Are you looking for better finger-food options than those yummy, yet totally non-nutritious rice puffs? Here's some easy and nutritious ideas for your little one's fingers. I like to cook up about 1/4 cup of four or five foods (usually separately, as cooking times are different) and refrigerate them so the baby has some variety through the week.
By the way, babies don't need to have teeth to chew food (my 11 month old is still toothless). Those little bony gums are excellent for mashing soft foods. Have you ever stuck your finger in your baby's mouth and practically had it crushed? Yeah, babies don't need teeth.
Do you wonder if your
baby is ready for finger
On the menu recently in our house:
Carrots, sweet potatoes, lima beans, black beans, and hard boiled egg white
I steamed frozen crinkle cut carrots, then cut them into finger sized chunks. I cut the sweet potato into small pieces before I steamed it. The lima beans started frozen, and I broke the larger lima beans in half. The black beans started off as dried beans and I cooked them in the crock pot, but you can use canned beans. I just prefer to use non-salted foods for my babies, and I don't salt my beans when I crock pot them. I took a few chunks of my morning boiled eggs off and refrigerated them for later.
Bananas, peas, and blueberries
I steamed the frozen peas (see bottom for a fun story on peas!). The blueberries are fresh. I pierced them with a sharp knife so they would be easier to squish, as the skin can be difficult to gum. Did you know that bananas naturally break into thirds? I sliced half a banana and then fingered the thirds apart.
Pears and olives
The pear was not soft, so after peeling and chopping it, I steamed it for a few minutes. Always peel foods with a tough skin, e.g. potatoes, apples, tomatoes. The olives are straight from a can and I tore them into small pieces (they were whole olives).
Other finger food ideas:
Beans of any kind (cooked and rinsed)
Toasted oat O's, like Cheerios (I don't recommend these as a first food, however. Baby needs to be used to chewing before eating these)
Scrambled eggs
Pizza crusts (again, after baby is used to chewing)
Steamed veggies cut into small pieces: broccoli, cauliflower, potato, butternut squash, zucchini (peeled)
Raw soft veggies and fruit (peeled and in small pieces): cucumber, watermelon, peach, raspberry, cherry
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Never,
EVER, leave your baby unattended while eating. Even if you are confident that your baby is a good chewer, take the food away if you need to leave for a moment.**
On the subject of peas...
I was opening a two-pound bag of frozen peas and managed to spill half of them on the floor. My 9-month-old was sitting near me, playing in "his" drawer (he's allowed to play in the lowest drawer that has plastic dishes in it). I'm sure you can imagine what happened: he had frozen peas in his mouth before I could even move. I picked him up and was going to swipe the peas out of his mouth, but first I laughed at the expression on his face: perplexed yet blissful. Of course, this was the first time he'd had something frozen in his mouth, and he evidently really liked it. I realized that the peas thaw very quickly in his warm mouth and so I let him keep the few he had shovelled into his mouth. Now, when in a pinch, I've thrown a (small) handful of frozen peas onto his tray. He thinks they are the best treat ever.
Linked up to: Time-Warp Wife
