Finger Foods! - Deltona,FL

Hi T.. I feel for you. My daughter is the same way.
So, here are some of her favorates finger foods.

Rice balls-- these are great since I can mix differnet things and make different flavor. ie cheese. I just put a tiny portion on saran wrap and make a small ball for her.

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A great way to continue to introduce healthy foods is to cut them into 1/2 inch squares and coat with cherrio dust. Take a ziploc baggie full of cherrios and crush them into a powder. Then take little bits of fresh sweet cooked peas, sweet potato, pears, apples, zucchini, black beans, corn, tomatoes, banana, carrots, blueberries, mango, peaches, etc. Do a little shake'n'bake style shake in the bag and coat the pieces a few at a time and give them to him. The cherrio coating makes them easy to handle, no more frustrating slippery pieces to grasp and the cherrio flavor will entice him to try the little bits with surprise filling. Start with favorites, like fruit and sweet potato to get him to trust that he likes this new treat and then you can gradually add a piece or two of veggies into the mix. My 4 kids all ate almost everything I gave them this way. You can get grown up ravioli's with spinach in the middle and cut them into bite size pieces, sprinkle with low sodium parmesean cheese, regular is too salty for little ones. You can buy fine shredded cheddar cheese and coat potato bits and meat bits or macaroni noodles. If you buy the whole grain ones now and precook them, it will be easy to get him to eat healthy foods as he gets older. Beware of giving too many "kid" foods. You are training his palate right now and spoling him with sweet cereals, kraft mac'n'cheese, spaghetti-o's and fruit snacks ( all of which have little to no nutritional value, will make his resist real food that is also good for him. It is very difficult in the future to get a kid to convert and when you are at a friends house or out to eat, you shouldn't have to choose where to go based on the kiddie menu. That stuff should be a treat, not the only thing they eat. Remember to try something 20 times before giving in, it takes a LONG time to teach someone to really like something. French toast ( whole grain bread soaked in egg and milk mixture and cooked) is a great treat. Give applesauce as a "dip". You can dice up fresh baby spinach and mist with a raspberry vinigrette salad spray for a nice healthy treat.

Fruits and well steamed veggies are great finger foods and really healthy. You can steam green beans, peas, diced carrots, make sweet potato sticks (baked - my son loved these). Blueberries are a great finger food - very healthy and not a choking or allergy hazard like some other small fruits can be. Check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com for more suggestions and recipes.

Hi T., I'm going to copy and paste a list from some friends that was super helpful for me - enjoy!

Container of the fresh cut fruit from Publix. Watermelon. compliments pretty much any meal. Always have cut up fruit & veggies on hand.

On the go snacks
graham crackers, animal crackers, cheerios, puffs, and cinnamon toast crunch or kix
cheese sticks as a snack or with a meal. Great to throw in the diaper bag with ice pack
Uncrustables are good. Toss them in diaper bag frozen and they thaw out en route.

Breakfast
Fruit with:
mini pancakes (freezer section)
muffin tops (freezer section)
toast with apple butter (lower in sugar than jelly). Put apple butter on the pancakes or waffles some times too just for fun.
toast with sugar-free jelly or apple butter
raisin toast
Cereal - cheerios, fruit loops, just let them sit in the milk for a little bit to get a little soggy.

pancakes with sausage in the middle

"eggie pizza" for breakfast - its very simple all it is is a scrambled egg that you dont scramble in the pan instead you cook it more like an omelette and when one side gets completely cooked you flip it over like a pancake and cook the other side. then i slice it up for him like a little pizza he loves this.

mini bagels with a little apple butter or cream cheese on it and cutt them into small pieces.

french toast with sugar free syrup or French toast sticks - cut it into sticks when its done and then i use a really small tupperware for syrup so they can dunk them. you can also just buy the frozen french toast sticks and waffles and stuff and just throw them in the toaster that works too.

