Toddler Food Ideas Needed

[ClarabelleCowFan]

DS is almost 16 months old and I am just at a loss of things to feed him at home. He has gotten quite picky lately!

He doesn't have his back teeth yet (molars are just now starting to come in) so he can't chew anything too hard. He doesn't like any of the Gerber Graduate meals for Toddlers that we have tried.

The only fruits he will eat are grapes, bananas and watermelon but he loves the baby food peaches and pears. He loves string cheese and mac & cheese but isn't really a fan of any other pasta.

He will eat cooked carrots and sometimes he will eat blackeyed peas or green beans. He loves mashed and baked potatoes.

Need some ideas on more easy to fix foods for him that he can chew. Any suggestions??

 

[Syrreal]

My DS is also very very very picky and is the Carbohydrate Kid
He eats (and has eaten even before he got hit back teeth in)
grilled cheese sandwiches
rice
cereal straws- but they have to be the apple jacks one (he esp likes these for teething)
crackers (especially the ones that have cheese or some kind of filling)
spaguetti
bananas
smoothies

I think that's pretty much it.

 

[mjkacmom]

Just so you know, he can chew foods even without his molars - they are right under the gums, so his gums are hard. Cereal, pasta, tofu, avacado, cheese, lima beans, cold cuts, toast - almost anything can be a finger food, and with my twins, they pretty much lived on finger food (so much easier for mommy!).

 

[keywestbride]

At that age, I just fed DS whatever we were having with a couple of exceptions (steak, really spicy food, etc). He loved chicken, sweet potatoes (baked, then mashed like a regular potatoe, but with a litle cinnamon), applesauce, semi-frozen blueberries, yogurt smoothies (blend vanilla or plain yogurt with strawberries and 1/2 a banana), browned hamburger crumbles, and spaghetti were some of his favorites.

 

[Disneychix]

Hate to say it but DS (19 months) loves hot dogs. The Tyson frozen chicken nuggets are easy to heat and serve and are all white meat. Mac and cheese is another one of his favorites. Cheese sandwiches he loves too.
We also make pastina (really really small pasta) and after it's cooked crack an egg into the pan and scramble it in with a few frozen vegetables.

I would say don't worry if you feel like you are feeding him the same things all the time. He's eating and that's all the matters!

 

[daleswife]

My DS eats anything I eat. Hes 22 months now, but even at 16 months he ate what ever I ate. DH was giving him steak as early as 12 months!!! He loves veggies...im talkin broccoli and caulflower!!! He'll eat salads before he'll eat meat. I call him my little herbavor!!

 

[I_Know_You2!]

At that age, I just fed DS whatever we were having with a couple of exceptions (steak, really spicy food, etc). He loved chicken, sweet potatoes (baked, then mashed like a regular potatoe, but with a litle cinnamon), applesauce, semi-frozen blueberries, yogurt smoothies (blend vanilla or plain yogurt with strawberries and 1/2 a banana), browned hamburger crumbles, and spaghetti were some of his favorites.

I agree. The need for fancy little foods for kids is pretty recent.

 

[Anonomom]

When DD was this age, she loved tortellini (maybe the cheese filling will make up for your little one's distaste for pasta?), cut-up veggie burgers and yogurt (and Stoneyfield farms sells baby-sized cups of plain yogurt). I also have her cut up chicken patties. I seem to recall making her cheese toast on a fairly frequent basis, too.

Oh, and eggs. Scrambled or hard boiled. When I made scrambled, I'd kind of make it into a flat omelette and cut it up, so she could pick it up easier with her hands.

She also ate a fair amount of freeze-dried fruit. Gerber makes some kinds now, or you can go to whole foods or fresh market and get tubs of pretty much any kind you could want. I used to love these because they were a healthy, portable snack.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[LadyShea]

DS also has always eaten whatever we eat. I never bought special foods.

We were surprised by how much DS liked (and still likes) fish. It's a shame we have to limit it due to mercury concerns, but we live on a river and DH loves fishing, and so we have fresh fish twice a month or so. At that age he loved peas, carrots, bananas, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, all kinds of beans, rice, noodles, cheese, peanut butter, apples (sliced thin even without molars they sort of pulverize it with their front teeth), pears, biscuits with a little syrup, grits, eggs, toast, Cheerios...just about everything.

My suggestion is to just put a bit of everything you're eating on his plate, including sharing a snack of fruit or yogurt with him. I think you'll be surprised that if there is no "choice" he will eat what you give him. DS at 2.5 now will sometimes say "No, I don't want <whatever>" but if I give it to him anyway he digs in. I found that my concern for DS's nutrition meant we ate healthier as well!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Great ideas!

I think I'll try a grilled cheese at lunch and see how he likes it.

