Food for a 1 Yr Old

My boys will be 1 this month. I pretty much feed them whatever I am eating. Yesterday for dinner they had pot roast, squash, grapes and carrots. They love veggies and I usually give them canned green beans, cut up carrots (canned), black bean, kidney beans. I understand about the mess. I will only put a few pieces of food on their trays and when they finish that I give them more. It seems to cut down on the mess. I also give them a fork or spoon when they are eating. They don't really know how to use them but I think it helps them associate that with eating and it's good practice for them.

Frozen (or "real") waffles, french toast, bananas, mandarin oranges, pears, dry cereal (mini wheats, cheerios), rice cakes.

Scrambled eggs, pieces of soft fruit cut into cubes or bite sized pieces (ripe peaches, pears, plums, bananas, melon, mango, papaya, kiwi etc.), or veggies that have been steamed until they are soft enough to eat (they don't need to be mush for him to gum perfectly fine).

Also, since he's almost one, you can make some dips for him to dip these items into. Yogurt for him to dip fruit pieces into. Bean dip, guacamole, or sour cream mixed with a little ranch dressing for the steamed veggies. You can even mix pureed veggies or fruits into plain yogurt to either make your own flavored yogurt- or to get him to eat even more veggies by using it as a dip. Toddlers LOVE dipping food- and the mess that follows- but it's a good way to get variety into their diets and to help them learn to self-feed better.

Also, you can cut pancakes, waffles, and toast into strips that he can eat. Cut bagels into quarters and let him have those. And although my son is only 9 month old and has 4 teeth, he can eat half a bagel without any assistance from me- I just watch him to make sure he doesn't stuff too much into his mouth at once. :)

And some mess is inevitable because of the age, but you can curb the mess by either laying a trash bag out on the floor under his high chair or booster, and ending meals when he gets TOO rowdy. If he continually throws all of his food on the floor, or tends to do so towards the latter part of the meal- chance are he's just not hungry anymore and has moved into "what happens if I do this?" mode.

Bananas, avocados, cheerios, teeny tiny mango bites...

here are a few I could remember that I did with my son: scrambled eggs, tator tots, mini meat balls, mashed potato balls (add an egg to the mashed potatoes and roll into little balls.), a cucumber might work, mango, strawberries (all cut up into tiny pieces), frozen peas (teething children seem to love them, it feels good on their gums), and noodles - either mac n cheese or noodles with a red sauce he might be able to handle too.

Good luck! There always seems to be stress around meal time with children. My son is very picky and I'm always trying to come up with new ideas!

A. V.

By their 1st birthday, a kid should be 100% self-feeding with their fingers. Utensils come later - first a fork since it's easier to stab than scoop and then a spoon. Many 2 year olds are still mastering the spoon, so it does take time. He should be eating whatever the rest of the family is eating - just cut up the food into pea-sized bits and put them on his plate. He'll be more likely to eat it when the rest of the family eats. And yes, most will end up on the floor. Just put a little at a time on his plate to cut down on the 'dumps'.

And teeth doesn't matter. Babies don't use their teeth for chewing since no one chews with their front teeth. Those are just for biting off - so cut everything into pea-size bits. Babies can gum pretty much anything. None of my kids had their 1st tooth until right after their 1st birthday and were doing just fine eating regular food from 8-9 months onward.

soft egg chopped up once he can use a spoon better
smashed bananas - or banana pieces
cheerios

scrammbled eggs.... wonderfull cheeros, or any cerals that he can pick up with his fingers, they make ceral fruit bars try them to

As far as the food ending up on the floor, that is so normal!! I would talk to your doctor about what foods he should not eat, and start from there. I know that there is not honey or peanuts until 2. I think you can start scrambled eggs soon, my kids always liked theirs with cheese mixed in. Also french toast or waffle sticks. Also, try different soft fruits, like bananas, peaches, pears, ect... and soft cooked veggies, my boys liked carrots and green beans, and they do not have to be smooshed if they are soft cooked.

French toast, pancakes, waffles, breakfast sausage, fruit of all kinds..pot roasted meats, stews.

they "gum" their foods, so by 12 months, they can literally eat everything we eat, as long as it is soft enough. My 10 month old eats what we eat, for the most part. Lately we've been making a lot of stews (with the weather change), and he loves self-feeding with potatoes, the meat, carrots, etc. Pasta is good too. Ravioli's. etc.

But seriously, by 12 months, they can eat what adults eat, just make sure it's really soft.

He can eat anything you eat. Let him feed himself and don't give him a lot at a time. Just make sure it's cooked well and mashed or soft so he doesn't have too much trouble gumming it :)
Oatmeal is good for breakfast. Make it thick so he can spoon-feed it to himself. It will be messy for a while, but he'll get better at it.

I feed my almost 1 year old (this month):
Toast with butter (cut into 4 strips, she loves to shred it and stuff it)
the small bowtie pasta, cooked plain (yes breakfast)
chopped bananas, or grapes
cheerios, plain (she likes to feed them to the dog, too)
She makes a huge mess, EVERYWHERE.
Side note: Stay away from deli meats! High in sodium, and can contain listeria that can be harmful on a regular basis for a toddler. Make some chicken breasts and chop them up.
I usually cook a bunch of pasta and put in the fridge. Takes about 3 days to use it all up. That way, it's quick. Microwave a plate for about 10 sec.