Finger Foods for Baby

I've peeled and baked apples for my 9-mo old. I put the peeled, cored apples in a covered baking dish and start with just a little water in the bottom of the dish - to keep them nice and moist. After that, let them cool a bit and dice them to the size you want. You can keep testing doneness with a fork or toothpick until you get the right degree of softness you're looking for.

Two other finger foods I've had success with are sweet potato and butternut squash. Both can be baked - or nuked if time is an issue. Both are also a little bit sweet and very easy to prepare. They are a good transition food. If you want better step-by step instructions, e-mail back and I'm happy to give the full details.

Hope these ideas are helpful.

Have you tried making wheat toast and cutting it up? I give that to my 7 mo. old and she loves it. I don't put anything on it. You could also boil a potato and cut it up. Marlie also likes cut up kiwi. You could boil apples and cut them up. You could try crackers without the salt. Hope this helps!!

How about beans, breakfast sausage broken into really small pieces. You could also steam veggies on the stove and freeze/refrigerate them until you need them.

Here are some things I fed my daughter when she went through that phase small, soft pieces of avocado and pears. Pears are really soft. Cooked rice, white or whole grain, toast cut into tiny pieces, shredded chicken or turkey, shredded cheddar cheese. There is also a web site calle wholesomebabyfood.com that has great ideas and recipes for meals and finger foods. Good luck!

the gerber foods are great but expensive! great value has little single serve cups of veges and my 9 month old loves the carrots and they are real soft, she likes the green beans to, but i cut then in half. little slivers of avacodo, mango, and peices of sliced cheese are some of her favys. she loves cooked vegetables like zuchini, squash, and broccoli sauteed in butter until they are kinda squishy. hope any of this helps and good luck with your picky eater my lil girl is picky to!

Have you tried the mesh bags? You can put pretty much anything in them, and the baby sucks and bites on them until it comes out of the bag. But it's mushy when it comes out, so totally safe for them. They're a pain to clean, but we found it worth the time/effort with our son.

Give her whatever you're eating. We had spaghetti the other day, and I fixed my 8 month old a bowl and she ate it up with her hands. She was a mess, but she was happy and full!

Everything you need to cut in little pieces to make sure she will be safe.

Grapes (yes you cut the grapes in half)
apples, peaches, pear, basically any fruit you can cut in pieces, they love cherries but you need to cut them in half and take out the heart.
Steamed brocoli, carrots, coliflower, beet is naturally sweet.
Little pieces of ham.
And instead of the expensive baby cereals give her cheerios, but the basic one without sugar. Both of my kids started early with cheerios and loved it.

I found this page and thought helpful
http://www.mo-river.net/health/home_made_baby_foods.htm
Good luck

My daughter was always a "hungry" baby. When we transitioned to her eating solid foods, she finally became satiated. Her favorites were cut up Avocado, Baked Butter nut squash cubes, steamed baby carrots, baked sweet potato, steamed green peas. Make sure you cut it up pretty small, so she can grab it easily and won't choke if she swallows it whole. I used to just keep these staples ready to go in the fridge. The Gerber foods are not only expensive...it's not real food. It's full of sugars and flours, and has very few real nutrients. If you can get her to enjoy these foods now, you will have a healthy eater in the future! Good Luck.

try canned chili beans, plain or mashed. My boy loves chili all mashed up. He was the same way, well still is. He eats a lot of refried beans. I like to make chili for him because I can add tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, peppers, etc and mash it all up and know he is getting some nutrients. My kid won't touch plain veggies! He also likes cooked ground beef or turkey with veggies cut up and cooked in. Again, I do that to get his veggies in him. My boy won't use the mesh bag, hates it. I cook a lot of banana bread with reduced sugar and whole wheat flour for part of it, he LOVES that! And pumpkin bread too. You can cut up fruit and add it into those. message me if you want some good recipes I have for healthy muffins/breads.

When my daughter was 9 months I had the same problem. A friend suggested black beans - good protein and fiber. Either buy canned or cook a long time (crock pot). She can pick them up one at a time and feed herself. Also rice (much of the worlds population live on beans and rice, as it makes a complete protein when served together.) Try small red beans, too. cooked peas and carrots - you can buy frozen and cook up some in a pot, then portion them out. You can cook apples, too on the stove. Try this - cut up apples into quarters, then cut again (peeled and cored). Sprinkle with cinnamon and a teaspoon of brown sugar per 6 apples. Add about a quarter cup of water and cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 min. We eat this as a dessert, especially when apples are on sale - I've bought them for $1 a bag at HEB last week. For your daughter, just cut up into smaller chunks after they are cooked. I turn off the heat when the apples are soft. Don't put too much sugar on, though, even if you are tempted. If you cook too long, guess what? You've made home made apple sauce. You can also cook peaches and pears the same way, although only cut into quarters. Take out when a fork goes in easily. Good luck. BTW, my five year old loves cooked apples.

