My 14 month old wont eat!! What are the foods your toddle will eat?

Lin - posted on 06/06/2009

Try cheese and crackers, toast, 100% fruit juice popsicles, fried green beans like at Friday's (I know that's not the healthiest but if it gets the occasional veggie in his system, its better than none), peas (with butter), waffles, Gerber/Kroger puffs for wee ones, mini egg rolls, soft pretzels and that's all I can think Nick will eat that's not already mentioned or not from a spoon.

Good luck!

Amanda - posted on 06/01/2009

my son loves anything pasta..mac and cheese, some cooked noodles with butter,LOVES them cup of soup things....or some kind of rice creation

Stacey - posted on 06/01/2009

The independant stage...gotta love it...my son is going thro that now too but luckily he isnt a picky eater. Chicken is good...i just cut it up. Cooked veggies are also good n clean...when I make spaghetti I give him plain noodles an he gobbles them up. Any kind of cut up fruit. I've come to the reliazation that he'll need wiped down after every meal so I let him at it. He eats whatever I make for dinner. Any kind of casserle is good...it tends to me thicker n easier for them to pick up plus did i mention the calories? Have you tried giving him the spoon instead...let him feed himself more..it's what he wants haha...Good luck to you!

Lindsay - posted on 05/30/2009

Our son LOVES picking up the little pieces of diced carrot & peas (the kind that comes in a can- ). We give him biscuits/bread/etc to gnaw on, or sometimes make a little sandwich and cut it into baby sized bites. He also loves it when we make pasta like rotini, put a tiny bit of butter on it for flavor, and dump the pasta onto his highchair tray and just let him go to town. He thought it was AWESOME when we let him eat his own bananas without any adult help (although he takes HUGE HUGE bites so we have to watch really carefully). He'll eat string cheese sticks or if we break up a piece of american cheese into bite size pieces he's happy with that. Cheerios are a lifesaver, of course.



We just went through a 2-3 week stage where he ate as much as a five year old, and then another 2-3 week stage when he wouldn't eat much at all. We found that the more "engaged" we were in the feeding, the better he did. We let him have a spoon or fork and play with it while he was eating.

Lately, he's been shunning baby food (which normally he was happy to eat) but when I scoop the food on the spoon, and then let him put the spoon in his mouth (i hold on to the far end of it so he can't tip it upside down) he's all excited about it again.



We have avoided hot dogs and chicken nuggets because of how much sodium they contain. Not that he's never had those things, but most of the time we try to get his protein from other things like cheese, yogurt, ground beef, etc.

I couldn't tell you how many calories he eats a day, but I try to balance the food groups (don't neglect veggies!) and figure if he eats in one day as much as I could eat at one meal, he's doing pretty good.

ME - posted on 05/15/2009

try yogurt covered raisins, dried fruits and veggies, cereal bars. my son doesn't like meat...which doesn't surprise me, because I am a vegetarian and they say that babies learn to like the foods that their moms eat while pg...He will eat veggie nuggets (fake chicken), cheese, fish, hot cereal....Try helping your little one learn to use his own spoon...Miles loves to feed himself, and tho he still needs lots of help, he will eat almost anything on a spoon if we let him put it in his own mouth!

Heather - posted on 05/13/2009

BTW, if you do the kabobs you need to cut off the pointy end and monitor closely so she doesn't shove the stick in her mouth. And, when I am running low on time I give my baby the veggies from low sodium veggie soup. They are soft, small-sized, and have some flavor. Just use the broth for a recipe. Good luck!!

Heather - posted on 05/13/2009

Have you tried baked apples? I core an apple, sprinkle a little cinnamon inside, cover with foil, and broil until soft. Then let it cool and peel it. Don't peel it before you broil it tho, or it won't be as juicy. Also, when my little girl refused to eat I got those little play dishes for a child's toy kitchen, and she loved eating off the tiny little plates. Have you tried microwaving a tortilla with cheese to make a quesedilla (sp?) And if you get sticks (like for shish kabobs) my kids will eat anything if it's on a stick.

Theresa - posted on 05/13/2009

A friend told me to gauge how much food your child is getting, not based on one day's consumption, but 2 or 3 days... like adults, sometimes kids just aren't that hungry (teeth coming in, bored of a certain food, drinking a lot of milk, etc). My daughter also likes Goldfish crackers, they are a good size and clean when out and about.

Kristina - posted on 05/12/2009

My girl eats a TON, but somedays she just doesnt feel like eating. I think we all do that sometimes. On those days I give her the Enfamil toddler formula to make sure she gets the extra nutrients.

Leslie - posted on 05/12/2009

My daughter loves green beans, peanutbutter and jelly, carrots, mandarin oranges, grilled cheese, string cheese, spaghetti chopped up, chicken noodles, cereal bars, yobaby yogurt, gel fruit, anything she can pick up. She doesn't like me feeding her either, she wants to do it herself. Good luck, don't stress about it, he'll eat when he's hungry! Or at least that's what I tell myself, my daughter's also a picky eater.

Mary - posted on 05/05/2009

When my son is refusing to eat (which is often), I give him yogurt smoothies in a bottle or sippy cup so he can get the extra calories. He loves them.

Holly - posted on 05/04/2009

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your little one eating, My two boys have never been really picky eaters. I have always been told that as long as he is eating something and his weight and growth are ok. Then you don't need to worry. Also toddlers has a nack for eating what their body needs. Reading through the other posts I think you have a lot of nice options to try. Just keep at it. He will eat when he is hungery.