hash browns in the frozen section at publix....
yo baby yogurts...so what i'll do is blend the yogurt and a banana (you can use more fruit if you want, berries etc.)

oatmeal - I make it with her whole milk and then mash up 1/2 a bananna in

turkey sausage

pillsbury cinnamon rolls i cutt those up and i dont put alot of icing on his.

banana nut muffins blueberry muffins and cornbread muffins for him, can make in the little mini cupcake muffin pans

coldcuts- turkey, chicken

pre-cooked chicken strips

graduates make a microwavable meal of chicken, pasta, and peas. 30 sec. to heat up

fish filets in the frozen section

peas. A bag of peas from the freezer will last a while because a few tablespoons worth at a meal is all she needs.

edamame (in the freezer section)

Beans -- kidney and black beans especially. Canned or steamed green beans are great. She loved sugar snap peas last night (cut in half).

Canned carrots are much softer than frozen ones and she seems to manage them better.

mac and cheese from Amy's. It's all natural. She makes a five-minute mac and cheese that comes in single serve packs (I think the box has five single serve packs). white cheddar which is less messy.

A rotisserie chicken from Publix

ground chicken browned (I put a little garlic powder in there b/c don't think it would taste so great on its own!) Any thing like this you can cook ahead and then freeze individual servings

Grilled cheese sandwiches

cheese or chicken quesadillas are a nice variation on this. black beans in there too

Picollina pasta from Barilla is the perfect size. Avery loves the bow ties. With sauce.

Gerber raviolis.(in the baby food aisle right next to the gerber meals) cut them in half when first starting out. That's a good toss in the diaper bag and go thing because she'll even eat them cold.

eggplant parmasean and chicken picatta

When in pinch - can of vegetable beef soup, strained out the chunks - low sodium

pizza

cubed chicken pieces for mav by boiling skinless chicken breasts and cubing them up after they are cooked they make for a quick dinner/snack.

apple fries - take a whole apple ( granny smith usually) and you pull out the core with one of those core puller outer thingy's (dunno whats it called) then i peel it cutt it into half and cutt the halfs into slices going long ways so they look like little french fries the kids love them.

peanut butter sandwiches using little star or heart cookie cutters to add a little flare to it. mini pancakes mini waffles the possibilities are endless just get creative and have fun!

Tater tots micro - may be mushier if you do

chicken tenders

Treats
Molli Coolz makes an ice cream like Dippin Dots. Publix. less messy than straight ice cream since they are frozen in to beads. You'll want to use a spoon for this.
Fruit coolers from Dole. They are in the canned fruit section. You freeze them and they are like a sorbet.

My daughter will be one next week and we went through this same thing a few months ago. She feeds herself meals and snacks. The only thing she lets us feed her is yogurt. She eats all fruits and veggies, but I have to say broccoli is her favorite. I cut or tear everything in small pieces. Hope this helps!

Fruit – banana, pears, peaches, blueberries cut in half, cantaloupe, avocado
Veggies – pas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes
Mini waffles
Pancakes
Toast
Bagels
Full fat cheese – I buy the blocks and slice it then freeze, I defrost it the day I need it. Saves a ton of money
Rinsed canned beans – I like organic black, kidney and great northern (they are a bit softer and tastier than regular)
Ravioli and tortellini cooked a little softer then you would eat it
Cooked pasta – Fusilli and the shells seem easier to pick up
Poached chicken
Ground beef chunks

my son is the same way and he is a hearty eater!
We are fans of string cheese cut up, any of the lower sugar canned fruits--mandarin oranges are his fav! Lunch meat, other cheeses, although yogurt is not a finger food, he gets lots of that-I cut up any meat that we have at dinner as thin as I can and he eats whatever we do just a mini version--even fish and just about every veggie. Lean pockets-breakfast and lunch styles--again, just cut up really small.

Try to experiment with everything and see what works.