My eldest was the same way at this age. is pedi said it was just fine to give him whatever he wanted to eat. It doesn't even need to be soft. Those little gums can grind up more than you think!

If she has not had the particular food in her diet, give her a small amount and wait a couple of days to see if she is allergic. Do not give her anything else new during that time. General rule of thumb is one new food per week.
Lots of people will tell you there are tons of foods to avoid before the first year, but if allergies are not prominent in your family, it is really not a worry. I did wait on all dairy except yogurt, wheat, peanut butter and eggs- those are the most common.

Make sure you do not give her hotdogs, raw carrots or popcorn because they are choking hazards. Cut up grapes into quarters. They can eat most fruits raw. Pears, apples, and peaches can be poached or baked. Canned and frozen veggies are just fine steamed. A lot of them are pre-cooked so you don't even have to eat right out of the can or thawed. There is nothing wrong with the micro if you do not overcook them. That is my personally preferred method of cooking veggies. Roasted is also good if you want to give her a variety of flavors.

You are wise to be wary or sugar cereals. At this point, I would just be giving her Cheerios, Kix, or Crispix. They are very low in sugar and most toddlers love them.

Good Luck!

Black beans, rice, plain yogurt, unsweetened applesauce (let her try to feed herself...I'm sure you know it will be messy!!), bake a sweet potato and cut it in small cubes. Cubes of avocado, tiny pieces of cheese or Central Market Organics Oven Roasted Turkey. Chopped up egg yolk (not the white until 12 mos!). Tiny pieces of bread or almost any steamed veggie cut up VERY small. Start her on some interesting veggies. The earlier, the better. Baked fish, chopped up small, of course.

I used to cut grapes into halves or quarters longways.
Just make sure your finger foods are smaller than the circumfrence of a hot dog.

Hello S.,

My son is the same way. Has to feed himself and I wanted healthy easy to eat things. It is hard! But it gets easier. He loves canned green beans and they are soft. I also get sweet potatoe fries and put them in the microwave or toaster oven. I also will roast potatoes or sweet potatoes (cubed with olive oil and herbs) and roast in oven or toaster over; these last for several days in the fridge. Also he likes salmon (canned or packets) it has a lot less mercury than tuna, could even do canned chicken it breaks into small pieces. Some other good things are Noodles (spiral and egg so she can pick them up), peas, beans, vienna sausages, mango, rice (helps with finger dexterity and brown rice is a little easier (bigger)), canned peaches or any fruit. I hope this helps. Just about anything that is semi soft and the right size. Good Luck!

Just about anything you eat is OK for her to eat too - as long as it's not a choking hazard, and it's not a known family allergen.

When our 3.5 year old was born, we were told to watch out for certain foods. At our daughter's 1 year appointment last March, the Pediatrician had changed his opinion based upon new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here's what they recommend for a child your daughter's age:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

Babies love to chew. We'd cut pears/apples into thin strips for both kids, and they'd gnaw on them until they had barely anything left.

Try to stay away from anything canned - fruits or vegetables. They're VERY high in sodium. Fresh is always best, but frozen is much healthier. Our kids, at that age, loved frozen Mixed Vegetables.

We did a lot of thinly shaven ham/turkey from the deli and American cheese for lunch. Grapes were good around that age (our kids always did well with them whole, but you may want to cut in 1/2 or quarters). Blueberries are great and really good this time of year (best price is at Costco/Sam's Club).

As a snack, Goldfish and Graham Cracker sticks are really good. Cereals such as Chex, Kix, Cheerios, Crispix are not as high in carbs and easy for them at this age.

The other savior has been string cheese. The mozzarella seems to have the lowest fat content and is easy for them to hold/gum to get through.

Good luck.
Just remember that the former opinion of staying away from certain foods has really been reversed in the past few years - anyone still telling you to avoid things is not up to date on current policies. BUT, still check with her pediatrician to be safe.

