What to Feed My 1 Year Old

I have a 14 month old that I have been working on the same dilema with. I recently invested in a new cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" that Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica wrote that has some neat ideas on how to hide veggies and other good for you things in foods that toddlers and kids like. I've also newly discovered a great teething soother... frozen waffles.

I have a one-year old and she eats really well and she only has 3 teeth! I have always made my own baby food purees and froze them in ice cube trays which I continue to give her. She is always interested in whatever we eat so I give her bites of my food whenever she shows interest. We eat pretty healthy so most of the time.
For quick snacks she eats cheese, quartered grapes, raisins and other dried fruit cut up into bite sized pieces, oranges, cucumber, shredded carrots, cheerios, crackers (whole grain with no transfats)etc...
For meals, most of the time, I can give her what we eat for dinner. I set some aside before I add salt or too much spices (although she loves my chili which is pretty spicy and will always take more bites of my food that has spices). I feed her when we eat so that she sees us eating the food and eats it too. Whole grain noodles are easy for her to eat.
I sauteed garlic and spinach in olive oil and add a beaten egg for green eggs and she LOVES them. She eats canned beans (rinsed and drained) as finger foods, and I mash up beans, a minced onion, an egg and some bread crumbs, and make bean cakes that I cook in a pan with a spray of cooking oil. I don't give her juice hardly ever and when I do it is diluted to 1/3 juice 2/3 water. I do this so she doesn't get hooked on the sweet. Milk or water is what she gets.
There is a great book that I use for reference all the time about babies and nutrition. It is called Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron. The book is a great resource for any family about nutrition. Start young with a wide variety of foods and keep giving it to her even when she doesn't love it. Babies don't know what they like or don't like.
Good luck!

Hi T.---I got a kick recently when I had lunch with a friend. We had sushi, her 1 year old had tofu cubes and seaweed from the miso soup and her baby shared the shelled edemame with us. Edemame is young soybeans, kind of looks like lima beans. Huge protein content and very healthy. They would be very portable. You can get them at Kroger, in both the regular and natural food freezers. I made mini-pancakes and mini-muffins that you can put all kinds of great food into. Bananas, squash, pumpkin, applesauce, mango sauce, ground flax seed, nuts (very healthy), whole oats, grated carrots and zucchini. Just let your imagination run wild. Avoid processed meats because of their nitrates and other preservatives that are known to increase the risk of colon cancer. They are so tempting because they are soft so if you must, be sure to get organic and/or nitrate free. I occasionally get them from Trader Joes and Whole Foods when I HAVE to have a chili dog.

I have a number of recipes and websites that I can share with you. But there are so many, I would like to know what you would be most interested in so this response won't be any longer than it is now. Please contact me and I would be happy to share those with you.

One site that I can think of right now is www.askdrsears.com. I know he has a section on picky eaters. Sorry but I have to leave soon and don't have time to do the proper research for you right now.

Good luck and I look forward to talking to you. In health, D. ###-###-####

I also have a son who will be 1 in 2 weeks and also has 8 teeth (and I also have a 3 year old). I have been giving my son chicken strips - Tyson pre-cooked (not breaded). I just give him one cold out of the fridge and he loves it. It is also very healthy. When on the go, I take a South Beach High Protein Ceral Bar (peanut butter flavor), cut it up into small bites, and put the bites in a baggie. And he absolutely loves an apple cut up into miniature baby bite size chunks. I'm working on giving him cooked peas (just cold in a baggie), but that is not his favorite.

My son loved cheese cubes with whole grain crackers, grapes (cut in 1/2), pierogies or raviolis, pastas, apple wedges (peeled), peanut butter crackers or sandwiches, soups, grilled cheese, chicken chunks, peas, carrots.

