self feeding recipies for 12 month old.

[funnyfarm]

I hope there is someone out there who could help me. My 12 1/2 month old daughter refuses to eat anything off a spoon and only eats food she can feed herself with her little fingers.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to nutritious finger foods that can be fed for Lunch and dinner (it is useless to give her a spoon to try to feed herself, she just doesn't have the coordination yet).

Also should i be starting to give her pieces of steak, chicken etc. She seems too small to be eating this food and at this age but she does have nine teeth.

Cheers
Janet

Mother to Briana Sage

[Chickadee]

Janet,

My dd got a lot of finger foods from 11 months. I kept them as simple as possible:

- pieces of ham (you could give soft pieces of chicken or steak, my dd refuses them still)
- cut up tomato, remove the seedy bits.
- toasted cheese sandwichs - butter the outside of the bread and toast/fry in a pan if you don't have a sandwich grill
- vegemite sandwiches
- Roast potato wedges - toss wedges in olive oil and spread out on a sheet, season if you want - 20 to 40 min in a 200o oven, turning once.
- cooked pasta shapes, with or without a bit of sauce
- peas and corn - I keep bags of these in the freezer, dead easy!
- sticky rice
- steamed veg, sticks or cubes - carrot, broccoli, broccolini (my dd loves these!)
- soup or stew but give her toast fingers to dip and chew on instead of a spoon
- stir fries, bub can have some of yours if it's not spicy
- fahita shell "pizzas" - fill with veg bits, ham, a bit of tomato sauce and cheese, microwave then fold over, let cool and cut into manageable wedges

For cereal I found she'd eat them dry without milk as a snack - try rice bubbles, puffed wheat.

[draught]

My DD1 was also an insistent self feeder. Martha has covered a lot of the things we used - in particular we are still big fans of spiral pasta - a bolognase sauce with vegies mixed in is good as the sauce sticks to the pasta and therefore some makes it into their mouths!

I also made quiche or fritattas - vegies and ham with egg and milk, baked in the oven - which she would eat with her fingers.

Roast pumpkin cubes are also good.

As for steak and chicken - little strips of it are fine - if she will eat them. I found that my daughter would eat pieces of barbecue chicken (the pre-cooked ones from the supermarket) - I suspect it was softer than my attempts to cook special meals for her at home!

Cubed fruit is still a favourite in our house - kiwifruit especially (and it is full of vitamin C).

And tinned spaghetti or baked beans for those times when you don't want to cook - although it is incredibly messy it is amazing how much they can get in their mouths!!!

[2girls&1boy]

Hi All,

Your ideas are great!! I was wondering though about my daughter who is 11 months old and only has 3 teeth. Is she okay to eat all these foods with so few teeth?? She seems to handle most things I give her okay mind you I cut everything in pretty tiny pieces for her.


Thanks
Paula

[Chickadee]

Hi Paula,

It's amazing how much babies can chew just with their gums. You're the best judge but she'll probably handle a fairly wide variety of the softer foods.

Another easy finger food I forgot was tinned beans - kidney, butter beans, etc. Just rinse the briney stuff off first. If you think they're too hard you could cook them a bit. DD has gone off these now.

We had pikelets for breakfast on sunday, another easy finger meal that can be done ahead too. For a bit of extra nutrition cut up a peeled apple into thin slices and lay a few out on top of each pikelet right after you pour the batter in. When you turn them over the apple cooks and carmelises a bit so they're sweet. You could also do the same with pear.