Finger Foods with Out Sugar

You have a lot of info all ready, but some of my son's favorite finger foods when he was a baby were black beans (from a can), avocado pieces, or tofu cubes. No sugar in either of those.

J.

To be completely honest with you, it's easy to sit around and bark orders at someone but he needs to get off his butt and find what your child is going to eat if he's going to be so picky about it. If I myself had a DH like that I would make him give up all sugar also and see how much he loves his diet. Maybe you should go through the house and throw out everything that has sugar in it and then tell him to go and reshop - no sugar.
I can understand wanting to limit it a little but you need to nip this in the bud because it sounds like a major control issue on his part. What's next, no McDonald's EVER, no Halloween or Easter candy when he's older, no birthday cakes or ice cream. The first ingredient in my foster baby's Enfamil formula is corn syrup solids and a lot of baby foods in the jar have fruit juices and sugar in them.
Maybe you should have him go to the next well baby check so he can talk with your Ped about it.
Hang in there, hopefully it will get better.
J.

"My fear is that if he does not get some sugar at all that when he gets older and he gets a taste that he may end up over doing it, and gain a lot of weight end up very unhealthy,"

breastmilk is very sweet, so he already has a big taste for sweet!
i would try making some mini banana or apple muffins (omit the sugar) and see if he accepts it. puree very ripe (sweet) fruit and substitute for wet ingredients.
if my husband was laying down the law on this then i would make him solve the problem. what does he suggest he eat? ~~W.

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Hi A.
I have a 10 1/2 mo old. We allow sugar in her diet, but she eats lots of food without sugar too. I bought a bag of puffed rice cereal that is just rice without any additives. Its a good substitute if you don't want to do the baby puffs or cheerios. I found that at a co-op, but I'm sure you could probably find it at a regular store too. Also, tons of fruits and veggies are easy finger foods. Avocado, banana, and pears are great cut up. Cooked peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, broccoli, cauliflower are all good too. For easy food to go, I'll bring a banana and feed it to her with a spoon so its not too messy. And natural applesauce is easy to take with you if you get those little snack packs.

Just be aware that those mesh things are really hard to get clean and can be very messy.

We aren't giving her juice, either.

Good luck!
J.

Wow, you've gotten a lot of responses. There are a lot of fruits and veggies you can use for finger foods. There is also cheese and eggs with just the egg-whites first and legumes. As for the breads and cereals, that is tough to find anything in the stores without any sugar, but there are a few things suggested already, like wheat or rice puffs. I'd also have your husband search, and if he can't find anything, he could make some homemade bread, crackers, or snacks without sugar added. You can feed babies the other things when you're out, it just takes a little longer. I always tried to have them fed before leaving, which helps also. You can also give formula or breastfeed when you're out. I can sympathize with your situation though, and your husband needs to realize that your boy will be introduced to sugar at some point.

A.,
Sounds like your hubby is a little stubborn on the issue, I don't blame him, but to a certain point your little guy will eventually get a taste of sugar and over indulge. I would limit his sugar intake by only giving him baby age appropriate foods-no cookies, sweet foods, etc.
Cheese crumbles are great for little ones, Gerber makes those freeze dried fruits and even corn (they do have natural sugars, your little guy is a little young yet for those) but you will need easy finger foods when your out and about. Cheerios are very healthy and they make "baby" size goldfish (I looked at the package they only have 1 gram of sugar). Other finger foods he can eat are avocado (very good brain food), cottage cheese. My son loves mandarin oranges, grapes, green beans, black beans, bread.
Good luck with this and I hope you work something out with your hubby.

Since most foods out there DO have some sort of sugar in them, it is almost impossible to provide your son with a well-rounded, healthy diet AND avoid all sugars. I would watch more of the amount of sugars added rather than IF it has sugars or not. Have your husband consult a dietician since he seems to believe he is an expert on the topic. Good luck with this one.

I would not worry too much about your child going overboard at an older age because you restricted sugar early on. I was raised by a mother that was immersed in the natural foods community, thus raised in the same likeness. Because it was a part of my life so early and I was taught about natural foods and nutrition from her, I never went crazy per se. I won't say that I never have sugar now, I do, but I limit it and I know what I am doing isn't healthy.

