Fabulous Finger Foods

CMOTC member Kathleen P. shares this great article she found on first finger foods. Thank you Kathleen!

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Fabulous Finger Foods

By Sally Kuzemchak, R.D.

When introducing finger food they can be a nutritious bite. Remember: cut everything into small pieces (try pea size at first), and try a few at a time. Begin with softer foods between 6-9 months, and once they get use to finger grasping you can try firmer foods at 9-12 months. Stay away from choking hazards like hot dogs, popcorn, raisins, nuts, seeds, and hard raw vegetables. And as always, consult your doctor with any questions.

Here are 50 Nutritious Delicious foods!
(Note that the below should be cut up into very small size pieces for little fingers.)

• Small bites of cherry tomato
• Sliced blueberries or raspberries
• Whole-wheat rotini pasta
• Corn niblets
• Avocado (small cubes)
• Whole-grain couscous
• Small, low-sugar O shaped cereal
• Ripe mango or papaya
• Whole wheat french toast
• Cooked green beans
• Cooked (and peeled) white or sweet potato cubes
• Chopped hard boiled egg (after 12 months)
• Cooked zucchini or squash
• Mozzarella cheese
• Well –cooked asparagus tips
• Sliced grapes (chopped)
• Mini rice cakes
• Grilled-cheese sandwich, cut into strips or cubes
• Brown rice
• Ripe apricot
• Whole grain pancakes
• Tiny, well cooked broccoli floret pieces
• Whole wheat macaroni & cheese
• Kiwi
• Well –cooked diced carrots
• Teething biscuit or Zwieback crackers
• Whole-grain toast with all-fruit spread
• Fruit cocktail (slice cherries and grapes well)
• Whole-grain waffle
• Grated or shaved apple
• Shredded cheese or cheese crumbles
• Fork-smashed canned beans or chickpea or Hummus on a small tiny piece of pita
• Graham crackers (avoid honey varieties until 12 months)
• Ripe honeydew, cantaloupe, or watermelon (seeds removed)
• Tofu
• Bites of whole-grain muffin
• Pineapple
• Ripe peaches
• Cooked pearl barley

Bon Appétit!

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We also have a few other posts on this topic if you are interested in reading more:

Starter Food Advice (from CMOTC moms)

Transitioning to finger foods (favorite finger foods CMOTC moms have used)

Weelicious: a kid friendly healthy recipe/food idea resource

Weelicious is a really great website for kid friendly healthy recipes. This mom of two and culinary school graduate, Catherine McCord, has packed this site full of tons of baby, toddler and really kid of any age (including us!) recipes and ideas. You can search the site in multiple ways to find specific recipes, whether it be a meal type, food group or gluten free. If you subscribe to the site, you will get an email when new recipes are posted - which is great!

In addition to the almost daily recipes, she also creates "programs" which are basically videos of a "how to" for different recipes. Catherine also came out with a great program recently which is called "School Lunch" in which she highlights many tips, tricks and ideas to get you thinking "outside" the box. For those of us that have problems thinking of new things to pack, that our kids would actually eat, this program is great!

On the Weelicious facebook page, there are also photos of creative, fun and healthy lunches (many that you wouldn't think to do). If you are a fan ("like" the page), you will get these and links to the recipes (if appropriate). Another great feature of the facebook page is that "fans" post questions often and Catherine, as well as others, answer them quickly. Fans also often post their favorite recipes (all of which can be found on the Weelicious website) too, which is great for ideas.

Lunch box photo: Pita, Sunflower Butter*, Weelicious Strawberr-Wee Preserves & Banana, Kale Chips, Papaya, Strawberries, cheddar cheese cubes & crackers. (BTW, kale chips are surprisingly good!) *great substitute if your child's school is nut free.

How about you? Do you subscribe to this site already and have a favorite recipe(s)? Or do you know of other great kid friendly healthy recipe/resource websites? Please share!

Starter food advice

Question from a club mom:

My boys turned 8 months on Saturday (born at 34 weeks). I've wanted to try some non-baby food items, but I don't really know where to start. I did try some cheerios and they both promptly threw up on me. I tried the freeze dried fruit and yogurt thingies this weekend, but only a couple.

Any advice would be great.

Advice/experience given by other club moms:

Unless they have teeth, it's hard for them to dissolve some food, although my Pediatrician always told us that they're gums are really tough. I don't remember exactly what we did back then but I remember giving them "Puffs" a lot as they dissolve quickly but still allow the chew process. They sell those pasta meals too which are easy to chew/swallow.

