rest. Pasta in small bites is great.
--Also, egg yolks are supposed to be fine and a good source of protein. Boil some eggs and break up the hard centers for finger food, maybe mixed with the veggies.
--Our baby loves when daddy makes pancakes -- soft and easy to digest.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the responses! Good luck...

I have 3 kids right now 12 y/o girl, 3 y/o girl & 23 m/o boy and one due next month. I don't remember much about the feeding of my oldest... she is being raised by her grandparents. I was very young when I had her.

But anyways... the two little ones started eating some "table" foods when they were only 6 mo old. We started them out eating only mashed potatoes and small pcs of pasta. Then we worked our way from there... by the time they were almost one they were sitting at the table basicly eating what we were eating. So of their favorits seem to be Stir-fri, homemade veg beef soup or chicken noodle soup, mac & cheese, meatloaf w/ mash potatoes, pancakes, bbq chicken, french fries, spagetti or stuffed shells and any kind of friut we can cut up for them (we usualy skin the fruits w/ skins). I know most of their favorits aren't quick fixes, but they also like any of the Chef Boyrde's and Spagetti O's... they are easy to fix and some of them come in the little micro containers now, plus you can get the mac & cheese in single serve micro packs now too.

Most of the time my little ones would rather have a small bowl of fruit for a snack then anything else - even if is't just some mixed fruit out of a can. They really like their fruits :) They also liked the Gerber Puffs when they were littler and still like gram craker sticks.

I do hope this helped a little... good luck with trying the new foods. I'm sure she will find lots of things she really likes and some that she doesn't. We all have our favorit food and the ones we can live without. Take care!

My son just went in for his 9 month check up this week. His doctor gave us the green light to give him table food. I had already been giving him taste tests of my food but his doctor suggested pretty much anything but peanut butter, eggs, chocolate or honey.

We just returned from my daughter's one year checkup, and her doctor said that she can pretty much eat whatever table foods we are eating as long as they are cut up into small pieces (stay away from hot dogs, grapes, nuts--anything easily choke-able). She already eats lots of table foods cut up, and she only has four teeth (and two of them aren't even grown in yet). They can mash them up with their gums. She eats small pieces of chicken, peas, pasta, puffed rice cereal, mashed potatoes, rice, etc. The meat sticks and diced veggies and fruits they sell in the baby food aisle are also good. I think my first daughter stopped with the jarred food a few months after her first birthday. Then, they're on to the good stuff! They really enjoy feeding themselves at this age, too. Enjoy!

Start introducing her to foods that you and your husband eat. Especially the fruits and veggies that are well cooked (like baby carrots, perfect for her age). Yogurt, mashed taters, eggs, cheese, these are all in the clear now.

Hi, lots of good ideas already so I'll just add my experience!
My short answer is, just about anything that's been cooked enough or is already soft! (like someone else said, though, no peanut butter at first--technically they say 3 years, although I gave small amounts before that)
I think it's good to introduce new foods one at a time and wait a couple days to make sure there's no allergy before just totally adding it (not each fruit or veggie but things like dairy and strawberries that are often allergenic). That said, I admit I kind of abandoned that idea after awhile with my dd when she wasn't allergic to anything!
She almost NEVER ate jar food! and I am not someone who likes to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I'm all about convenience too. One thing I did was buy several snack tubs (like Tupperware) and snack size ziplocks, and prepack stuff so it was quick when I needed it.
A good book is "SUPER BABY FOODS," and you could get it out of the library to try it. It's not all easy stuff so I didn't use all of the ideas, but it's still got some good ideas and good information about health, as well as craft ideas (like edible playdough). One of the things she suggests is freezing cooked foods in ice cube trays, and then they're pretty convenient.

I say try things that you don't eat, even, not just things you like. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean she won't! For ex, my 1 yo even loved wasabi peas (now she says they are too "(s)'picy" ha ha)

My dd loved :

avocados (VERY good for you, and easy),

plain yogurt (no sugar or fruit in it!),

soups,

noodles (whole wheat is healthier),

crackers,

almost any fruit (even small chunks of apple, not cooked),

cooked broccoli "trees", peas & spinach,

oatmeal and oatbran (again, nothing added),

macaroni and cheese,

chicken,

brown rice, and other grains like quinoa, barley, millet for variety

ground beef

egg yolks (scrambled or hard boiled),

FISH

etc. Basically, almost any leftovers.

They make nitrate free hot dogs and deli meats, if you want something quick like that and want to avoid the yucky stuff! If you live near a Trader Joe's, Wild Oats, or Mustard Seed they have lots of quick foods like that, with healthier ingredients (no artificial colors, chemicals, etc.). Or, in LaGrange there's the Manna Storehouse (look for their website).
Have fun!
Lynn

I too have been a bit overprotective of what to give my 1 year old. Nicolas turned 1 last week. Although I have been giving him little bits, I just kind of started introducing new things. Ever since he's been given more table foods, he seems to turn his nose up at the jars of baby food (he'll still eat a little). He doesn't care too much for bananas in little pieces, I think it is a texture thing. He loves beans (refried or baked beans), turkey, chicken, hot dog (we've only tried that once), ground beef (meatloaf), strawberries, potatoes, peaches, green beans, carrots. I even give him a little rice here and there and cheese and cottage cheese and yogurt. He loves french toast/pancakes and toasted bread as well.