I worry more about you and your husband not being on the same page, if you both aren't committed to this then he will eventually pick up on that and he won't be committed to it either... There is an interesting book entitled Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon that you might find interesting. In addition to talking about nutrition in general, 3/4 of the book contains recipes.

I also have a son, almost 2 years, and am particular about his diet and sugar intake. You will find that you will probably need to make 75% of his foods at this age, until he is able to handle small food size bites of stuff. Check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com, I loved this site and you can always slightly modify recipes... Also, there are some good natural foods cookbooks out there for kids that have finger food and other great ideas.

I would also warn your husband that 100% natural juice is still not that great for kids under two. The general guidelines are that children under two should not drink juice regardless of how natural it claims to be. The majority of nutrients that are contained in raw fruit are lost in the juicing and pastuerization proces. Because of the way juice is consumed at a young age - often sucked slowly, it also promotes tooth decay and why risk it for something that isn't providing as much nutritional value as the real thing.

That's my two cents. Good luck!

I bought some Gerber mini-fruits for my daughter and she loves them! All they are is dehydrated fruits cut in teeny pieces, so that fits the finger food category and it's fruit so it should be acceptable, right? Check them out, and good luck to you!

It seems really hard in this sugar - filled world, but the longer you can keep your son away from sugar, the easier it will e to get him to like other tastes. We did this with my first son (it is much harder with younger siblings, because they see what older kids eat).

Things he ate: peas (great for practicing finger control), little bits of fruit, tofu cut up into little cubes (really has no taste, but a nice smooth texture), lima beans(I had to take the skin off), rice cakes (the kind that is only rice, no other ingredients), these things are bland, but he liked them. He still loves broccoli - steamed without even butter or salt and he is 13 years old. He loves sugar now, but he has kept his taste for healthy things too.

It seems like if they get sugar too soon, they just don;t want other stuff. We held off until my son was 3 years old (our relatives thought we were awful!). But he is very healthy and well - adjusted.

Good luck - it is hard to go against the flow...

Have you checked out making your own teething biscuts and cookies? I prepared all my own baby food and biscuts for my two daughters, and they were great! I had satisfaction in the fact that I KNEW what was in my children's food, and the girls loved the end results! :) Just Google "teething biscut recipes" or "sugar free cookies" or "natural baby food" and you'll come up with a million new ideas for keeping your son's diet sugar free. I know some recipes call for fruit juice instead of sugar as a sweetener, but perhaps in a case like your's, you'll have to actually do that extra step of squeezing your own apple or orange juice to use in the recipe. Another great snack idea is dehydrated fruit and veggies! Buy yourself a food dehydrator and use all your own fruits and veggies to make fruit pieces. If you've got a food processor, you can also learn how to make homemade fruit leather in your dehydrator. Have fun looking for new ideas and take satisfaction in all the healthy treats you can make for your family with your own knowledge, time and TLC! :)

I feel bad for you and your son that your husband is being so strict. I think maybe you should speak to a nurtrition specialist. I don't see why people have to be like this. Moderation I think is okay and it seems like you're in agreement with that. I guess if anything else keep an eye on the labels. Sorry I'm not much help.

I agree with all of the suggestions here, healthy snacks, no truly sugary foods, and a serious discussion with your husband, culminating in him running himself incircles looking for these foods. Sorry, but it sounds like he is being unreasonable. Just one other thing to keep in mind. Kids need a variety of foods to have healthy eating. Controlling his diet to the enth degree could give him some real control issues later in life, in food or over other behavior. If he sees that it is a constant battle, he may have unhealthy behavior towards food in general. Try to get hubby on the same page with a realistic healthy diet. Take him to the peds office and the store with you. This is his rule, he can take some responsibility for it. Good Luck!