Hi T., My son is 13 months and eats everything! He has 5 teeth and is a great chewer. Right now he doesn't like to be fed so we are all about the finger foods. Lunch items can be: Grilled cheese cut-up, Turkey (or other lunch meat), Cube cheese cut-up but still easier to pick-up than shredded or crumbles, bread, grapes, blueberries, bananas, pasta noodles, chicken nugget pieces. Earlier this week I had chicken noodle soup and just let him pick up the carrot/celery/chicken/noodle pieces and he loved them. He'll also eat pieces of brocoli, pepper, if we have pizza- dough and meat from that, fried egg pieces. On the go snacks are Cheerios, Puffs, Sunkist Fruit Snacks (I break them in half), Animal Crackers (highly recommend Costco Organic) those also cut in half. Also, don't be afraid to re-introduce a food. My son did NOT like bananas at ALL. Well at about 8 months we re-introduced as he was trying to take ours, and now they are one of his favorite foods! Taste buds can change. At this age they probably want what they see you eating. It saves grocery costs and probably makes my husband and I eat a little healthier. Good luck!

I wouldn't mind some new suggestions too. Here is our main stuff:
string cheese
goldfish crackers
whole peas & corn
little ravioli or other chunky pasta he can bite
broccoli & cauliflower
chunks of chicken breast
tuna fish on toast
graham crackers
milk, chocolate milk, strawberry milk
kraft singles (2% milk)
macaroni and cheese

I completely reccomend the book "Super Baby Foods" by Ruth Yuval I think it is. Anyway, it's way more info than you need. It's all about making your own baby food and nutritional info, but it also has a toddler section that gives awesome finger food ideas and meal ideas. It gives a good spin on healthy choices. I have an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old and I refer to the book weekly if not daily. I definitely adapt the recipes to my daughters likings, but anytime we start to get bored with what's for lunch I go to the book and find some new ideas!

Good Luck!

SMall sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, perhaps with some meat, cream cheese, or cheese slices would be good. Chopped avocado is great, small pieces of grilled cheese, cottage cheese. Grapes (cut up small), any other fruit chopped up, wholewheat pasta ......basically anything you would eat but cut up small. At dinner don't feed in to cooking something separate for him and your three-year-old. If you make a casserole or whatever, just chop it up and give it to him - my five-year-old eats everything and I think it's because I've just given him exactly the same things we've eaten. Good luck - Alison

Hi T.

As far as specific quick/on-the-go convenience foods go...Costco has dried Fuji apple/Asian pear slices that come in a large box by all of their other snack foods. They are fantastic for babies---crunchy at first but quickly disintegrate---and the baby gets to eat right out of a package (like a big kid)instead of having it cut up. They are as sweet as a desert but only about 45 calories per bag. Also, Trader Joes has great little 12-Grain crackers.

At this age, the sky is the limit (except for obvious high-allergen foods). See what your son likes by letting him try everything, and then pick/choose which ones travel well. Try choices that are as pure as possible with the least amount of additives. Here's some very basic ideas that I've used and I'm sure you've already thought of...

Protein ideas: leftover scrambled eggs from fridge, cut up leftover chicken nuggets, small pieces of cheese, lightly salted garbanzo beans (my daughter likes vinaigrette on them), peas (they have a little protein), leftover taco meat, lunch meat from Whole Foods or Trader Joes (these are nitite/nitrate free so they only last a few days).

Veggie ideas (frozen are so easy/have a ton of nutrients): cooked/lightly sea-salted spinach, peas, cut green beans. Fresh carrots that have been cut up/seasoned/roasted, fresh broccoli that has been cooked (frozen is tasteless, garbanzo beans (again)

Carbs: bite-size-shape pastas (ie Fusili) with olive oil and a little sea salt is my daughter's favorite warm or cold and travels well. Also, Trader Joes has a great variety of tortillas (plain, whole wheat, spinach, tomato-basil, etc.) that are made with minimal ingredients and can easily be cut/torn up, crackers, multigrain pancakes (add babnanas or berries and you've got a complete meal) or waffles, and--of course---cereal

Give everything a try...your son may surprise you. By the way, I sometimes have to force things into my 13 month old's mouth against her will just to get her to get a taste of something first before she will decide she likes it. Other times I just have to put it down on her tray and walk away so she feels empowered to try something herself. Babies can be quirky. Just because they don't like something the first time doesn't mean they won't like it the next day/week.

