My dd is 14 months and her teeth are slow to come in. Prior to 12 months she only had her bottom 2 starting, she was on lots of finger foods using her gums to chew the foods.
Here are some of the foods I gave her (usually cut up in small pieces, approx the size of Cheerios)
Fruits-
banana, peaches, kiwi, asian pears, mango, grapes seedless and quartered as round shape causes choking. I always gave her 2 tablespoons of fruit in her rice or oatmeal cereal and as a snack with plain yogurt.
Veggies-
carrots, asparagus, green beans, brocolli, orange and yellow pepper, zuchini, peas, squash. I steamed and offered her pieces. Sometimes I mixed a few flavours together in the food processor but would use this to mix with meat and other foods.
Proteins- all kinds of beans and chickpeas (well cooked until very soft, chickpeas I would slice), chicken, turkey, beef all cut up in finger food sizes, boiled egg yolk (I would mix with the blended veggies) At 13 months I started to include egg whites and now she'll eat scrambled eggs.
I've always made her foods, I used to use the food processor and make batches for the freezer, then I would "create meals" for her by picking 3 different cubes (veg/protein/baby pasta or sweet potato). I would always offer some type of finger food with the mash, usually veggie or protein.
If he will not eat finger food that is meat I would suggest softer items like the beans and egg yolk for variety.
As for your "stupid question", it's not stupid! I always assumed toddler was 1 year plus but, I could be wrong for that matter!
