Table food /finger food help

[mommymakayla]

I need some help on trying to find things that my 17 month old son will eat.
As till recently he was eating jarred baby food. had no interest in real food.
but as of 3-4 weeks ago he wont touch the baby food. and is having a pretty hard time finding things that he will eat.
Breakfast time is easy and he enjoys it so much.
But lunch and dinner have become such a hassle.
Trying to find something for him to eat.
When i make dinner for the rest of the family , i will give him the same but he just looks at it and shakes his head no.
And suggestions on some ideas to give him.

 

[AnneD]

Have you tred taking a bite of whatever you're having and then offering it to him? That worked well with mine.

I'd also let him mess around with the food as much as he wants just so he can familiarize himself with it if he wants to.

Would he eat sweet potato fingers?

 

[ruby09]

I have a very picky 17 month old, and meal time is a constant struggle. I've found the easiest thing is just to rotate the 4 foods he will eat. My lo also loves breakfast, so some days we do breakfast for dinner, and at least I can get some scrambled egg or something in him. A few other things he likes are grilled cheese sandwich (his favorite), fish sticks, steamed sweet potatoes, and ravioli. Protein is tough because he hates pretty much all meat, but I sneak it in where I can with yogurt and cheese. Some days he will literaly only eat cherios. You do what you can; sometimes they will eat, sometimes they just won't.

I also agree with the PP that you should share some of your food with him. My son will eat anything I eat just because it's on my plate, even if it's a food he doesn't like.

 

[mommymakayla]

Have you tred taking a bite of whatever you're having and then offering it to him? That worked well with mine.

I'd also let him mess around with the food as much as he wants just so he can familiarize himself with it if he wants to.

Would he eat sweet potato fingers?

Nope he wont. he use to at least play with the food i offered but now he just throws if off to the floor.

 

[randomrach]

Is it that he won't eat solid food? Can you make soups and process or finely chop meals for him whilst still trying finger foods? Or does he just not like trying anything?

 

[PoppyPainting]

What does he have for breakfast that he likes? Maybe if you shared that it could trigger some ideas for us?

 

[jd83]

Pancake bites (you can mix in pureed fruits or veggies in the batter too)
French toast sticks
oatmeal
eggs, sausage, bacon, cereal, breakfast bar, muffins
fruit slices/cubes (banana, peaches, pears, apples, berries, grapes, melon, etc)

mac n cheese, cheese cubes/sticks, PBnJ sandwich, Ham sandwich (I cut toddler sandwiches into little triangles to make easier for him to pick up and eat), chicken nuggets, fish sticks, roasted chicken cut into bite size pieces, ham cut into bite size pieces, baked fish cut into bite sized pieces, veggies (soft cooked carrots, soft cooked sweet potato cut into cubes, or baked sweet potato sticks, squash, green beans, peas, cucumber slices, corn, broccoli and cheese, cauliflower, etc), casseroles, pasta with sauce

It will probably just take more time. You lo isn't going to make the switch from pureed to finger foods overnight. My 1st son was/is very picky, and refused to go off purees until around 16-17 months. He'd gag himself anytime I tried to get him to chew something. It was not fun getting him off purees, but it was just something I had to keep at, keep offering them all the time. he didn't refuse purees though, so that's a bit different from your son. If he didn't eat what I fixed, I just gave him purees, and we kept working on it. He is still really, really picky to this day, and picky about textures too, and its a constant struggle making sure he's eating enough without stressing myself out about it, and stressing him out about it. I will say though, try not to make too big a deal of it. You don't want him catching on that it bothers you and creating a food complex even worse than he may already have. Just keep offering things, he will get it eventually.

 

[Rachel_C]

What purees did he like? Maybe try the same foods but not mushed.