Good luck!

I recently went through a "food makeover" for my 2 and 4 year old. Try mypyramid.gov It's the government food pyramid site. They have great ideas for young children and even though your youngest is 1 they have customized plans for 2 years and up. Very helpful site. They had some really easy recipe ideas too!

I await the replies with you, T.. I also have a picky 7 year old. So any advice for our older picky eaters is also welcome!

I found canned black and garbonzo beans(rinse and drain) travel well and help help expand the palete for many different tastes and textures. Also try light red kidneys or red beans. Now all my children 7,4,2 love the soups I make eating the beans first. Also introduce well diced up lettuces and cole slaw at this point is a great way for them to eat salad later. My 2 and 4 year old eats thier salads first .
T. K.

what kind of foods is he and his sibling eating?
I find that the most benificial foods are the most natural. You can control the softness/firmness of boiling organic baby carrots. A wonderful veg. packed with great amounts of vitimins... For protien, we have enjoyed hummus and an arrangement of dippers from carrots, green peppers, org. veg/whole grain crackers. , pear and apple wedges or broccoli florrets. Peas, green beans, snow peas. Also chicken , we call "Daddy chicken". It's sauted in a wok with evol a little salt and a little lemon pepper. The kids love it.
It all really depends on the way it's cut and served and prepared!
Good luck! K. ;d

Hi T., I had the same question when my little guy turned one. Cheese cubes, grapes cut in half, blueberries, Cheerios, sliced apples, or pieces of bananas make a nice snack.

i'm a vegetarian and my daughter loved black beans...you can buy them in a can like you do vegetables. i would just heat them up on the stove and rinse them off (just to make it a little cleaner, they have juice on them that makes it a little messy if you don't rinse them off). i fed them to her and my niece who is the same age and they both loved them!
chicken fries were also a favorite. they are easier to cut into little pieces then chicken nuggets and easier to eat when they are eating them on their own.
cheese pieces (you can buy cheese sticks and easily cut into pieces), cooked pasta (even without any sauce on it), i would buy the baby sea shells and they were the perfect size for little fingers and little mouths.
another favorite of my daugher and niece was cheese quesadilla (i have no idea how to spell that!) take a tortilla shell, sprinkle with cheese, heat for 20-30 sec in microwave till cheese is melted. fold in half and i used a pizza cutter to cut into little pieces or stips (depending on age and chewing ability). they loved it and always wanted more!
i have three kids that are pretty good eaters and i try to introduce new things as i think of them. hope these help!

working in Early Childhood and being introduced to all different types of food, have found it fascinating that 1 mother of a 3 yr old I looked after is a Raw Foods Chef and taught me so much about nutrition. She would pack her son: organic fresh mango, mulberries, goji berries, spirulina sprinkled organic popcorn, organic frozen peas, organic dried (nori) seaweed, and so many other choices. if you google vegan organic foods, you will see that there are so many delicious healthy food alternatives :-)
~blessings, lbg

My one year old eats well. These are some of the things I feed him:
-ravoli cut up into small bites in spagetti sauce (it's the bag kind in frozen section)
-mac and cheese
-lazagna (frozen dinner)
-grilled cheese (cut up into small bites)
-instant oatmeal (he likes apple cinnamon packet oatmeal)
-scrambled eggs with minced onions and shredded cheese
-spagetti (cut up of course)
-pan cooked chicken (I slice my chicken thin and dust it in Italian seasoned bread crumbs and then cook in olive oil and sometimes I top with just a little cheddar cheese)
-yogurt of any flavor (I usually buy the big cartons of strawberry or vanilla)
-pudding
-banana bread
-bananas
-peaches fresh or canned (if canned I try and buy reduced sugar)
-fresh mango slices cut into small pieces
-cantalope, watermellon, honey due
-sweet peas ( I buy the frozen kind)
-mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes
-teddy graham cookies
-canned manderin oranges

I hope this helps some of you out there