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I would experiment with food in small amounts. With the Cheerios I would give them one. I tried to do variety and small amounts. So rather than have it be a meal have it be introduction to different textures and flavors. Peas, and sweat potatoes, and bananas are good. Just very small pieces. It is good to get them picking stuff up with the fingers. I would cook vegetables until they were mushy. It gets very messy. My kids had allergies and had trouble with eggs, and anything like ketchup, salad dressing and mayo. These things turned their face bright red. Also, if they are reaching for food from your plate then they are interested. When I first tried other food with my daughter she spit it out.

With the throwing up it may have been too much new stuff at once. It could be an allergy to wheat but I would not assume this based on one experience.

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Have you tried puff's yet? My boys started on that & they are easier to eat than cheerios b/c they dissolve.My twin boys had a really hard time eating non-baby food. (gagging & throwing up) I remember bananas were a good food for me to start with. I would try it a little thicker to see if they could eat it. If it was too thick I would just take a fork & smash it a little more.

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My friend gave me a recipe book: Cooking for Baby (from Williams-Sonoma) it seems to have some really good recipes to try & foods to try that are "softer" for the little ones. Just thought I would mention that too.

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Hi! Sounds like things are going pretty good! My b/g twins are 10 months old and I have been having the same problem with getting them to try foods that are not pureed. Their gag reflex is so strong that anything that isn't soft ends up all over. BUT I had success with soft mozzarella cheese (the soft kind you buy in a block...then I slice and make pieces about the size of an eraser head). I also had success with tater tots...I just break them open and give them a small sample of the inside. My daughter is able to put the food in her mouth and my son doesn't quite have it down but if I feed him he does great. Someone suggested cheerios but they are just too hard to start with I think.

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Your pediatrician should be able to give you some guidance. There is no "right" way - just some guidance on how to introduce food and in what order. I think my twins were about 10 months before they could handle cheerios (they were born at 32 weeks). Sounds like you're doing well!

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Always check with your doctor first on insight for amounts and ideas. That being said here are some ideas when just starting out since they are just using their gums to mash food up. Try small bits of cut up soft banana, yogurt (like YoBaby or Danimals) very soft avocado they can mush up, and veggie they can mush a not choke on, spaghetti or orzo's (their smaller).

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At this age it takes them a while to get the hang of finger foods. Cheerios or puffs are perfect to start with actually, for the fine motor skills alone. You could also start with something softer like elbow noodles, which have something to grab but are soft. Or maybe you get the nets where you put a frozen banana or apple in it and let them suck on it to get a feel for texture in their mouth (plus this is great for when they are teething). You could also crush up cheerios and coat small banana pieces with it, so it was gripable but yet soft. Carrots cooked really soft are another food many kids like at this age. Very ripe and soft pears are good too, cut small (and maybe coated with crushed cereal so they can grip them). Ultimately you need try different things to see what works best for them. It’s possible that they are not yet ready for food yet. One of my twins went through this so I introduced food to him later than normal. He just wasn’t ready for the whole process: chewing, sensory and otherwise. Other than finger food, baby yogurt (like YoBaby) is a favorite at this age and they now come with fruits and veggies in them. And this typically is a welcome change, but yet not hard for them to eat.

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Ellyn Satter's books, How To Get Your Child To Eat...But Not Too Much and Child of Mine, Feeding With Love And Good Sense, talk about feeding at all ages. Recommended by my friend's child nutritionist, these books give you some ideas on how to approach the transition to finger foods (as well as advice for every age stage).

Does anyone have more advice/experience to offer? Please comment below or send an email with your comments.

Transitioning to finger foods

The question regarding transitioning to finger foods comes up often. We're all excited to get to this point, but when we do... what can we feed them?

Here are some suggestions that club members provided:

• soft cooked pasta
• Gerber puffs
• brown rice
• cottage cheese
• baby yogurt
• soft cheese
• avocado chunks / guacamole
• whole grain couscous
• cooked green beans (soft)
• hummus on soft pita bread
• ripe apricots
• cooked carrots (diced and very soft)
• Zwiebeck crackers
• shaved or grated apples
• banana (cut small)
• ripe peaches
• small pieces of well cooked broccoli florets
• scrambled egg yokes with/without cheese
• tofu cubes rolled in (coated with) crushed cereal (Cheerios, Kashi Mighty Bites, etc)
• baked or steamed (until very soft) chunks of sweet potatoes or squash with cinnamon and/or nutmeg

All cubed and pieces of food, no matter how soft, should be very small. For the soft and somewhat slippery items, crush up cereal (like Cheerios, Kashi Mighty Bites, etc) and roll/coat the food chunks with crumbs. It will make it easier for your baby get a grip and pick up (and save them the frustration).

A great website for all things baby food, including first finger food ideas, is wholesomebabyfood.com. Here is the link to the finger food page which lists some other food ideas and recipes.

What additional tips do all of you have for transitioning to finger food? What resources did you use to get ideas? What favorite foods did your baby have? Give us your input!