One of my friends asked me what I feed my toddler now that she pretty much refuses to be fed by my spoon. And it is tough when all of a sudden you can't feed your baby what you've been feeding her for the past couple of months. So I thought I might as well share my suggestions and maybe some other Moms would comment and give me some new ideas! So here goes:
(This post is updated in 2009 to say that I no longer feed my babies any type of grain until after their first birthday and until they have grown their 1st year molars. Until then, they do not have the digestive juices necessary to digest grains properly.)
--I pretty much let her try any bit of fruit, veggie, or meat (if tender) that we are eating. She doesn't like casseroles, but she loves whole pieces that she can pick up and eat :)
--avocados and egg yolks-- the doc and other books I've read all say that those are the absolute best foods you can give a baby because of all the fatty acids in avocados and the protein in eggs. The avocado cuts up nicely into chunks and she loves it. I hardboil the egg and I admit its a little messy because its crumbly, but its so good for her that I still do it. I try to get her to eat at least a half an avocado and 1 egg yolk every day. She also LOVES scrambled eggs!
Chunks of cheese
Pasta swirls -- I use organic brown rice pasta swirls (Tinkyada brand) and she loves them. I usually make extra and refrigerate them and give them to her to eat while I am preparing the rest of her meal so she's not impatiently waiting for me.
banana, apple, pear, and mango chunks -- She gets excited about all of them!
kiwi chunks -- Kiwi is one of the best sources of vitamin C and like avocados and sweet potatoes, are easy to take on the road because they make their own bowl when cut in half. I just use a spoon to dip out a bite for her.
Sweet potato chunks -- I make ahead of time and refrigerate. When cold, they make great chunks for her to pick up and are a great source of vitamin A.
Grapes -- I still peel and quarter them for her and she loves them!
