Finger Foods for a 1 year old

[corrina01]

I running out of ideas what to give my 12month old DD as finger foods.

She is refusing to be spoon fed. She is refusing veggies but she loves all kind of fresh fruit.  Any meals that you can think of.  She is currently having a few bits of pasta, waffle, potato, fish finger, eggy bread, fishcake, chicken, wholemeal bread and white bread.  My mind is going blank to what to give for lunch and tea.

TIA

[Mom to M&M]

For veggies will she take the Gerber mini-veggies? They make freeze dried bite-size pieces of corn (100% corn) so if she'll eat those at least she'll get a veggie in. They also make them in apple and banana/strawberry. Will she take veggie puree spread on toast for tea? How about cheese? My DD loves the Sorrento sticksters - she has half a cheddar stickster almost every day - I break them into bite size pieces and put them on her tray after we're done spoon feeding (she's still mainly on purees).

This web site has some great ideas too: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyfingerfood.htm

[corrina01]

Karen

I don't think they do Gerber food here in the UK.

I will try the veggie puree on toast thanks  She eats cheese.

[Mom to M&M]

Ah right - forgot where you lived! Definitely give the veggie spread a try and check out that website. Also, Annabel Karmel has a recipe for mini veggie bites in one of her cookbooks that sounds really good - happy to PM or email it to you if you're interested.

[corrina01]

Oh I'll have to give that a look as I have the Baby and Toddler meal planner.

I have had a look on that website, I'm going to print some stuff out.

Thanks Karen.

[Mom to M&M]

Ah, I have the First Meals book and it's in that one, as are some other ideas that sound good! Good luck - let me know if you have any more questions.

[Marisa's Mom]

Some things I let DD eat as finger food include:

- Waffles (broken into small pieces for her to grab, & same with many items below)
- Bread, with or without a spread
- English Muffin, with or without a spread
- Cereals such as "O" ceceals (like Cheerios), Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies
- Gerber Veggie Puffs
- Gerber Fruit Puffs
- Yams or Sweet Potato (although I prefer to load up a spoon/fork to feed her, or let her grab the spoon/fork to feed herself, rather than using her hands  )
- Pancakes
- Crackers
- French Toast
- Rice Cakes

- Grapes (again, prefer spoon fed than finger, but she'll pick them up; you might try coating them in cereal "dust" to make it easier to grab. also, make sure to peel the skin off and cut into small pieces to avoid choking, and no seeds of course. Sorry, I know this is obvious, but I thought I'd mention it anyways)
- Avocado
- Apple (make sure it's soft enough if your LO can't handle "hard" apple yet)
- Mango
- Melons (cantalope, honeydew, etc)
- Pineapple
- Berries (watch for possible rash/reactions)
- Orange (watch for possible rash/reactions)

- Carrot (cooked soft, not raw)
- Squash (zucchini, etc)
- Broccoli (I prefer not to do this finger style cuz the flowery bits get all over the place)
- Cauliflower

- Cheese, like cheddar, jack, etc (cut into small cubes), you can also try string cheese
- Eggs (scrambled, although I prefer she doesn't use her fingers for this)

- Tofu (cubed)

gotta go, DD just woke from her nap & is calling her faithful servant ... 

[Marisa's Mom]

I finally refound this thread, looked over the list I made so far, and realized I forgot to add DD's favorite food ... BANANA!  She'll eat that with her fingers too, however I prefer to spoon feed it to her.    We usually compromise, where I load up the spoon, and she'll grab the spoon to put the banana in her mouth.

[corrina01]

Thank you Marie 

[avt888]

Marisa's Mom - your list is awesome!  I'm going to have to print it out and put it on my fridge.  I have the toughest time at breakfast trying to figure out what to feed my dear girl.  As for the grapes, I didn't realize I can give her that!  And on top of the precautionery suggestions; I would have totally missed on the skinning off and coating them with cereal "dust"!  I will definitely have to try these soon...I feel like I'm not giving her enough variety to keep her interested in her meals!

[Marisa's Mom]

I have a list on my fridge too.    I started it way back when I felt I couldn't remember all the things I could give DD. When I felt at a loss, I'd look on the list and pick something I have on hand or something she hadn't had in a while. My memory is so bad, I have to make lists for everything. I forget even the most obvious thing. I still have that list on the fridge, it's just much longer now.  I kept adding to the list as I added new things to DD's diet. But now I really look at it anymore.

I still feel like I'm not giving her enough variety, but fortunately she doesn't get sick of eating the some old things like we adults would. She'll let me know when she gets sick of something, so we'll avoid it for a few days to a week, then have it again. We go through phases. Right now we're doing tomatoes. She can have them as finger food, so add that to your list.