Here's some info on a children that are picky eaters

http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2009/12/26/...

try waffles, bagels, toast, crackers.

Try mandarian oranges.
For friuts and veggies, try placing them in this. Its a mesh fruit feeder/teether.then she can feed herself
http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Solid-Feeding/Teet...#

If she has a few teeth, you can start on small pcs of pasta (mac & cheese, spagetti - I use to get little pasta rings for the kids, can pastas spagetti-O
s, ect.), melons, you can also find less sugary cereals, gramcrakers, animal crackers, or some of the toddler meals. She may also like small pcs of vegtables... cooked carrots or peas.

As for cooking fruit... my kids like baked apples. I just core & cut up apples in pealed slices, place them in a baking dish, add a little brown sugar or sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & rasins sometimes (but you can spice to taste) w/ a little water or apple juice - just enough to bairly cover the bottom of the dish, then bake at 350 for about 20 min or till dinner is ready (if they bake longer they get softer, but I pull them a little before everything else is done so they can cool some). I use whatever apples I have - yellow or red it doesn't matter... different apples will taste a little different and might need less or more sugar, but it's just something I make on a whim most of the time or when my apples aren't looking so good. For your daughter you might want to cut them up a little more once they are cooked... I also have put them in a foil pack & placed them on the grill in the summer but add a few tsp of "butter" inplace of the water or juice and cooking them when I cook my meats.

Something else my kids like is potatoes... one way we do them is peal them cut them in pcs, place them on foil & add bit size onion pcs w/ salt & pepper and a few tsp of "butter". Then fold up the foil into a pack - double wrap if putting on the grill, but you can also bake it in the oven by putting th foil packs on a cookie sheet & baking at 350 for about 30-35 min. Then she will be able to use her fingers to eat the potatoes with out making a huge mess.

I hope you are able to find a few more things to add to your daughters daily diet... take care!

I had the same problem with my now 1 1/2 year old. she still doesn't like help. some of our favorite starter finger foods were steamed and cut up vegetables make sure they are softened. chopped strawberries and ham, and I would also take tofu and cut into cubes and sprinkle with crushed multigrain cheerios that i crushed in a plastic bag for flavor

One thing that is super easy to feed the little ones at this age is the mixed canned veggies. You can get the no salt added ones. The veggies are just the right size for little fingers to pick up, and are pre-cooked. Our grandson ate those easily, and he didn't get any teeth until AFTER 9 months. We fed them to him straight out of the can... just scoop out a small spoonful, drain off the juice. No need to heat the food. One can will last for several meals...just put the left-over in a small container in the fridge for the next meal.

I have a 2 year old and still make all his food from scratch. For his finger foods I use a food processor and first put about 2 c. of oats in to make coarse meal I remove that and start my concoction, which usually consists of 1 sweet potato about 2 c.Kale 1 apple 1-3 bananas, 2 carrotts, sometimes some peanutbutter and or honey, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. I know it sounds strange, but he has turned out to be a great eater, loves healthy thing because it is all he has ever had. I am a cook by trade so Im not good about measuring, I go by feel and if this seems too moist add a little more oats if you let it sit for a while they will hydrate and you wont have to worry about it being to coarse after it's cooked. Spread this in a buttered 8x10 and bake ar 350 until it pulls away from the sides. You will have to freeze this with wax paper between layers, it will mold very fast because it has no junk in it. I pull out as much as I think he will eat in one serving the meal before and it is ready on time every time. My sister makes them for the whole family. Now the only time he wants to nurse all day is when he is having trouble with his teeth. Good luck!

I give my 10 month old daughter cut up avocado and she loves it. I've heard it's nearly a perfect food for babies/toddlers. She also loves hummus. I will dip it in a carrot and she inhales it off the carrot, then gnaws on the carrot (teething). I also found natural, healthier cheese doodles that are like Cheetos. I checked the ingredients and they actually have less artificial stuff in them than the Gerber Graduates snacks!! I will also dip those in hummus. I found the fruit cups (peaches, pears) at Trader Joe's and my daughter loves those too. Also at Trader Joe's was the frozen waffles and french toast.
Since my older kids are 8,9 and 11, I was still under the impression that peanut butter was not ok, but am finding that maybe it IS ok??? Anyway, I just got sunflower seed butter and I put it on a whole wheat english muffin or whole wheat bread. My daughter also LOVES mac and cheese. I give her the Annie's whole weat shells and white cheddar. Grapes cut in fourths, apples, pears and mandarin oranges are good to cut up. When I cook for the family, I just cut up what we are eating.
Happy eating!!!!

