Finger Foods - Orlando, FL

I would use real meat vs. lunch meat as it is healthy and doesn't contain nitrates. You can tenderize it (put between to sheets of wax paper and pound it until then. Marinate it with alittle apple juice or chicken broth then cook it however you like )baked, on stove, etc. Then allow to cool and cut into small piecs then process in blender or if still warm add a little broth before blending. You can add cooked mashed sweet potatos or applesauce for a change of flavor. Also here is a list of finger foods:

Fun Finger Foods
(adapted from Feeding the Whole Family)

Pieces of ripe avocado, peach, nectarine, banana, plum or melon
Pieces of steamed apple or pear
Dried fruit (soaked in water to make it softer)
Whole grain breads, crackers and pita breads
Whole grain pasta and noodle
High quality dry cereals
Cooked whole grains
Pieces of baked or boiled white or sweet potato
Pieces of baked or steamed squash
Chopped vegetables, steamed until soft (carrots, peas, etc.)
Well-cooked beans
Soft or silken tofu cubes
Foods Babies May Choke On
(adapted from Feeding the Whole Family, written by Cynthia Lair)

Foods to avoid:
Apple chunks or slices
Dry cereal
Grapes
Hard Candy
Hard Cookies
Hot Dogs (even tofu-dogs)
Meat chunks
Peanut butter - or other nut butter sandwiches
Popcorn
Potato chips
Raw carrot sticks/slices
Rice cakes
Whole nuts and seeds
Whole or unseeded berries

Good luck.

My son Josh did the same thing, at about nine months he wanted to feed himself. Gerber makes bit size toddler foods that seemed to work well because at that age Josh had teeth. Gerber has all varieties of fruits and vegetables. They also have a cereal that melts in their mouths to prevent choking. I hope this helps.

Be blessed

I am a single mom of a wonderful 3 and half year old.

Hi B.,
these fingerfoods have worked for me: avocado pieces, peas, tomato pieces, and "pirate booty" or veggie puffs. My daughter also started with the steamed veggies, we are very proud, and now doesn't like them any more.
I know - all they want to do is feed themselves and that really means feed their shirt, the wall and the floor. Hang in there!

Hi there! First off, i want to say you have a great name. My 4 month old daughter is named B. Popper. :) B. is #2 baby, and she justed started eating cereal and applesauce in the jar. And I can remeber when my first daughter, Chloe, now 3 years old, started eating solids, i was concerned because she didnt have any teeth but seemed to want to eat everything she saw. So I started with the little cans of sliced carrots in the veggie isle. They have all types in the small can so there is no waste. The carrots were Chloes favorite. Try little cans of beans, good protein, garbonzo beans are really yummy room temp and good in salads too.:) maybe even some red, or black beans. How about hot dogs? Try the Hebrew national, they are so worth it...the reduced fat, less sodium too, but any REAL BEEF, non processed hot dog and i would boil it and then cut it in circles and pulled the skin off and then cut each circle in 4 pieces, yummy! Keeping in mind it depends on how many teeth they have too. Chloe didnt get her first tooth till she was 1 year old, and she would eat everything i just described. Eggs were a big hit, scrambled. Deli meat for sure, whenever we are at the local store, i get deli meat and Chloe asks for a piece of ham. Try cheese too, any shape. i promise you one thing, that i am sure of. You must give what you are eating on their plate too to try it, otherwise you will forever be making different meals for differnt children, break them of that early. I plan to give B. more variety then I gave Chloe. Oh and soup, boy how they love soup, u can boil ur own or buy the can...strain all the veggies and meat into a bowl and let Teagen go at it. And try different cereals, he may like rice crispies. Cream cheese on ritz crackers is really good, lil messy. And last but not least Green veggies u asked about.....anything green is good for you...even avacado, teagen may surprise you with what he likes. Peas come in ssingle serving packs in the frozen section,in steamer packs, pop it in the microwave for a min, quick and tasty. Corn comes that way too...but i think corn has no nutritional value at all, just takes up space. :) I hope I touched on what will help. I really do love to cook and grocery shop. If you ever need anything email me ____@____.com care and be happy, you are a good mom!

publix sells frozen bagged mixed vegetables (like what would be in a pot pie) that are already cut in tiny cubes.... carrots, corn, green & lima beans... i just boil those till they're good and soft and they make a great variety of finger foods.