 

[nikkers]

I have one of each a picky eater and a not picky eater. At that age I would also try and give them whatever we were eating.
Avocados, apple sauce (no sugar added), mango, sweet potatoes, squash, cheese, yogurt, eggs, grilled chesse, toast w/ jelly, cubed deli meat, waffles, pancakes, eggs. My kids love soup. I make pea soup and wild rice soup. My kids also really like gnochi.

 

[Poohbug]

Have you ever tried those toddler meals. yuck I can't blame any kid for not wanting to eat those. Just feed him whatever he will eat. My DS has cheese cubes, grapes and toast for lunch. He gets whatever we are having for supper. As long as they are not loosing weight they are O.K.

 

[SaraMc]

DS got his teeth early, but before he got them, he loved guacamole, the little pasta that's shaped like stars, eggs were a hit. Also the cheese tortelini was popular too ( still is) I just buy the ones with spinach in them so he's still getting some dark leafy greens. He loves veggies, he actually like another poster said, will eat his veggies first.

 

[Karlzmom]

DS is almost 16 months old and I am just at a loss of things to feed him at home. He has gotten quite picky lately!

He doesn't have his back teeth yet (molars are just now starting to come in) so he can't chew anything too hard. He doesn't like any of the Gerber Graduate meals for Toddlers that we have tried.

The only fruits he will eat are grapes, bananas and watermelon but he loves the baby food peaches and pears. He loves string cheese and mac & cheese but isn't really a fan of any other pasta.

He will eat cooked carrots and sometimes he will eat blackeyed peas or green beans. He loves mashed and baked potatoes.

Need some ideas on more easy to fix foods for him that he can chew. Any suggestions??

When you say "any other pasta," what have you tried? There is such a wide variety out there....macaroni w/butter, salt and pepper to my DSs fav the mushroom tortellini w/spinach and asparagus from Trader Joes...whole thing goes into the nuker and then I rough chopped all of it with my Pampered Chef chopper until he got enough teeth to really go at it. I also gave him the "Soups" from Earth's Best when we were starting to transit from baby foods. Baked Beans work well...particularly with rice for a complete protein. There are a lot of toddler based cookbooks out there for getting nutrition into a baby gourmet. When all else fails, I have been know to shoot my guy a pediasure in his "milk" cup to make up something good for him on a really bad day. Good Luck!

 

[princessmom29]

I second the "whateverI eat they eat" philosophy. With very few exceptions (very spicy, shellfish b/c her dad has an allegry) my DD ate wahe we did just chopped up. Now she eats just about everything I put in front of her and never refuses to try anything. Our rule is one bite and if you don't like it don't eat it, but I am not cooking anything else. My mom always made special food for my sister when she didn't like something and she is now 24 and still does not eat it if it is not pizza, chicken, or potatoes.

 

[akersten]

My son is the same age with no molars. He eats
Omelettes
Baby Oatmeal
Boca burgers
Mini bagels - either cinnamon raisin or whole wheat
Wheat bread cubed
Toast
Black Beans (just rinsed out of the can)
White kidney beans (just rinsed out of the can)
Cantelope
Strawberries
Blueberries (his favorite)
Tortellini, Gnocchi, cut up ravioli
Grilled Cheese (I use wheat bread)
Cheese
Yogurt
Sliced Deli-meat
Hot Dogs
Meat loaf
Chicken Tenders cut up
Cubed avocado
Applesauce
Almost All fruits - he loves fruit

 

[Lstar311]

OH, I could have wrote your post! My DS is 15 months old and I've been going through the same predicament as you. Here's what I give my son.

Breakfast:

Cheerios, Waffles, Pancakes, Yogurt, Oatmeal

Lunch:

Organic Turkey Sandwich, Grilled Cheese, Ravioli, Mac and Cheese, Leftovers from dinner

Dinner:

Usually what we eat: chicken, pasta, meatballs, ravioli, cheeseburger cut up small.

My trouble is getting fruits and veggies in. He doesn't like anything squishiy. Good luck!

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

my son loves yogurt (yobaby), chicken, toast, carrots (cut into small matchstick size peices), apples, cucumbers, bananas, oranges, breads, pastas, pancakes, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cheese, pretty much anything we eat we feed our kids.

lately I am trying out some pumpkin recipes, and tomorrow I am planning on cooking some apple pumpkin muffins with the kids!

Dont be afraid to try new things over and over. Sometimes kids just need to see a food a few times or try it to get used to it.

And they can chew a lot more than you would think they can!

 

[Dancermomof1]

My son is 16 months and is going through the same thing. That go-yogurt stuff is kind of a hit and also cheese omelettes might be something to try. I hate to admit that hot dogs are one of his favorite foods at the moment

 

[puffkin]

My son pretty much ate anything we ate at that age. One of his favorites (and still is) is just plain yogurt with a few sprinkles on top. I will throw berries on to if I have some. I just buy the big tubs of dannon yogurt for him. He also really liked raisens at that age.