Momma's! I need self feeding ideas!

[Chloe'sMom]

My little girl is 15 months and she loves to feed herself. We give her chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and lunch meat all the time. Is there anything else I can be buying that we can feed her because I don't want her becoming accustomed to chicken nuggets and hot dogs. She does also eat any vegetable and fruit I put in front of her. But I'm just looking for more protein ideas.

Thanks!
~Amanda

 

[RAZ24]

hard boiled eggs

Christine

 

[PatsMom]

My DD loved scrambled eggs. I just cooked them real hard and let them cool off before I gave them to her and she managed just fine. Not really a neat process eating eggs with your fingers but she managed.

 

[Katy Belle]

-tiny cheese cubes
-tiny grilled chicken pieces
-ground hamburger meat, small pieces
-tiny pieces of soft, baked fish, or even breaded if she's handling nuggets ok
-whole wheat mac. or mac-n-cheese
-thick yogurt and a spoon, she may be able to do it!

 

[disykat]

My kids used to live off of a meatloaf I made out of ground turkey and spinach. I'd make it for dinner occasionally and cut all the leftovers into cubes and keep in in the freezer. Whenever they couldn't eat what we were having, I'd pull some out. I served it to them with cubes of baked sweet potato.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

My kids used to live off of a meatloaf I made out of ground turkey and spinach. I'd make it for dinner occasionally and cut all the leftovers into cubes and keep in in the freezer. Whenever they couldn't eat what we were having, I'd pull some out. I served it to them with cubes of baked sweet potato.

That is a great idea!

It is my husband who feeds our baby dinner so I have to make it super easy for him to handle.

~Amanda

 

[MerryPoppins]

By that age my kids were eating most meats we ate. I'd just spend some time cutting them up fine enough depending on the meat. (Note: be sure to cut up hot dogs in half moon shapes since they can be a choking hazard.)

My kids loved boneless fish/fish sticks, moist roast beef, pork chops, ravioli and other pasta dishes, hamburger, chicken with rice, and even vegetable soup if the chunks of meat were small and I added crackers or cottage cheese to thicken and cool it. Casseroles can be an easy way of getting some small pieces of meat into kids if you don't mind the mess. And don't forget cheese can be a good protein. Most kids love mac and cheese or grilled cheese, as well as sticks or small cube of cheese. Peanut butter is another option if you don't overdo the amount of sticky stuff and give small enough pieces.

 

[punkin]

In my family, the kids ate whatever we did, but cut into small pieces: Chicken, burgers, meatloaf, fish (be very careful with bones), potatoes, macaroni (I know you asked about protein). Tofu is also great. Mine would eat it straight from the package (cut into cubes) or fried. Also my oldest went through a period where she would eat nothing but avocado chunks and chicken soup.

 

[Beth76]

I could never do it, but tofu was always suggested. Both my boys were pretty much eating whatever we ate at that point.

 

[clarabelle]

I wish now I had not fallen into the "kid food" trap and gave them more unusual foods (to us)
Things that are not on a kids meal menu

 

[solferino]

little meatballs; hummus and pita/cukes etc; ravioli/tortellini;

we love fresh mozzarella balls here, but I don't know if they're recommended for littles or not. (I remember something about some cheeses not being ok)

 

[lulu71]

We do deli ham and turkey and roll it and then cut the rolled up meat into bite sized pieces. We also do this with cheese, so imagine a baby antipasto platter!

 

[famofsix]

My kids always liked the vegetarian patties (BOCA, morning star).

We gave them what we eat at that point just cut up smaller or baked a little longer to be softer or I set their serving aside and did not add any spices. If we ate tacos they had plain meat or if we had garlic chicken I made one piece plain.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

If you put some chicken breast into the crockpot for a few hours (with seasonings and liquids) it falls apart with a fork. You can then shred it for the baby. Same thing with a roast, add some potatos and carrots and you have dinner for awhile.

I also make penne pasta and add some turkey burger to my sauce for protein. It's also a good way to disguise veggies. My kids do love fish and rice as well as tacos. I don't give DS the shell just the fillers (meat, cheese, blk. olives, tomatos) and refried beans and rice. Soup is always good. You could make a big batch of chili and freeze it to portion sizes for your family.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

She eats whatever we eat as well. But she is hungry about an hour before I get home. We joke that she has 1st and 2nd dinner. I just don't want to fall into the kid food trap that so many other people I know have fallen into. But it has to be something fast and easy because my husband doesn't cook.

~Amanda

 

[barrett7890]

my daughter is 10 months old and loves cooked chicken breast, salmon, pizza, mini sausages, all types of pasta, tuna

for quickness i cook her fish/chicken the night before and then she can have it reheated in the microwave or cold like a salad, i just stick it in the oven while we're eating

she has lunch and dinner 2 days a week at my sisters while i'm at work so i send her full meals in tubs to help my sister out

today was chicken, potatoes and brocolli for lunch, and salmon, potatoes and peas for dinner

cami
x

 

[GraysMom]

DS2 didn't have many teeth until after he turned 1, so we struggled trying to find protein he could mash with the few teeth he did have (mainly the front ones). I ended up going to our local farmer's market and having the Amish deli stand chip turkey/ham/roast beef as fine as they could. It ended up looking like it was already partially chewed, but it was something he could break apart in his mouth and swallow. I'd check with your grocery store deli and see if they could do the same thing.

 

[jnykly]

My DD (5) and DS (1) love edamames. They are good sources of protein and vitamins. You can buy them frozen and pop in the microwave or boil them pretty quickly.

 

[Disneyaunt4]

I don't have any advice as I have no children,but I have to say your daughter is absolutely adorable

 

[mjkacmom]

DS2 didn't have many teeth until after he turned 1, so we struggled trying to find protein he could mash with the few teeth he did have (mainly the front ones). I ended up going to our local farmer's market and having the Amish deli stand chip turkey/ham/roast beef as fine as they could. It ended up looking like it was already partially chewed, but it was something he could break apart in his mouth and swallow. I'd check with your grocery store deli and see if they could do the same thing.

It doesn't matter how many teeth they have - the mashing is done with molars, which all babies don't have, but since they're right under the gums, they still work!