Toddlers have very small esophagi so it is crucial to remember to give them soft foods that they can easily chew and eat in small bites. You don’t want to give your toddler tough meats or foods that they will have a hard time eating on their own. You also have to remember to always cut your toddlers food into very small pieces so that they do not choke on it.

Many times the food you feed your family you can also feed your toddler. Mashed potatoes, soups, mashed up peas, french fries that even toothless babies can gum, and cooked carrots are good for a toddler to eat. They are soft and can be squished in your toddler’s mouth before they swallow.

Toddlers can also eat small bites of spaghetti that you make for your family, or small bites of burritos or enchiladas. You want to make sure it is all cut up into baby size bites and isn’t too spicy for kids. Grilled cheese sandwiches cut into tiny pieces that your toddler can gum are a great idea for a quick and easy lunch. You will probably want to cut off the crust however.

Once your toddler turns two you can begin introducing peanut butter and hotdogs into his diet. You want to avoid peanut butter before two because it could cause your child to develop allergies to nuts that could be deadly. Always make extra sure that you cut hotdogs into very small pieces.

Breakfast for your toddler can include eggs, small pieces of cut of sausage, cold cereal with or without milk, or oatmeal. Snacks can include soft fruits such as kiwi and melons that your toddler can gum or chew.

Smoothies are always good for toddler. Blend up fruits and veggies and let your toddler drink these as a way to sneak in that extra serving of healthy fruits and vegetables everyday. Here is a recipe for one of our favorites!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup of vanilla yogurt
2-4 strawberries
1/2 banana*

Directions:
Blend all ingredients together, adding water if desired to make thinner. Pour in your toddler’s sippy cup and serve.

*For variety bananas may be substituted for Kiwi’s or you can use all three!

There is nothing cuter than watching your little one chase food around the highchair tray with her fingers, and seeing the sense of accomplishment in her face when a tiny little piece of food actually makes it her mouth.

When your baby is between eight and nine months old, you can begin to introduce finger foods to encourage your baby to begin self-feeding. It is very important that the texture of finger foods be very soft, so that your baby can “gum” the foods. To get food soft enough for gumming, many of them will need to be cooked.

Examples of finger foods that can be served raw include small pieces of:

• Banana
• Avocado
• Tofu
• Semi-hard cheeses — Jack, Colby, (introduce over 12 months)
• “O” shaped cereal
• Puffed rice cereal

Examples of cooked finger foods:

• Apples slices
• Pear slices
• Whole asparagus spears
• Carrots sticks/rounds or baby carrots
• Zucchini or yellow squash rounds
• Broccoli spears
• Sweet potato slices or cubes
• Whole green beans

To smooth the way for introducing finger foods here are few tips that may help you out:

• Always feed your baby in a “seated position.” The risk of choking rises as you introduce finger foods.
• Never let your baby eat foods without adult supervision.
• Don’t be in a rush. Introduce finger foods one at a time and slowly add different ones.
• Continue to feed your baby softly, pureed baby foods for most of the meal, and transition to more finger foods over a six- to eight-month period.
• Start with foods your baby likes.

Here are few finger food recipes to help you get started with finger food fun!

Sweet Potato Cubes
Your baby will like the bright orange color and sweet taste of these little morsels. Babies have a natural sweet tooth developed from drinking breast milk or formula, which are sweet. The natural sweetness of sweet potatoes make them a favorite among babies!

Directions:
Wash, peel and dice a sweet potato into small cubes about ½-inch in size. Place the cubes in microwave-safe dish, cover, and cook them in the microwave on HIGH for 5 to 7 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes. You’ll know they are done if you can mash them with a fork.

Add a little spice in her life:
Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or ground ginger on the sweet potato cubes before you cook them for a little extra flavor.

Storage:
Covered container. Stays fresh four to five days in the refrigerator or up to two months in the freezer.

Age to introduce: About nine months

Cinnamon Apple Slices
Your baby will like the sweet juicy flavor and the challenge of picking these up will help develop her fine motor skills. These are super easy to make and great for any meal or as a snack!

Directions:
Wash, peel and core 1-2 golden delicious apples. Cut the apples into slices about ¼-inch thick. Place the slices of apples in plastic bag and sprinkle a dash of cinnamon over the apples slices. Close the bag and shake it up so the cinnamon is distributed evenly over all of the slices. Place the slices in a microwave safe dish and cook them in the microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes. They are done if a fork slides into them easily. Cool completely before serving.

Storage:
Lasts four to five days in the refrigerator or up to two months in the freezer.

Age to introduce: About nine months

Dusted Tofu Cubes
These nutritious, little cubes are fun to pick up and they taste good too! For a little variety, you can use banana instead of tofu.

Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon flax seed, finely ground
1-2 tablespoons of Cheerios (or other cereal) OR 2-3 graham crackers
5-6 1/2-inch cubes of firm tofu

Directions:
Place ground flax seed and cereal/graham crackers in a bag and crush into crumbs. Add tofu and shake lightly to coat the tofu cubes with the crumb mixture. Serve immediately.

Age to introduce:
Over 12 months (without flax seed 8-10 months)

About the Authors
Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby (www.FreshBaby.com). Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it’s better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Fresh Baby’s breastfeeding accessories and baby food making supplies provide parents with practical knowledge and innovative tools to support them in introducing their children to great tasting, all-natural foods – easily and conveniently. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family’s healthy eating habits!

Stage One
When you first give baby food to your infant you will start with the stage one foods, normally this will start with cereal. Baby food companies make cereal that comes in thin flakes, that expands slightly when formula or breast milk is mixed with it; much like instant potato’s that you can buy in the grocery store. When you first start on cereal you will want to use a very small amount of flakes and a lot of liquid making it only slightly thicker than the breast milk is by itself. As your baby gets used to the swallowing of this thicker food, you will gradually add more cereal. Most pediatricians suggest that you start with rice cereal, but if you are unsure, be sure to ask at your baby’s next well-check.

After your baby masters the stage one cereals you will move onto the stage one packaged baby food. This baby food is finely pureed, chunkless food made from fruits and vegetables that help introduce your baby to these healthy lifestyle choices. While finely pureed, it is still much thicker than the breast milk or formula that you are giving your baby. Most of the time it is recommended that you start with the vegetables and give each vegetable for one for a week, before introducing a new vegetable to your baby. This is to help determine if your baby is allergic to any of the food. Also, vegetables are less sweet than fruit and will often help you avoid a situation where you baby only wants the sweeter foods.

Stage Two
Stage two baby foods are thicker, less pureed versions of the stage one foods. They contain a little more texture to help the baby get used to lumps in their mouth. They also expand on the fruits and vegetables by mixing 2 or 3 together in a jar. At this stage some companies that make baby food may begin introducing more variety to include meats and pureed noodles.

Stage Three
By stage three your baby should be a pro at swallowing pureed food. Stage three baby foods are much chunkier than the earlier stages and often include 3 or more items mixed in one jar. For dinners they will normally include a meat and/or pasta dish with a vegetable. There will be your fruits and vegetables, and also a wide variety of “desserts” for your baby.

After the Stages
After the numbered stages of baby food your baby is normally ready to be introduced to table food. They should be able to eat small pieces of cut up meats, veggies and pasta, and may even be able to feed themselves. There are still options that give baby variety however, that you don’t have to cook. Gerber makes food called Gerber Graduates that will be meals of non-pureed, single serving, baby sized portions that can be taken with you and eaten straight out of the package or heated up for your baby. These choices for parents are great for convenience purposes or on the go.

Other Options
In addition to the baby food on the market, there are several different versions of baby cookies and biscuits’ designed to help your baby learn how to hold food and chew it. These are called finger foods, and are generally dissolvable and easy to hold. When babies get the pincher grasp down and are able to chew on food a little bit more, a popular choice for a take along snack are original, plain cheerios. They can easily go in a bowl or baggie and be thrown in the diaper bag to be taken with you to friends, relatives, shopping, or out to dinner. Once your baby graduates from a diet strictly of breast milk and formula the choices for nutrition are huge and never-ending. Be sure to keep the options open and choices interesting as your baby learns more about the world around him.

Rice is easily digested and has low allergen aspects, so it is commonly recommended as the first food you introduce to your baby. Many of the recipes for making baby cereals are time consuming, but with the use of the freezer and a blender, homemade rice cereal is simple and convenient.

This recipe is perfect for infants, but by adding a few “extras” it will tempt the taste buds of kids and adults.

Ingredients:
3 cups of brown rice, cooked according to package directions
12 ounces breast milk, water, or infant formula

Directions:
Place the cooked brown rice in a blender with the breast milk/water/formula. Puree until completely smooth – you cannot make this cereal too smooth. Pour the cereal into ice trays, cover and freeze overnight. Once frozen, pop the cubes out of the trays, place in a freezer bag or container, labeled with the date and return to the freezer. Lasts up to two months.

To serve:
Defrost the cubes, and add breast milk or formula to develop a smooth consistency. For babies just starting solids, thin the cereal to a semi-liquid consistency. Warm the cereal, if desired. You can also change the flavor of the cereal by adding fruit or veggie baby food, once your baby has started to eat those foods.

Extras for the older crowd:
Ground nuts and maple syrup
Cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and honey
Fruit preserves
Cinnamon sugar and dried fruit

About the Authors
Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby (www.FreshBaby.com). Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it’s better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Fresh Baby’s breastfeeding accessories and baby food making supplies provide parents with practical knowledge and innovative tools to support them in introducing their children to great tasting, all-natural foods – easily and conveniently. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family’s healthy eating habits!