Jenny - posted on 04/30/2009

As far as finger foods go, I toast WW bread and cut it into small bites with a pizza cutter. My daughter (14 months) likes to dip, so I'll give her hummus (plain) or pureed avocado to dip it in. She also will dip cheerio or bite-sized shredded wheat or plain rice cakes in dips. I cut up grapes into quarters. Have you tried beans at all? They're a good source of protein and surprisingly easy finger foods. My daughter prefers them in soup broth with other veggies; I strain most of the broth off and put the pieces on her tray and she eats them with her fingers too. When my older son turned this age, he loved cut-up turkey and chicken breast as well as finely cubed cheese. Two books with good suggestions for finger foods: Dr. Sears's "The Baby Book" has so much feeding information for up to 2 years. Based on his recommendation, I started feeding grilled salmon to my younger daughter at an earlier age and she loves it (good source of Omega 3 and protein). I'm not a vegetarian, but Ruth Yaron's "Super Baby Food" also has great suggestions for finger foods and ways to make "Super Toddler Snacks" in creative ways that have tons of healthy stuff in them; I found that s few of her recipes packed a lot of nutrition in one bite.

Jennifer - posted on 04/30/2009

our daughter has only 5 teeth, so i understand the limitations on chewing! but she loves mixed veggies, toast, cheerios, yogurt, pb sandwiches, quesadillas, grapes, apples (all fruit and veg actually), baby corn, cheese cucumbers, pasta, and fish! ive never been told not to give it to her, and she loves some tuna mixed in with her pasta. also the occasional fish finger is ok, she loves them! she also likes to play with a spoon of her own while i feed her, letting her dip it in the bowl a bit, and play with putting food on it. she is completely off of formula/breast milk, and has been since 12 months. i dont know if that makes a difference at all. good luck!

Alicia - posted on 04/29/2009

Fortunately for us, we never had a problem with our daughter and food. I made all of her food from the time we added it to her diet at 5 months. She eats everything we eat. The only thing that she has trouble with is chicken. I think it has to do with the texture. She LOVES all the vegetables, fruit, cheese, yogurt, break, and even fish. The only thing we haven't given her are the normal things like nuts, candy, raw veggies, etc. We also still have her on formula per our pediatrician's recommendation. She only gets about a 4-5 ounce cup of Mott's for Tots juice (40% less sugar and made with filtered water) a day. I think another thing that has helped is that we eat all of our meals as a family and she sees us eating regular food and she follows what we do. Keep trying and don't give up!!!! Good luck!!! Let me know how it goes.

Tanya - posted on 04/26/2009

My daughter is eating many of the things that people have already suggested, but here are a few more ideas too...

Avocado
Grapes (cut in half)
Oatmeal with applesauce (it's messy, but my daughter eats it with her fingers)
Sweet potatoes cut into fries and baked in the oven
Pasta with sauce, sprinkled with cheese
Pancakes
Squash (her favorites are butternut and acorn -)
Homemade healthy muffins

I hope some of these ideas have been helpful :)

Jillian - posted on 04/24/2009

My daughter actually loves broccoli. If cooked until soft she loves to hold the little trees and she takes bites pretty good. She also loves ground beef, chicken, and the canned no salt green beans. She also loves the no salt cottage cheese. I let her do that one herself with some help. It's a great food to practice feeding themselves with because it actually sticks to the spoon pretty well. oh, she loves applesauce too.

Johanne - posted on 04/23/2009

My son likes:

Toast

bananes

apple sliced very thin

Frozen veggies, boiled

fish sticks

potatoes

cut up watermelon, berries, kiwi

noodles

rice cakes with BP or jam on it



I know it's frustrating, but keep trying, it'll get better

Jess - posted on 04/22/2009

My suggestion would be to keep introducing foods, sometimes it takes kids seeing foods several times before they will try it. Sometimes the eating patterns change when they because of growth spurts, if his weight is ok I would not worry too much, he will eat when he is hungry and he needs to learn about that instinct.

My daughter loves the 'pick-up' foods too. I use the plates that have 3 sections. I usually put in 2 things she likes and one new or unpopular thing. She loves the mixed veggies, or peas (I just use the frozen bag and microwave it with a little water). Here are a few other foods she eats:

Cheese
Grilled Cheese (you can put veggies/ketchup/hummus/mustart etc. in too)
Cheerios
Pasta
You CAN do fish (except shellfish) but watch for mercury levels salmon is a good choice to check mercury go to www.gotmercury.org
ground turkey
bananas
Berries
Yogurt
Fig newtons
Rasins
Frozen waffles

Good luck!

Tiffany - posted on 04/22/2009

** make that PORK, not prok...****

Tiffany - posted on 04/22/2009

I may try grilled cheese, you just cut it up small for them?? Also my doc said no fish, cause I was gonna try tuna, and he said no way! so IDK. I thought about prok, but wondered if it was too tough to eat, he has 6 teeth, 3 up /3 low, but the top JUST came thru, so not really useable...

Sara - posted on 04/22/2009

My daughter likes, pork chops, fish sticks, grilled cheese sandwiches, mixed veggies. She also loves, bananas, apples and yogurt, string cheese. She likes to hold onto her own spoon while eating, even if I'm feeding something to her. Good Luck

Wendi - posted on 04/21/2009

My son loves bananas, green beans, brocilli and chicken. My son started to fuss a bit and I gave him his little toddler fork, now he is good. he couldnt use it at first but would push the food around with it in between bites, but now he is even beginning to try and "stab" his food. Good luck!