Healthy finger foods for baby?

[Janna]

I need some healthy finger food ideas for baby! Since he has gotten a taste for feeding himself bread, he wants to feed himself everything. Not only that, but he won't eat pureed foods anymore unless it has a chunky texture. The more he has to gum and mash in his mouth, the better (which makes me nervous!).

 

Right now, the only finger foods he has had has been bananas, whole wheat bread, some cheese I grated for him, the heads of steamed asparagus, chunks of avocado and Cheerios.

 

He is weaned completely onto whole milk now (a new development) and I feel like he needs to be getting more complete nutrition.

 

I need ideas, plus how to store them so I'm not steaming and cooking and chopping every day, 3 times a day, let alone handwashing the food processor 3 times a day.

 

edited to add that he will be a year old in May and he only has 4 teeth so far - so the foods need to be soft enough to gum.

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited April 29, 2009 by Janna

[LaxMom]

Pears are usually soft enough when cut into chunks, as are peaches, plums, mango, etc. Any stone fruits and berries, really. My kids liked oranges, but I would break up the sections so they were just clumps of juice pods.

 

Steamed carrots are good warm or cold, too. Cauliflower, sweet potatoes, squash, can all be steamed or roasted in quantity and stashed in the fridge.

 

Muffins are easy to break into chunks and you can stash a lot of good stuff in them. Noodles are easy.

 

Once my kids started finger foods (and they really never ate pureed foods), we mostly just gave them smaller pieces of what we were eating. With the exception of salad, they did just fine. (Salad greens are way too flat and pliable to manage with gums, it seems)

[4kiddies]

I agree. I would just feed him whatever you are having for your meal just cut up really small. My ped started all four of my kids on table food at 6 months and I have really great eaters. Chicken, pasta, fruits, vegtables like tom, corn, squash, beans, peas......

 

The only things I would avoid are lettuces, peanut products unless you ped has given the okay and carrots that haven't been cooked.

 

ETA: I wouldn't worry about the teeth either. My kids were all late teethers and I never had a problem with food. Those little gums just mash everything up! :)

Good luck!

Edited April 29, 2009 by 4kiddies

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

We love our steamer here. Anything for the baby is steamed longer than for the rest of us so that it is nice and soft. We do pretty much any veggie and some fruits that aren't soft enough already. We store any extras in the refrigerator. DD also likes bread, muffins, and noodles. We all have a yogurt snack in the morning with ground flax seed and fruit. She just got her fifth tooth (she's 15 months) and she can chew anything soft just fine.

[Tammyla]

I remember serving pretty much of standard fair and simply cutting it up or smashing it with a fork. The baby grinder cleaning got old fast and I was happy to pass it on to a friend.

 

Long time ago, but mine loved cooked sweet potatoes and just about any veggie. I cooked a lot of them in the microwave and even reserved them cold later. I also shredded lots of apples, carrots and other goodies with the cheese grater.

 

Left overs were stored in an air tight container and as mentioned served cold or just warmed up..

[Irene Lynn]

I need some healthy finger food ideas for baby! Since he has gotten a taste for feeding himself bread, he wants to feed himself everything. Not only that, but he won't eat pureed foods anymore unless it has a chunky texture. The more he has to gum and mash in his mouth, the better (which makes me nervous!).

 

Right now, the only finger foods he has had has been bananas, whole wheat bread, some cheese I grated for him, the heads of steamed asparagus, chunks of avocado and Cheerios.

 

He is weaned completely onto whole milk now (a new development) and I feel like he needs to be getting more complete nutrition.

 

I need ideas, plus how to store them so I'm not steaming and cooking and chopping every day, 3 times a day, let alone handwashing the food processor 3 times a day.

 

edited to add that he will be a year old in May and he only has 4 teeth so far - so the foods need to be soft enough to gum.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Along with the items that have already been mentioned, our son liked french toast cut into small pieces and scrambled eggs. Muffins are great especially small ones done in the mini muffin tins. Those could always be frozen to pull out, when he is hungry and you don't have time.