I am an LPN student taking nutritional classes. We have to have some sugar in our bodies to maintian homeostatis. to make new cells, and energy production. Tell him some sugar is safe. Just avoid candy, pop, the usually stuff of that nature. Unless he wants to make his own baby food and freeze it, there is no avoiding it. Talk to your pediatrition or a dietitian. They will help you and him make sound dicisions. My kids are still alive and well for what they ate, baby jared food. Good Luck

A.,

If you keep your child from sugars, you are right, when he does get a taste of it he's going to go overboard. They put sugar in babies food because they NEED it, not to give them a sugar hi...you are not giving your baby candy bars, you are giving him the items that will help him learn to eat. Crackers are not good because of the amount of sodium in them. That is worse for you than sugar. Sodium dehydrates, sugar just makes things taste better so the babies WILL eat it, and it gives their metabolism a jump start. Maybe at the next check up you should bring your husband along and have the doctor explain to him how important it is your baby gets these foods. If he doesn't listen to your pleas, maybe he will listen to a doctor?

Good Luck

H.

I agree with the pp who said if he is that stubborn about it, send him out shopping to find appropriate foods for your child.

I mean really, is he not going to allow him to have milk? Milk has sugar, called LACTOSE. Breastmilk has sugar too, LACTOSE, Formula is made from cows milk, and normally has CORN SYRUP as one of the main ingredients. so he's getting sugar right now every day.

Its hard to avoid sugar, most foods have sugar in them, either naturally or added. As long as your child is given a healthy diet then there is nothing to worry about. You seriously won't find many foods other than fruits, veggies, and meats that don't have sugar in them. Whole grain bread has sugar for crying out loud. ITs part of life, and some sugar is good for your body, it needs it. Crackers, breads, cereal, it all has some sugar in it. ITs not like he's going to go into a sugar coma and refuse all over foods if you give him a cracker or some Cheerio's.

Things to avoid would be the obvious, candies, cookies, cakes, soda, juice, anything made by Gerber or other baby foods, all commercial baby foods have sugar in them, www.wholesomebabyfood.com is an excellent resource on baby/toddler foods, health guidelines, making foods, etc.

But your husband needs to snap into reality and not be such a goober about this. If it continues I would really send him out shopping himself and see what he comes up with.

If your hubby will not allow a gram of sugar, you are in a tough spot. Cut up bananas or other frutis is about all I can think of truly.

My hubby was adamant about useless carbs but that has gone by the wayside. He was a strict Atkins guy but he sees how hard that would be to do with our daughter when it comes to finger foods. Not to mention she has become the most picky eater ever at 16 months.

They actually need carbs - not soda, candy etc. but our daughter gets some juice every other day or so, crackers, goldfish crackers (you can buy these made with whole wheat I believe), even an occassional mini marshmallow as a treat. She needs some carbs for energy because she runs it off.

Hugs to you - this is a very difficult situation. I would suggest your husband go shopping and find the food he would like your son to eat. He'll quickly find how difficult it is and maybe loosen up a bit.

It sounds great that your husband is cautious and worried about your childs health but that would drive me nuts! TRUST me on this one... you can try and keep sugar away from child but it will only last so long. I tried my hardest to keep my daughter from knowing what candy was didn't last to long. I assume your child will go off to school one day, school's have a reason and a excuse for snacks and treats left and right. Your child will either be left out or get a taste of it eventually or even rebel and go nuts on it. I would just try and do it in moderation. If I go to the bank they offer my daughter a sucker, at teeball, soccer, after ever game there are treats, at girlscouts there is treats, at preschool and now kindergarten there is snack time, I get fed up with all these treats and snacks it's overwhelming I just try and keep the junk out of my house so when my daughter does have it thrown in her face outside of the house it is actually a treat and it is in moderation. MODERATION is the key word!

I'm at work and can't check the label but I just gave my daughter large curd cottage cheese last night and she LOVED it!She could feed herself and she really chowed it down! I woudld think that there isn't much sugar in that. It's pretty messy though!

A., I wouldn't worry about your child getting a taste some day and over doing it on the sugar. People will crave sugar if they keep getting it. For example, if you drink coffee in the morning and have flavored cream or sugar in your coffee, your body will crave sugar all day. But, the less sugar you eat, the less you crave it. Because this is such a world of sugar, there are more children with weight issures, ADD/ADHD, and diabetes.

