Finger Foods - Smithfield,RI

A snack that my kids have always loved is frozen peas. They are good for you and go down without a problem. :)

I think this is a great question and I can't wait to hear what other Mom's suggest so I can get some new ideas as well. My son is ten months old and LOVES to feed himself. He will only let me feed him with a spoon if he is feeding himself as well Here is a list of a bunch of things he enjoys, and some not as much. Keep in mind that everything should be soft enough and toddler bite size...
Fruit- watermelon, blueberries, canned and fresh peaches, canned pears, fruit cocktail (pull out the grapes). (my son gets fruit at every meal)
Veggies- all of them! Sweet potato, green beans, carrots, zucchini(my sons favorite?)just steam up a bunch ahead of time and warm again for the next meal.
we do pasta with some parm cheese on it, macaroni, mini shells, egg noodles whatever.
grilled cheese, vegi burger patties, toast, bagels etc.

When I am short on time or he is hungry and it is time for me to steam a new crop of veggies noodles etc you can take a can of soup, low sodium and drain the soupy part and keep the noodles, chicken meat veggies etc and warm them and it makes for a great quick fix. My son prefers the steamed version but will eat this and I have a friend who's child loves the soup. Also the canned beefaroni and mini raviolis are a hit as well as mac n cheese. You can get the single serve portion that microwaves and get a couple of meals out of it.
Pretty much your child will eat whatever you do. (still watch out for honey, peanuts egg whites etc.) My son even likes baked beans! Graham crackers are also a favorite for an on the go snack. Also, keep in mind that texture at first is a big thing to them, my son loved peas as baby food but it took 4 tries before he would eat them as a pick me up. Must have been a funny texture? Life gets so much easier when they embrace table foods. We went to a friends birthday party this weekend and I put a little extra on my plate of what I knew he would like: blueberries (from her fruit salad) a hamburger patty, some mac n cheese, baked beans....he gobbled it all up and said mmmmmm after every bite :)
Have fun with it and just keep trying more things as your confidence and hers grows.
L.

Try matchstick vegetables - carrots, peppers, cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash, etc. - cut them thin, and let her dip in anything she likes, such as ranch dressing.

How about sweet potato fries or oven fries? I cut potatoes in strips, toss in olive or canola oil and maybe a little salt & pepper, and bake until done. You could also cut them into cubes. Leave the skins on the russet potatoes especially. You can do butternut squash the same way but it cooks faster than the potatoes.

Try really healthy french toast, cut in cubes. I use whole grain bread and dip in a mix of protein-fortified milk (I use Genisoy powder and soy milk) and egg. I cook up a batch, freeze between layers of waxed paper, and defrost as needed. Eat plain or dipped in a little maple syrup.

Try healthy breads like zucchini bread, banana bread. You can make them with whole grain flour andn add wheat germ, ground flax seed, etc. to boost the nutritional value.

Whole grain pasta, with a pasta sauce for dipping. Choose a shape she can hold on to - anything with lines or a corkscrew shape will be easier and will hold more sauce, or something big like ziti or penne. You can start adding pureed vegetables to your sauce - spinach, butternut squash, etc. I saw someone do this on TV - every Sunday night, cook up vegetables and puree them, then store in little zipper bags and freeze in a stack - pop them out as needed, and add to other things. These can be added to muffins too.

My son likes apples dipped in peanut butter or cashew butter. I assume you are already doing plain cubed fruit like melon.

Good luck - hope you get lots of great ideas!

My sister showed me a great book called Feed Me, I'm Yours. It is chock full of ideas for self-feeding toddlers. It contains tips on how to get them to try new things and healthy snacks and meal ideas. Unfortunately, I can't remember much of it - my daughter is almost five and it is downright scary how quickly I have forgotten so much from the early years! But if you can find that book at your local library or maybe a bookstore I think you'd find it helpful.

I never did purees with my DD, started with finger foods at 10 mos. I also delayed all grains, dairy and meat, and anything I thought might be allergic, just in case. She loved most of the fruits and veggies I gave her (still does mostly at 22 mos). Some of the things that come to mind:
avocado (will stain, so feed baby in ugly clothes or naked!)
frozen blueberries (she still loves them)
baked sweet potato fries (tossed with olive oil and sometimes herbs)
grilled zucchini or summer squash (tossed with olive oil)
banana spears (she could hold and gnaw and I didn't fear choking)
peas (LOVES them)
string beans (raw or cooked, at least in the summer when they are yummy)
chick peas, navy beans, lentils
homemade chicken noodle soup minus the broth

Once dairy and grains were introduced any combo of cheese and bread was good. If you start her out with whole wheat, she'll never know about white bread. Quesadillas, brie on baguette, grilled cheese sandwiches.

