non-meat finger food that's high in iron/protein

[Lockie & Sam's Mummy]

hi,

my ds is 13.5 mo & is a semi-fussy eater. he'll take a big breakfast of either weetbix, muesli or scrambled eggs with his toast but the rest of the day is very hit & miss.

at the moment, he's very keen on finger food & is resisting being spoonfed (except at breakfast, bizarrely). unfortunately, he's isn't very keen on meat, even as a finger food. if he could, he would live on rice/pasta/crackers, milk, and fruits (avocado).

what i'm wondering is, are there any good finger foods that are high in iron & protein? i'm worried he doesn't get enough of either.

thanks in advance! :-)

[First Time Mom]

Good protein finger foods are boiled eggs or beans. My dd used to love eggs but now hates them, she loves to pick up beans to eat, all kinds (kidney, lima, chick peas) and they're high in protein and fibre. As for iron, I know some veggies are high (is it the dark leafy greens?), I have this challenge now as well, my dd loves her pasta and rice. I also just read somewhere that raisins have protein too but I find this odd as they're dried up grapes, besides, you want to watch the raisins as they're sweet and stick to the teeth. Some baby biscuit forms are high in iron but read the package for sugar content.

[tylersmommy]

Any kind of dairy food is high in protein, like cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. Cottage cheese is esp high in protein. If you get the large curd variety, you can serve it as finger food. Tofu is also a good one. You can cut it into chunks for finger food. If you're ready to intro nut butters, they're also high in protein.

As for iron, any kind of adult iron-fortified cereal (like cheerios) can do the trick. Egg yolks are also good. You can use them to make french toast/eggy bread. If you're concerned about iron intake, remember that dairy foods inhibit iron absorption and vitamin C foods help it. So you'd want to serve iron foods with fruits or veggies that are high in vitamin C.

[zed]

If Iron still becomes an issue, ask your Dr. about a supplement.  DS1 had anemia and we had and sometimes still do supplement.  Iron drops go down easily with orange J.  Tylersmommy is right on when she gave you the advice about milk.  I found that giving milk opposite protein and iron worked very well... Peas and beans are excellent veggie for iron as well as spinach and beat tops (you steam like spinach) Kale is also very high in iron... When I did my research for my LO I found out that meat iron gets absorbed more efficiently then iron found in plants.  It is good to aim for a good balance between the two.  Have you tried BBQ sauce to help the meat go down?? Or how about spaghetti and Lasagna?  They have always been a hit here.  Beef does have the highest iron in it for meat.  Some fish are good too.

[Samuel's mum]

Sam really liked little fingers made from ground chicken and apple puree. Would he take meat in that form?

[First Time Mom]

Melissa, I read ages ago (don't remember where) that vit C only helps iron absorption if it's iron from meat, that it doesn't help if it's iron from other foods. Anyone else hear of this or does it even make sense?

[daybyday]

Chick peas are a great source of protein and are fun to eat!....also makes a great dip (hummus!) that my DD likes to dip her veggies and noodles in!

[zed]

Melissa, I read ages ago (don't remember where) that vit C only helps iron absorption if it's iron from meat, that it doesn't help if it's iron from other foods. Anyone else hear of this or does it even make sense?

I haven't heard this, I had done a fair bit of research for my son (doesn't mean I didn't miss this fact).  I do know that iron from meat is absorbed faster and more efficiently.  The body gets way more out of the iron from meat b/c it is in a form the body can use without having to break it down and process it.  It couldn't hurt to give V. C with all forms of iron.  Besides, if you are giving lunch and dinner concentrating on meat and veggies offering O.J. would be an natural thing to do.  You could then offer milk at breakfast, snacks and bed time.  There are still lots of opportunities to get milk into your LO.