Hi B.,
When mine were ready to start eating "meat" I found it to be a challenge, too, becasue it seemed like any meat my husband and I ate was really to tough for them (even the tender pieces) becasue they did not heave enough teeth yet. What I did was buy sliced Boar's Head chicken from the Publix Deli. Boar's head is a little pricier, but is healthier than other deli meats, without all the fillers and nitrates. Also, the pre-packaged ones have a lot of preservatives and tend to be tougher in consistency for baby to chew.The chicken was very tender, so when it was sliced thin, I could just shred it up on their tray, and then they could easily mash it in their mouths with their gums. They loved it!

(I wouldn't worry about the cleanliness of the slicer - that seems a little extreme to me. My SIL works in the Publix deli and can attest the the fact that they are required to be meticulous about cleaning)

Hi B. ~

9 mos. is kinda young for regular meats (vs. baby food meats), but if your doc gave you the okay then try what we did - packaged lunch meat (NOT fresh deli which can become contaminated if the meat slicer isn't clean). I always got the "thin sliced or shaved" kind, tore into little pieces and my son loved it. Ham, turkey, chicken. Try any veggie that you can cook or steam until very tender. When my son was very young, he surprised me by eating steamed broccoli cut into little pieces.

Usually it means the baby food meats unless he is past that already? When I am unsure of anything I just call and ask the nurses or physician, don't ever feel stupid. Maybe he should have been more clear with you when he said that. My son used to love eating the sliced up canned carrots because they were easy to pick up and bite size for him. I hope this helps, Good Luck! Let me know if you need anything else.
LisaM
www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan

9 months is ok to start protein, meaning meats like the dr said & poultry & beans.

I would personally not go for deli meats- if you do find ones that do not have any nitrates! I also would not necessarily go for hotdogs or any kinds of 'processed' meats- plenty of time for chemicals, nitrates, etc when he's older!
I also wouldn't give meat balls or meat loaf bcse there's egg in them- not sure when baby can have egg but I don't think until 12 months old...

meat can be tender pieces of lamb chop or any meat you eat that's not too chewy & is tender- just shred into tiny pieces
or shredded chicken or turkey from what you eat

beans (publix has organic greenwise brand): straight from the can: black, pinto, garbonzo

as for veggies buy canned or frozen organic: broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots, brussel sprouts

you can also buy frozen boxes of Health is Wealth brand Spinach Munchies or Broccoli Munchies

you can cook lentils, split peas, etc. or, since you don't cook, go buy some organic lentil soup or split pea soup- not finger foods but more 'tasty' then baby food...look for low sodium, too, if you're buying canned soups...

frozen organic sweet potato fries

Hi B.. I would recommend that you pick up a copy of super baby food by Ruth Yaron. I'm sure you can find a cheap used copy on ebay...or Barnes and Nobles sells it for $20. This book tells you which produce items your baby can eat at which stages. There are lots of recipes and finger food ideas. All veggies are "good" for him...but some are harder to digest, so you should wait. Early veggie choices can be green beans, asparagus, carrots, peas, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and spinach (sauteed). I just looked in the book, and those are all good choices for a 9 month old. You can also offer him cheese now. Veggies are REALLY easy to cook, and fresh steamed are going to be much healthier than frozen or canned. That said, my daughter LOVED canned beans..(black beans, baked beans, etc) and still does. To steam veggies, you just put an inch or two of water in a medium sized pan,and let it come to a boil.You also need a steamer basket. You can find them anywhere..target, wal-mart, wherever. They adjust to fit any pan. They are only a couple dollars. The steamer basket slips in the pan...the washed and cut veggies go in the basket, lid goes on. Green beans and asparagus only take about 4 minutes for adults...maybe 7 for a little one. I would steam broccoli 12 minutes for a little one. One thing you can do is steam up some broccoli, then dice it up very small and put it in mashed potatoes. Again, SO easy. Peel and slice the potatoes..cut them into 1" or so cubes..steam for 30 minutes, dump out the water in the pan, and put the potatoes back in the pan and mush them up. Add the broccoli. You can also add cheese for more protein. You can do a big batch of this, then freeze in balls (ice cream scoop size) on a cookie sheet. When they are frozen, they can go in a freezer ziploc...ready to be defrosted at any time. I really suggest the book I mentioned...it really helped me immensely. Veggies like corn are too hard for your baby to digest now..this book will tell you that. Also, you got some nice letters from other moms...but I want to point out one thing. You should never, ever give your little one a carrot cut like a quarter...or a hot dog, or anything else of that shape. That is a MAJOR choking hazard. Cut them into thin sticks instead. Experiment...and try fresh produce for yourself too. Your body will thank you!!!!!! Good luck! :)