Since my son was off formula pretty quickly after the foods kicked in full swing, we started giving him a liquid vitamin so that he was still getting that too!

hi T.-

Some things I give my 10 mth old daughter:

cheese tortellini (bit size and yummy with a little butter and cheese. crackers. mini ritz bits with peanut butter. hummas or tuna salad on wheat bread (use the very thin Pepperidge Farm bread and fold it in half like a sandwich, then cut into 1/2" squares), Have the deli dept at your grocery store cut ham or turkey into one 1/4" wide slice. Cut that up into bite size pieces. Olives (my kids love them). Whenever I make grilled chicken for dinner I will always cook an extra cutlet and will serve that cold for a snack, buy 8" bobolli pizza crust and top with cheese and whatever. sometimes i do ham and swiss, sometimes chick, cheddar and bbq sauce, whatever you want. Then cut into bite size pieces after it cools to room temp.

Hope these help.

Hi T.,

We used an idea from Dr. Sears called the "nibble tray". You take an empty ice cube tray and fill each compartment with nibble sized food. I always tried to ensure that overall I had a good mix of fruit, veggies, protein and grains so would include things like sweet red peppers cut up small, shredded cheese, sesame sticks (from the health food store), dried apricot, mochi (a natural Japanese sweet rice that you buy prepared at the health food store and bake up into naturally sweet, chewy morsels) small pieces of cut up chicken, small pieces of carrots, cucumber, and one compartment for "dipping sauce" which could be yogurt, salad dressing or tamari sauce. I left it on the coffee table for her and she would graze by and dip and nibble on something in between playing and ultimately eat up the entire tray.

Here is a link to a cute free cartoon ebook about healthy eating for picky toddlers that you can read to him too:
http://www.atlantisnatural.com/content/Eat_Your_Veggies_P...

Good luck!

I'm sure he loves french fries! try making "fries" out of sweet potaotes or butternut squash. you can make them ahead and freeze. fruit and veggies are easy to make into finger foods. cut into small pieces and have on hand in the fridge. cook the veggies just slightly less so they're soft enough for him but hold up and he could pick these up and eat them (I'd hold off ont he dips while you can!) you could do lunchmeat roll-ups and cheese cubes in a few months. Hope this helps:)

K.-Oviedo
____@____.com
www.pamperedchef.biz/karenhowington

My daughter just turned 1 year old and about a month ago boycotted baby food (except for yoghurt) one day. I found the other mommy responses really helpful because my daughter won't eat any meat except cold cuts. I buy organic cold cuts at Whole Food because it doesn't have sodium nitrite added (or any other yucky stuff!). Once in a while she will eat a little organic chicken breast that I've browned in a pan with a few sprays of olive oil and s&p. She eats lots of fruits, but really only eats carrots. She loved green beans in baby food, but I can't get her to eat them in their real form. I'm going to try the other mommy's idea of coating them in crushed Cheerios. She is a HUGE fan of organic O's cereal so maybe that will work for me. Anyway, I would say try organic cold cuts for protein instead of chicken nuggets.

Unfortunately, my little one is allergic to peas, cheese, egg whites and peanuts so we are bit limited, but I'm not going to give up!

Good luck! Isn't so challenging trying to feed them right and figure out what and how they will eat it!

I will throw this in, only because it doesn't seem to be an often mentioned idea... but my kids LOVED them and still do (and they are fast and easy to transport)...

Olives. Both green pimento stuffed and the large black ones. Cut them so they are not a choking hazard if that is a concern. My kids would eat them by the handfuls. Still do. Black ones are their favorites. My daughter learned to say "pimento" from eating them in her olives, when she was less than 2. It is one of my favorite memories from that time... she started out asking me "that? (pause).. men-toe?" then as she got a little older she learned to say it properly "pimento"... she laughs about it when I tell her the story now (she is 7 yrs old now).
They are healthy, and offer a non-sweet food that will expand their palate.