Give her anything you guys are eating (well, mostly--see below), just in small pieces as one mom said. Maybe cook it a little longer if you want it softer for her. I trust the rest of you are eating healthy stuff?

Some possibilities: whole grain bread, ripe pears, mashed potatoes (white or sweet), oatmeal (not too liquid so she can finger-feed herself with it), little squares of chicken or beef, small pieces of boiled potato or any other cooked veggie ( let cool a bit), rice, small pasta. Look for less-sweet cereals, or mix a sweet and a less-sweet variety (e.g. frosted flakes plus regular corn flakes) to cut down on the sugar.

Maybe applesauce--if she can't get it into her mouth with fingers, maybe she will decide that the spoon is not so bad after all. Or you could put a little applesauce on a bread cube.

You said she doesn't like spoon-feeding--is it spoon feeding by you, or by her? Let her try doing it for herslef, she's going to need to do it eventually anyway. Schedule bathtime for AFTER dinner lol!

I don't think citrus or peanuts are recommended until after one year, ditto for whole milk (so it is good that you are breastfeeding her). And definitely no honey.

At that point we were still doing the "one new food per week" routine ( family history of allergies), and I am sure my kiddos still got a lot of nutrients from breastmilk.

Perhaps she wants to nurse all day partly because she is thirsty? maybe offer her some water. Or maybe she is going through a growth spurt, that often brings on an increased desire to nurse.

Good luck!

K. Z.

My youngest was the same way--completely off baby foods by the time she was 9 1/2 months old. I fed her lots of different foods--meat (usually chicken) cut up into little slivers, pastas, rice, a variety of cooked vegetables (peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, even the tops of broccoli), and raw fruits (I would cut apple slices into little slivers, grapes into tiny pieces, strawberries, melon). Basically, I fed her whatever we were having for dinner (within reason and always cut into very small pieces). You can also allow her to try to spoon-feed herself things like yogurt and oatmeal, though be prepared for a mess!

One thing that helps, with allowing her to eat independently, but curtailing choking risks and messes, is a mesh net that holds the food in place and only lets her eat what goes through the strainer on the mesh. I got one of these. It's a mesh net that has a screw top that attaches. I think Sassy makes them, and I believe I bought mine at Babies R Us. It's also great for teething, as you can put frozen fruits in there (like peaches or nectarines). She will not choke on them, because the mesh only allows food that is small enough to go through it. The cold from the frozen food could help with any teething she may have in the future. The top has a handle for her to hold on to.

Baked apple, cubed tofu, cubed avicado, canned tangerines, flaked white fish, steamed peas smooshed with a fork, steamed broccoli, steamed carrots, shredded cheese, shredded turkey, cubed baked sweet potato, cubed squash. Those are some of my kids favorite first foods. I would also mix yogurt with Cherrios and let them dig in. Messy but good!
The early finger food stage is one of my favorites! Let them make a mess and have fun with it!

Steam her some vegetables to soften them up...even mashed them up a little after you steam them to make them softer for her. Steaming them will keep the nutrients in them.

You can make really delicious home made pasta dishes, with very small pasta, by adding veggies, like pasta and peas, pasta with broccoli, etc. Also, I have made whole wheat pancakes and you can use applesauce for dipping verses syrup. French toast, waffles, Peas, soft pears, grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread cut into tiny pieces, they have spinach nuggets instead of chicken nuggets, Try Trader Joes they have some great organic and healthy dishes. My kids everything we did just in smaller pieces. I was always cautious of hot dog, carrots, and anything that does not mush easily for chocking. Good luck!!

i don't remember what age i started, but my daughter was the same way. here are the standards i did: shredded cheese, peas, cut up green beans, cooked beans (black, kidney, etc) cut in half or 1/3 depending on bean type and size, plums when ripe, avocado, canned peaches, cooked carrots (boiled or cooked in water in micro until soft), cooked sweet potato (usually steamed or microwaved). just cut everything to pea size or smaller.

Anything now at her age , pasta , all kinds of veggies , fruits like strawberries , clementines , kiwi , peaches , nectarines. Rice dishes , salads , fries (sweet potatoe are good). From around this age I would make lasagne and cut some up for my kids , strip them off to a diaper and let them feed themselves. Whatever you cook for yourself put some aside for her aswell.