What To Feed a Toddler. AKA: Feeding the Beast

By Erica

My son is now 15 months old and feeding him has begun to stump me on a daily basis. He's all about feeding himself and will barely tolerate any assistance. Have I mentioned that he's not so good with the spoon or fork, yet? He gets them to his mouth reliably, but more often than not, there is no food left on the utensil as it's all on his high chair tray. So, we've got the awesome combination of fierce independence and complete ineptitude. (That's like the international motto of childhood, right there. I'm going to stitch it on a pillow.)

I recently gave him some very yummy things from Ella's Kitchen, and while he loved the taste and being able to feed himself, he mostly ended up squirting the whole pouch out on to the tray and playing with it. I'm running out of ideas for things to give him to feed himself. He's not picky (yet) and will eat just about anything besides green beans and bananas.

Have you any ideas to share with a fellow stressed out family chef?

Comments

[Becky]

We are at a similar stage; my son is 18 months. He has finally figured out how to take a bite off of something, so we give him string cheese, corn on the cob (he LOVED it, but who doesn't with all that butter?), lefse...he takes bites of my soft-shell tacos when we have them...he'll even chew on carrots and celery and bell peppers. Once those first molars are in, it really opens up some other options. We also like to roll up deli-cut meat into a roll for him. Oh, and thick foods (like yogurt) are messy, but good for while he's learning to use the spoon. He gets rewarded by having something on the spoon without having to keep it upright the whole time.

[Dawn K.]

Our toddler is 16 months (and independent as all get out), so I have a few ideas that may help out. We do a lot of quesadillas in our house. I'm able to stuff them with lots of different veggies to keep them healthy, and they're pretty good for independent feeders. On the same line, any sort of sandwich where you can melt a bit of cheese to use as 'glue' gives them something they have control over, and they don't fall to pieces that you have to pick up.

Semi soft fruits like watermelon or kiwi hunks are a good consistency to practice cutlery skills, and if eaten with hands or end up on the floor, they aren't too messy.

I think the key is probably the right consistency and texture for gaining the cutlery know-how. A steamed, square hunk of carrot probably works better than a thin round.

[Lucy]

I usually just give my kids whatever we are eating at that age. If it seems to hard for them to hold or something, just give them tiny pieces, chicken, sausage, hamburger, you name it. Pretty much any frozen veggie works well, peas, mixed veggies, broccoli, green beans. At this point the silverware is just for practice, eventually they will get it. Something that is relatively easy to do with a spoon is greek yogurt, since it is SO much thicker than regular yogurt more stays on the spoon.

We do a lot of quesadillas as well, just cut in triangles and then they hold and eat them. My daughter is 18 months now, and she attempts to use her fork or spoon, and then abandones it since she can use her hands much faster. My 3 year old pretty much always uses her fork & spoon, unless she is trying to push our buttons. They do get it eventually.

[Jen]

We have an 11 month old VERY independent eater (hasn't wanted baby food since 8 months old!) But she only has a few teeth so we're limited on what we can give her. She's getting pretty good with chewing though, so we've been actually giving her whatever we're having if it makes sense (not super messy or spicy things, obviously)

One thing that is easy and quick is cans of soup- chicken noodle, the chunky kind, low-sodium. I drain the broth and microwave it for like 20 seconds to warm it a bit. She loves it!

Other stuff: mac and cheese (big noodles for picking up, messy but it works), grilled cheese cut into pieces with a pizza slicer, pizza cut into pieces with a pizza slicer :) Frozen veggies (peas, lima beans, carrots) microwaved in water to steam/soften. We stick to finger foods that we can make easily but are still healthy and good for her. Nothing wrong with them using their fingers for a while, they figure out the spoon and fork eventually (after making loooots of messes. ha)

[Sarah]

To make some runny foods (applesauce and yogurt) thicker, I mixed in rice cereal or baby oatmeal - leftovers from the really early eating days. This made the foods so much easier and less messy when learning to use utensils.

[Mama Bub]

Okay, so Hannah loves those baby food squeezies, but they're messy. She'll still let me feed her, but I imagine those days are numbered. I was wondering if putting them in one of those juice box holders would help. That's all I've got.

[natalie]

The little girl that I babysat this summer would eat some type of vegetables (green beans or carrots) and she liked pasta. She also liked to eat fruit and or cereal bars for breakfast. Everything I gave her was finger foods that she could manage independently!

[Erin]

My 15 month old eats a lot of the foods mentioned above, but some we like a lot that are mentioned are:
edamame (frozen, steamed in microwave)
cheerios & raisins (while carefully monitored)
blueberries, cantalope & strawberries are the top fruits these days
black beans & corn with a little dab of sour cream
broccoli lightly steamed with something to dip (yogurt mixed with a tiny bit of some kind of spice or dip)
My girl has most of her teeth already, so that probably influences things like broccoli and such! Thanks for a great topic!

[anna]

My 16 month old eats a lot of what is mentioned above, and mostly he just eats what we eat. If it needs to be chopped into bite sized pieces we do that. He is also a very independent eater with no ability to eat with a spoon/fork. One dish that he loves that makes a quick and easy lunch is a bean salad of sorts. I take a can of garbonzo beans, drain and add some olive oil, a touch of vinegar, salt/pepper, spices and some chopped veggies. It's the perfect shape/size for his little fingers and he loves it. Plus it has protein, good fats and veggies; lots of goodness!

[Mary]

I got a tip from SmittenKitchen and started cutting my 14 month old's food into skinny strips. He prefers to feed himself, so if I do a matchstick/julienne cut on his fruit and veggies, he can eat them with no problem and no choking. I give him his utensils, but he also is still adjusting to them. He uses a fork best, because things stick when stabbed. I've been helping him stick the fork into the food, and then letting go so he can get it into his mouth. More is getting in while he's still eating independently (in his mind). And if he eats everything with his fingers, so be it!

[Marie Ericson]

My twins are almost 15 months old and love quesadillas. I put all sorts of veggies inside, shredded carrots, cauliflower, spinach, etc. Check out my blog for some more ideas.