Hi Brook,

My son isn't old enough to eat solids quite yet, but I've been doing lots of research so I'm ready when the time comes. I have a great book that I bought by Annabel Karmel (I chose this author because I heard lots of great things about her, but there are plenty out there). She has quite a few books out, on the subject, but the one I bought is called "Super Foods for Babies and Children" It has lots of information about feeding, meal planners, recipes, etc. It is divided into ages (7-9m, 9-12m, 1-2y, etc) and gives you information on issues to expect, advancing them to meats, equipment you'll need, etc, etc, etc. I have found it very informative. I also bought it from a seller on Amazon for $1.90 and its in perfect condition (the list price on the book is $25). Good luck!

T.

Hello B.,

In the section where you get the baby food they have jars of veges and jars of meat weinies. That is what I fed my twin boys at that age. I was afraid of choking, so it was a great source of meat and veges. I also don't cook that often so I was always looking for an easy, good nutritious way to feed them. The weinies and veges both go in the microwave. The weinies after nuking them, I would cut them down the middle and then across to make small increments. But the veges, I believe they had carrots, peas, and green beans came dices in perfect sections. Also they have microwavable meals that have veges and meat in them too and my boys loved them too. They are called graduate foods. I hope this helps. One of the twins was a choker, so this helped me transition to our food.

Sincerely and good luck,
J. Carlson

Get the Gerber Graduates foods in the baby food section. For meat, they have little meat sticks in jars that look like vienna sausage fingers--turkey, chicken, meat. They also have other jarred finger foods ready to serve--carrots, green beans, apples, peaches, etc.

This is my opinion, please don't feed him lunch meat. Most are loaded with sodium nitrates.

I gathered some recipes from other people on this site. Make sure that the recipe is appropriate for him (example that some recipes he needs molars to chew properly)...

http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=93092

Some of these recipes my kids liked.

Muffins are so easy to put some veggies in, that might be an option for you.

Good luck!

Just off the top of my head, I'd offer him some cut up olives. Black and green ones. My kids LOVED them (and still do- 9 yrs later). And you can buy a couple of sweet potatoes and stick them in the oven (wrapped in foil) for an hour or so.. they are great with a pat of butter and cinnamon mixed in... or you can just slice them and offer them plain (peel the skin off after you slice it.. it's easier that way). You can also peel and slice carrots (like thick nickels or quarters) and nuke them (put some water in the bowl with the sliced carrots and a piece of waxed paper over the top) until soft.
Be forewarned, though, that orange veggies have a way of coloring what comes OUT of your baby, too... =-)

I am SO JEALOUS of you! :) My son is 3 and he still wants Mommy to feed him sometimes.

Lunch meats are OK, *if* he's capable of chewing them, but be sure to get the freshly cut meat from the deli counter because the prepackaged stuff has preservatives in it that aren't so good for kids that young. At that age, baby food with meat in it (like other people have suggested) might be best. Maybe he's ready to start using those teeny little learning spoons.

My now 11 month old was/is the SAME WAY! The great thing is that he wants to eat EVERYTHING! I buy frozen veggies and cook them per package instructions and he loves them because they are usually already in the perfect bite sized pieces for him. He loves carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans and corn. I recently made him fresh, steamed broccoli (a little soft but not mushy) and he even at that too! I was apprehensive about the broccoli because I was afraid it would cause gas, but no such problems. It's great! As for meat...I buy lunch meat at the deli counter occasionally and have tried giving him small pieces of that (he loves it), he loves chicken nuggets (cut up small of course) and spaghetti & meatballs (cut up small). I think the most important thing is keeping it small and soft. Try everything you think he can chew without issue. It's a great way to get him used to different textures and tastes. Have fun and happy eating!