He still eats the baby cereal mixed with milk and a little jar fruit every morning, and since he is at daycare they feed him jar food still for lunch and he gets crackers or cookies for a snack along with his sippy cup of milk.

My doc said at his 1-year checkup that he should be mostly eating table foods now. I agree that jar food is easier when you are on the go, but I think it will get easier the more he gets used to eating the table foods. Good luck!

Oh.. and whoever said that those Gerber Puffs were like "baby crack"...that is SO TRUE! Nicolas LOVES those and can put those away!

Hi,

At this age, and with as many teeth as she has, she can eat just about anything. Just not things that can cause her to choke like hotdogs, popcorn, grapes (unless cut up) and try to incorporate good eating habits now. You can pretty much get rid of the baby food if you want to. If not, you can still use the stage 3 jars, but you shouldn't be feeding them to her 3x a day. Instead, she should be eating people food. Here is what my daughter usually eats. By the way, Gerber makes tiny meals now and they are great (one side has veggies, the other either pasta, or meats) and you can find them with the older kids foods in the baby aisle. My daughter is 14 months, but this has been her usual diet for about 3 or 4 months now.

Breakfast: 8-8:30AM
Omlette or scrambled eggs with cheese OR some fruit like a cut up banana and about 8 ounces of milk and some cereal. She will also eat pancakes or waffles. Not all at once, but, you get the idea...she will basically eat anything breakfasty

Snack: 11-11:30
some wheat crackers, or wagon wheels, or fruit, or cheese and some diluted juice

Nap: 11:30-1:30

Lunch: 1:30-2
anything from turkey to ham to pasta or veggies. Everyday it's different and 6-8 ounces of milk

Snack: 4-4:30
sometimes yogurt, or cheese, or fruit

Dinner: 6-6:30
some sort of meat (turkey or chicken) or pasta of some sort, like spaghetti and veggies (my daughter loves to hold and eat broccoli)

7-7:30 another bottle of milk before bed.

mac & cheese, pasta, rice, yogurt, eggs,diced peaches & pears, green beans & carrots (gerber graduates has them in jars). nutrigrain bars,waffles,pancakes,chicken nuggets, hot dogs, cut in small pieces, fish sticks,lunchables,toast,grilled cheese, tuna fish,mashed potatoes,basically anything you eat she can also as long as cut up small for her. since daughter is only 1 y/o should probably be on whole milk until 2 y/o unless dr told you it was ok to give 2%.

My daughter just turned 1 last week, and although she still eats alot of baby food, I've given her tons of table food, too. She likes waffles, toast, cheese, yogurt, mac & cheese, cooked carrots, Tyson chicken nuggets torn up in bite size pieces, lunchmeat, garlic bread (lol), and I'm sure more that I can't think of at the moment. Her breakfast usually consists of 5 oz. of whole milk/formula (we're in the process of gradually eliminating formula), a 4 oz. jar of fruit and about 2-3 oz. of jarred cereal. Lunch is usually table food, and dinner really depends on what we're having. She has 8 teeth and chews really well. She also likes thin slices of apples, bananas, Goldfish, Kix, Cheerios, etc.

Good luck!

Hello. You are where I was 9 months ago. My inlaws made fun of me and still do to this day because they think I am too over protective of my son. He's my first and only right now. He had at least that many teeth when he was a year old and I fed him about anything and he drank about anything, with the exception of pop. I just know that I have to keep variety in his food life or he gets bored and won't eat. Right now he's not eating hot dogs because I fed them too much to him. I would definetly try new things, now is the time to introduce new good foods to your child so they get on a healthy eating routine. There isn't much my son won't eat and he's 19 months old. If you're in a rush, you could do instant mashed potatos, spaghetti o's, microwave mac and cheese, grilled cheese or those little bowl dinners are great. My son loves his canned fruit and veggies too!! I feed them all the time with his lunch and dinner. Good luck and don't be scared, your child has a lot of teeth and will do great!!! Good luck and enjoy the time.

Katheryn, my daughter turned 1 in March and I already had her on regular food by then. Well, some toddler foods but not much. In the toddler foods I still buy her pasta pickups, she likes those because she can eat them herself. I buy canned veggies, some may prefer fresh, she eats peas, grean beans corn etc...I cut up strawberries, bananas, kiwi etc...for her. No Apples or hard fruits yet. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, if I pealed the apple and cut it into teeny tiny peices she probly could eat it. She has all her molars in now. She likes hot dogs cut up small, chicken nuggets cut up. Spaghetti, whatever meat we have, chicken etc...we cut up small for her. You do still have to keep your eye on her of course but you little one should be able to eat alot of differnt things now.

