Lunch/Dinner Ideas for a 14 Month Old

My daughter is just 9 mo and she is eating quite a bit of solid foods. I give her small pieces of chicken breast, she loves tuna fish and salmon. Any type of been, pinto, black whatever. Cottage cheese and fruit (mandarin oranges, peaches, pears, almost anything canned. I rinse of the syrup so that there is not too much sugar). Blueberry pancakes. chunks of sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini. I make a little extra and store it for the nights I don't feel like cooking, so if we go out I just grab something for her

cut up lunch meats with cheese or wrap a slice of cheese in ham and let him eat it or you can do different stuff like a slice of ham with some cream cheese and grated carrots wrapped up. Grilled cheese. We also did a lot of breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, waffles with fruit, pancakes etc. Both my kids loved biscuits and gravy. smoothies (yogurt, orange juice, banana)

Hi A.,
Acutally it sounds like you are already doing a pretty good job! This was an area I struggled with as well. You have already had some good advice. For going out just bring some cheese (string cheese sticks work well because you can cut them up at the resturaunt) bring some crackers or yogurt melts. We always would ask for crackers or cut up banana slices and have them brought before our meal. Avocado is great and so is kiwi. I found with my daughter she likes different kinds of breads, such as garlic cheese toast, Italian foccia bread, etc. Then we would just make sure we have bread with our meal & always offer whatever we are eating. Good luck!

I had a hard time getting my kids on solid foods too because they didn't get teeth till pretty late. They love spegetti-o's and chef boyardee micro ravioli. When we go out to eat I usually heat up these or the velveta mac n cheese really hot so when we get to the restaurant it's still warm. I just can't justify spending the price on kids meals and hoping they'll eat it. You can also take fruit cups or vanilla wafers. Another thing I make at home that the girls love is meatloaf and bartoli skillet meals. Whan I do the mac n cheese I always cut up a hot dog in to pretty small pieces and stir it in. It's pretty good.

We have always fed our kids from our plates, just cut up into smaller pieces. I think in the long run it has helped them know a wider variety of foods and that I only cook one meal. If I know it will be spicy, I take out their portion before I spice it up.

Your baby is able to pick up small pieces of food himself. He can eat just mamy of the foods you cook for your family. Make sure the food is soft and coarsely mashed, grated, or chopped into very tiny pieces. Another easy method is to grate food items for a toddler: carrots, apples, pears, etc. Know that a baby may eat only a tablespoon or so of food at a time. Don’t force your baby to eat any food. This is the time that your baby should be experiencing food without added sugars and other additives. I would offer one word of caution about yogurt, most have added sugars.
Even baby yogurts can have almost 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving. I think you'll find this blog about baby food helpful>
http://www.babybites.info/2009/04/14/baby-food/
I noticed another response that mentioned ham. Personally, I wouldn't give a baby any processed luncheon meats which contain nitrates (carcinogenic compounds which have been associated with cancer). Also, I know it's popular, but don't feed your baby any fast food, which contains MSG, trans fat, sugars, etc. Even French fries contain MSG (this ingredient kills brain cells).

One thing that is a quick and easy meal for this age is Progresso chicken noodle or chicken and wild rice soup. You do not add water to dilute it. I drain off some of the juice and use a fork to mush it up a little, it is $1.50 a can at Walmart but you can use it for two meals or more. It has lots of cooked carrots, and chunks of white chicken and tastes great.

We ditched the baby food long before 14 months. Especially the fruits, which are usually easy for them to eat raw.

Long before they turned a year old, my boys loved to eat quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas, grapes, and applesauce. After a year, they liked peanut butter sandwiches. They always loved rice and refried beans (with some cheese), too. Sometimes I wrap up rice, beans, and cheese in a tortilla for a burrito, and even put a little salsa or hot sauce in there. They loved those (still do!)

They also loved whole wheat or those hearty whole-grain breads toasted with butter and a little jam, or cinnamon sugar. I only put a little on. They get messy, but they gobbled it up and asked for more.

They also gobble up homemade macaroni and cheese, with broccoli mixed in (although my son who is almost three now refuses to eat anything that's green!)

For lunches, try leftovers if he eats dinner well.

When we needed a meal to go, it was usually grapes, some crackers, and string cheese or (real) American Cheese (not the Singles kind, which is called "Cheese Food") in a baggie.

Try getting some frozen chicken nuggets and cutting them in to small pieces. I used to cut bananas into long strips with some cheerios. Spaghetti O's were always a hit (messy though) peanut butter and Jelly cut up. You will be surprised at what he will chew up with such a small number of teeth. My kids liked the Gerber Graduates as well. Let him just go to town on those. Puffy cheetos are easy to chew as well. Jello and crackers with cheese I hope some of these help.

Good luck to you

At 14 months old, you can feed them almost anything as long as they are not allergic to the particular food, because they are over 12 months old. I would say experiment and experiment, with what your child may like. But, if you are looking for something quick and easy, have you tried Gerber Graduates? The little meals have all essentail vitamins and are easy for a toddler to handle. My children never particularly liked those meals. So, like the other person who posted, many times I would just feed my children what we ate. Just make sure to cut up the child's food to small bites. Also, just a tidbit of information on how much a 14 month old can eat for each meal which isn't really much unless the child is going through a growth spirt. A child's stomach is as big as their little clenched fist. So, unless they are in a growth spirt, they don't really eat a whole lot for each meal. I would make sure to give a vitamin at least once a day. Hope this helps.