Hi B.,
When I was starting my little ones on meats, I took the advice of a good friend and I went to the deli counter at the store and asked for 1/4 lb. shaved turkey--as thinly sliced as they could get it. Shaved is really good. I started with turkey and worked from there to ham and whatever else you see that looks good. Then when I fed my child, I just put a little bit on the high chair tray and let them handle the rest. It's really easy and they liked it alot. As for vegetables, you could get canned stuff and either mash it with a fork or put it in a food processor (a fork is easier clean-up). I even used to freeze leftovers in ice cube trays. Each cube is a serving of whatever you want to feed that cute baby! I had one child that loved the "Gerber Graduates" meat sticks. I would give him one of those and he also loved green beans. He would just eat and eat! Then he'd have peaches. He could eat a whole can by himself! That was good because he was a preemie. You should see him now! He's 13, taller than me and wears a size 13 men's shoe! And he hasn't stopped growing yet! Good luck to you and many blessings on your family.

Hi B.,

I can totally relate to what you're saying. I don't cook much either and don't really eat a lot of raw veggies so I had to make a real effort to remember the finger foods for my son. At 9 months Teagan is just starting out so you don't want to get stuff that is too hard to chew. Steamed veggies would be a good choice at this point so he doesn't have trouble chewing them. I'm thinking carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, zuchinni . . . not to mooshy because he's going to want to pick them up without squishing them up in his fingers. As for meat, you can feed him tender cuts of meat that you and your husband eat but cut them in really, really small pieces so if he swallows without chewing very well he won't choke. Gerber makes some really cool snacks now that are veggie based but they certainly don't substitute for the real thing. Best of luck to ya!!

K. Woodlief
Work at Home United
www.LovinLifeHome.com
voicemail/fax: 800-841-5821

Hi B.,
My daughter did the same thing starting at around 8 months. She'd spit everything out that I fed her and wanted to do it herself. You can cut up some avocado, tofu, soft cheese chunks, small diced pieces of meats, I also used to take baby carrots, squash, potatoes... all kinds of hard veggies and cut them up and put them in those ziploc steamer bags to get them soft, cool them down and then feed them to him. My daughter would gobble all of that stuff up. Good luck, it's a challenging stage but they get out of it pretty fast :-) Also if you're looking for a mom's group, check out Jacksonville Friends with Strollers on www.meetup.com :)

Check out these two books:
Superbaby Foods
Child of Mine: Feeding with love and good sense.

The first one is a great resource, but encourages you to make all of your own "super baby foods" IF you are like me and a lot of moms I know--that is not always possible, but there are still a ton of good ideas and info about nutrition.
The second is my favorite--great info on what to feed, when to feed it, how to prepare it--and she doesn't poo poo food that isn't homemade.

Hi B.. As far as meats or proteins are concerned, my husband and I began feeding our son very small bites of cooked chicken. I also cooked egg yolk and cut that up for him. Gerber has the Graduate meals with pasta and a meat in them that can get them used to the meats. Even thought is says for toddlers, I began feeding my son at 9 or 10 months b/c he had 8 teeth. As far as veggies are concerned, you can cook him brocolli, squash, green beans, peas, really whatever! Just steam them or even use can goods as long as you rinse them of their salt or buy them w/o salt. My son is almost 11 months old and just now able to grab the harder to grab or slippery foods. If he'll eat sweet potatoes from a spoon, that's a very healthy carb for him to have. I find that my son loves pieces of cheese as well. For menu suggestions, just make sure in a day he's getting ample amounts of each food group. One serving of protein is enough at this age, two fruits, two veggies, one or two dairy (cheese, cottage cheese). Check out babycenter.com for a guide to feeding. It was very helpful to me. Good luck and keep us informed.

My daughter did the same thing. Try the Toddler Time foods. You can get diced vegetables and fruits and they also have meat sticks like chicken, turkey, chicken & carrot. they are look simialar to a vienna sausage. Mine loved them and they are super duper soft. I would dice them up for her so they were tiny pieces since at that age chocking can still be a real hazard. I waited on meats that we eat for that same reason. I was just nervous about choking.

I'd suggest that since he seems to like the independence of finger foods, go with it! Lunch meats often have additives that are questionable (nitrates, etc), so cutting up your meat into tiny pieces would be a better choice. Some good crossover vegetables from fruits are sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. Just steam them and cut into finger sized bits. And peas and baby lima beans are the perfect size to work on those finger skills!