Hope that helped! Oh, she loves green peppers too!

S.

At this point, she is old enough to eat just about anything that you are eating. My son hated the stage 3 foods, so when our doctor told us to start trying table food, we did. We gave him whatever we were eating cut into small finger foods. He even had Christmas dinner. You also shouldn't be at too big of a risk for allergies since she's already had so much. I was told no strawberry or peanut products until they are 2. But, I know that people do. So, have fun. Anything that makes finger food is great. My son's favorite was Michealena's Wheels & cheese.

Try adding frozen blueberries to the oatmeal.

Frozen Cinammom French Toast Sticks

Canned mandarin oranges

wheat toast w/cinnamon sugar

yogurt

any kind of pasta, especially mac n cheese

cheese slices (broken up) and any kind of cracker

goldfish crackers

applesauce

cottage cheese (looks gross, but Lucy loves it!)

any canned or frozen veggies

tuna fish salad

scrambled eggs

waffles

pancakes

I don't know if this will help but I have a 18 month old son and I too did the same thing. You just need to let go and let her try new things. For example my son in the morning will eat somekind of fruit or mix fruit cup, peanut butter sandwhich, baby/toddler yogert, cereal etc...., snacks include, crakers, real fruit snacks, raisan, toddler snack food, fruit, healthy choice chips etc..., Lunch mixed vegies, salad, hotdogs, turkey sandwhich, pasta, tuna etc..., Dinner whatever I fix for dinner. You just have to be smart on what you give them like the hotdogs they can get choke you need to cut it long ways then short was, if some vegies seem to hard steam them... I think that's about it I might of gave you a little to much info sorry

A.

doesn't look like much variety to me. don't forget the cheeses and dairy products!! little bits of cheese or cottage cheese-my son loved that. or yogurt. you can feed her beans or soup with little bits of veggies or meat that are soft. you might start offering small cut up bits of soft fruit and veggies, rather than from a jar. peaches and pears.

My son has been eating actual table foods since he was 10 months (he will be 1 on friday the 18th).
fresh fruits are great finger foods, especially for breakfast. he loves banana slices and oatmeal!

Im still leary myself about giving him meats, but i tried those little cheat vienna sausages (sp?)and he loves them. they are really soft, so its pretty hard for him to choke on them.

we use the little chef boyardee (sp? lol ) mini dinners. the ones that come in the microwaveable cups. those are great. microwave them for 30secs instead of the 1min that it suggests because they end up being toooo hot.
also any canned chunky soup is great. the progresso ones are nice, specially like the chunky chicken noodle. the chicken is tender enough that it doesnt take much chewing, and the noodles are nice finger foods.

he also loves those little rice puffs. like from gerber or the parent choice ones. he would eat those all day long if i let him. (we call them his "baby crack" lol )

he hasnt really wanted to eat the baby food for a long time. he threw a fit everytime i tried to feed it to him, or blew it back in my face with "raspberries".

good luck with it ^^
your little one has more teeth than mine, so she surely should do well with more tablefoods ^^

I know how hard it is! I want to give my one year variety, but it is difficult to be sure she gets all of her nutrition.

Here are some things I feed my daughter:

Breakfast:
waffles with lite syrup or all fruit preserves
smoothie (I blend bananas and strawberries with a little juice)
yogurt with smoothie and some oatmeal baby cereal
muffins made with applesauce and bananas, oat bran, wheat flour
toast with all fruit preserves
sweet potatoes with applesauce and add cereal

Lunch
vege burger
vege hotdog
cheese (she likes all types)
peas/carrots/ other veges (I use frozen and blend it up with some juice or water)
grilled cheese
mac -n-cheese
rice and lentils
meat ( small pieces from whatever we had the night before)
pieces of fruit

Dinner
meatloaf
vege burgers
pasta
vege (same as above)
pieces of meat we are eating
fruit
cheese
I want to try her on tofu

when my son turned 1 he was pretty much eating the same things we ate. just a smaller portion and only foods that were mushy or very small cut. he also wanted to feed himself. for breakfast he would have some cheerios with milk and a banana. he ate all different vegetables(peas,carrots,beans, mashed potatoes) i also bought canned peaches and cut the pieces small and he liked that too. a good snack idea could be yogurt although my son got really messy with that. i hope this is helpful

I remember a new food every week-2 weeks...once we got past oatmeal for 2 months we started a new food every week to two weeks. Once we knew he could handle chunks and didn't gag on them we started him on regular people food. I don't remember buying baby jar food for that long. Maybe 6 months at the most. If I was feeding him level three baby food, I felt he was capable of eating ground up whatever we ate. So that's what I did. He didn't teeth until he was 11 months old. (Yup, that's when he got his first tooth), but he was eating regular food with ease. Just remember to only indroduce one food at a time, incase of an allergic reaction, you know what food it was to!