Once your baby gets used to eating, just give her little pieces of whatever you are eating. Boy, that is SO much easier at mealtime.

Hi J.,

I have a 16 month old and even though he is my 6th child I felt at a loss when he started finger foods. I cut up every kind of fruit, cheese, pasta, breads, veggies, basicly anything we eat I give him. I did not want to over do it but also wanted him to eat anything we ate. I do make sure to wait 2-3 days before introducing a new food but if it is healthy he gets is in small pieces.

Happy eating,

B. O

Not sure if you are doing dairy yet. If so, there's always chunks of cheese. If not, for protein try cubes of firm tofu or scrambled eggs that are cooked less scrambled so they are big chunks. I would also cook tube or rotini pasta and put butter and sometimes grated cheese on it. My daughters loved these finger foods.

Hi J., I have a daughter about to turn two, and I can remember those days---My son is 10--so I had forgotten all those tricks--especially when you are out to dinner, and you want to give them something to eat, so you can eat. So here are a few ideas--I hope it helps. Peas, corn, carrots, graham crackers, cheerios, corn pops, apple jacks, cubed ham, turkey--alot of restaraunts will let you order a side of this, and that. all kinds of fruit--nilla wafers are my daughters favorite. triangles of toast, cheese, pancakes. Scrambled eggs are good too--use little milk, to keep them on the stiff side, and then cut into cubes. Tofu, bannanas, broccoli--hope some of this helps--------------Kim

My daughter is 14 months and I had the same problem, one thing that has worked wonders is mandarin oranges - little fruit cups or from a can, they're great for them to practice feeding themselves, and they melt in their mouths so no fear of choking.

Here's a couple of other things she eats (she has 4 teeth):
-Gerber fruit snacks (they are really soft)
-green beans / peas / cooked potatoes
-pastas (fun shapes) usually with some butter or italian dressing
-ground beef (cut up a hamburger or meatloaf)
-crumbled cheeses
-pretty much anything that's not crunchy (or hard to chew) that you can cut up small enough for her

Oh, and a really great teething item: frozen french fries. We give our daughter a huge frozen steak fry and she gnaws it and it really helps sooth her teething pains.

Good luck!
L.

Some really good ideas people have given you so far. It helped me too...LOL!
My son loves peanut butter sandwiches but I cut them into small bit size pieces to feed himself. Otherwise he will try and shove a whole half into his mouth at once & he is 20 months old, LOL! Just make sure you spread the peanut butter thin I leave the crust on to because he loves it. No I do not use jelly or fluff (too much sugar & bad habit to get into) but you could add it if you wish.
He also love Morning Star veggie burgers cut up into bit size pieces.

I'm in the exact same boat with our daughter!!! Some things that have worked (I think some of these have been mentioned) are:

Mac & Cheese- I buy the organic Annie's easy mac- it doesn't have the food dyes, etc.

Our daughter LOVES beans- chic peas, black beans- right out of the jar

Avacado's are great-

because you're not supposed to do peanut butter until 2- I do jelly and cream cheese sandwiches cut into pieces or sometimes just toast with cream cheese cut up (I've experimented w/ cream cheeses- strawberry, etc.)

frozen ravioli- cooked and cut up

Trader Joes makes a good turkey meatball- I stick these in the microwave and chop them up

canned fruit in fruit juice (not syrup) peaches and pears are really great and quick- a fav for our daughter

frozen waffles cut up

our daughter has figured out how to dip things into ketchup (without being too messy), which is really cute and helps her get things down, like chicken that she won't otherwise eat!

Kashi also makes a great frozen pizza w/ veggies on it- I buy these and chop some up for her and eat some myself!

hope this helps!

Some of my daughter's favorites:

Cut vegetables. I buy them frozen, steam them and she eats them like candy. I buy cut green beans, or mixed vegetables (peas, corn, lima beans, carrots).

Shelled edamame or other beans, a good source of protein.

Diced fruit (mango, apple, peach, etc), grapes cut in half.

Diced cheese.

Cheerios or other dry cereal.

These are all quick, easy and healthy!

Another, maybe not so healthy snack my daughter loves in goldfish crackers.