Anyway, you should be able to cut up fruit and bring it as a snack (watermelon and cantelope are soft). Or, if you want something really healthy for a teething baby, give him hummus or get some sugarless organic yogurt (don't get yogurt with fake sugar ~ chemicals are bad as well). If you go to your natural food store, there is something called Xylitol that is a natural sweetner that you can add to things as well.

Good luck!!

Simply put...have your husband do the grocery shopping for your son if he is so adamant about sticking to no sugar.

My son had a milk protein allergy that he thankfully has since grown out of, but trying to find things for him was also extremely difficult. If this sugar thing is not an actual health problem, I can't say that I could allow such inflexibility about it. If it means that much to him and the care of his son, he should be happy to take on the challenge of doing the shopping!

If hubby is so adamant about no sugar in the foods you just explain to him that you've looked at all the resources and if it's that important to him, he's going to have to help you find them. You know, as diplomatically as humanly possible (a trick I've had to learn in dealing with my own hubby)

Have you tried some small pieces of banana? Cheerios are fun for kids. My son enjoys applesauce(natural unsweetened). Yobaby yogurt from stonyfield farms is also something my son likes to eat. they also make a yogurt with cereal combined that is good, (walmart food dairy section). You may have to compromise with him to avoid no added sugar foods. Carbohydrates provide quick energy for kids as they grow and mature. I have avoided juice so far to help prevent cavities.
townhouse crackers broken into small pieces was a favorite too, they melt in your mouth. Hope this helps you.. D.

Hmm...he's worse than me! :)
Is he against Cheerios (regular) also? Not a single gram of sugar? Cheerios is a great snack with such little sugar.

If not, what about steamed vegies? One of those frozen ones. Easy to prepare, healthy, and chick peas and carrots are in particular sweet enough for them to like. Sweet yams are good too...

I think your hubby is a bit too concerned of the sugar thing, but I do agree with his position. I grew up in Asia, and I think American children eat way too much sugar compared to children in other countries. Even baby snacks here generally
contain too much sugar and sodium.....I think he won't overdo on sugar later in his life if your hubby keeps limiting sugar intake. In fact, I think it can do more good than harm.

Tell your husband that since it is so important to him not to allow his son to have sugar, then it is HIS responsibility to find finger foods (for fine motor skill development) and appropriate starches for his son to eat and have a balanced diet. Is he aware that breast milk and formula are mainly sugar? Another idea is to have the baby's doctor talk to your husband or a professional nutritionist. Get a knowledgeable 3rd party to make a list of foods and brands so then he can focus his frustration on someone else and not you.

Hope this helps

I agree with not giving them too much sugar but come on hubby! If you're having a hard time finding things, I'd suggest getting a secret stash of whatever you think is best since you stay home with him during the day anyways. When hubby comes home at night, tell him to give what he thinks is best. Have him do the shopping to find something suitable since he's the one having a hard time with it.
Good luck!

Hi A.,
I have a 22 month old daughter and also tried to keep her away from sugar as long as I possibly could, but as you say, it is incredibly hard since even bread and most yogurt is full of sugar. Anyway, one natural sweet snack I gave my daughter was raisens. At first I cut them in half until she was able to chew through them, but she loved them and even though they are sweet, they also provide fiber, etc and they are extremely portable. I would cut up some cheese and give that to her with the raisens so she had some protein too and it is still one of her favorite snacks. I would still recommend keeping your baby away from sugar as long as possible. When my daughter started daycare at 16 months, the daycare mom gave her a cookie for a snack and now that is all she wants to eat. Sugar is addictive and unfortunately unavoidable eventually, but do what you can for now. Good luck!

Maybe you should plan a whole daddy-son weekend...go away for the weekend and let him care for him solely, maybe at some point he will see that as parents we sometimes have to compromise "perfection" (whatever that is) in order to keep our sanity. We all want our children to be happy and healthy, and this is usually acheived when Mom and Dad are happy and healthy and living as a good example of moderation and balance.
anyway, Brandon is still really young, your hubby will probably phase himself out of this before long! :)

Tell your husband if he wants to go with no sugar snacks, he can waste all his time looking for them. He's got too much time on his hand if that's what he has to worry about :)