We like cut up veggie burgers and bean patties. Grilled cheese and cheese pizza cut into strips are good too. My daughter liked avocado too. rinsed black beans are a favorite at our house. hope that helps

Hi, T.. Well, you can turn almost anything that you had previously been grinding up into baby food, into finger food. Just don't grind it up, and cut it into half-inch strips.

For instance, if he likes to eat chicken, you can cook the actual pieces of chicken, either breast meat or dark meat, and then cut the actual meat into boneless strips, just wide enough and long enough for your son to get a grip on them.

Carrots, whether steamed or raw, are good this way, too. You can buy carrot chips or baby carrots at the grocery store. You can cut up bite-sized pieces of romaine lettuce, steamed zucchini, apples, pears, bananas,cheese, etc. If he likes yogurt but won't sit still for a spoon, you can make him smoothies that he can drink out of a sippy cup. You can also get these things called Go-Gurts, which a kid squeezes out of a tube into his mouth, but be warned that they are full of sugar and food coloring.

Almost any food that you eat as an adult can be cut into the right shape for your son to pick up and put into his mouth. Just give him less of the spices and sauces that we adults often like with our food, at least until he's a little older and you test that his stomach can take it.

Have fun watching him grow and learn new skills!

Peace,
Syl

If your son likes chicken nuggets or chicken tenders he would probably also like popcorn shrimp. It is another easy finger food that has the same general texture and mild flavor as a chicken tender or nugget.

You can always steam veggies like green beans, carrots until they are tender and cut them up, ripe fruits cut into tiny pieces, baked sweet potato can be cut into pieces, avocado is a great food for little ones, low-sodium cheese, scrambled egg yolk.

Also, start good table habits now and don't let him eat on the run! If mine were/are going to eat it's at the table. They know the routine because we've been doing it since they started eating-wash hands, get in your chair, eat, get cleaned up and they get old enough they clear their place.

Thank all the stars above, you're so lucky!! My sun only ate hot dogs and fries...and chicken. You can pair those fruits with pieces of cheese and crackers. He'll probably like meatballs and boiled potatoes. You can make drumsticks with his favorite veggies.

This is fun time - How great that he is a good eater! Consider yourself very lucky :-)

Here are somethings that work for our independant feeder:

Each day I make up an ice cube tray and fill the little compartments of tasty treats for her to dig out herself. She hangs out by the coffee table and snacks at her leisure for a bit each day (also helped avoid the "mugging" from the dog when she walked around with food). Easier for me also to see what she is eating and interested in at the moment.

Here were some of her favorites:

Protien: flakes of gilled tuna, salmon or chicken (easier to find when you are out at a restaurant more than a chick nugget) Ours is not a big meat eater so she gets her protien from other sources like cheese and drinkable yoghurt. BTW Gerber yoghurt drops ARE baby crack! You can so little openface sandwiches. Pepperidge Farm make a great very thinly sliced whole wheat plus a smear of cream cheese and slice of turkey (check sodium). Eggs are great too. When you are able to feed egg whites you can whip and egg, add cheese, diced meat and microwave in a ramekin for about 35 seconds for a fast breatfast soufle.

Veggies: green beans in the can are so soft and easy to dice. Steamed veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots, edamame, beans) with a sprinkle of parmigana cheese. Also oven roasting colored peppers (coat in olive oil, broil skin side up until brown/soft, toss in ziploc bag to sweat, peel off skin) are yummy, You can dice different potatoes, parsnip, root veggies and roast them really soft...really tasty with rosemary/olive oil.

Fruit: bananas rolled in wheat germ (easier and less slimy to pick up), cut up ripe berries (especialy blue), quartered grapes, and mandarin oranges are fast, easy and always good. There is an apple sauce available (whole foods and BRU) in a squeeze packet with a plastic spout that our daughter since about 12 mos basically sucks out...the novelty of this has not worn off yet in 6 mos and so easy to pack in the diaperbag. It comes in a brown case of 4. there is a cap and ring you have to pull off. Love it!

Have fun! We are finally able to bring the spoon back to the highchair again...but in her hands of course!