Seeking Ideas on What to Feed 18 Month Old

Here are some ideas that are "soft"...try grilled cheese, broken up cold cut chicken or ham (low sodium if you want), my kids loooove pulled pork made in the crock pot-it's very soft. Also you can try a fruit smoothie and have him drink from a straw if he's not drinking from a cup yet, pancakes or waffles would probably be soft enough too. Hope this helps.

Hi, my 15 month old has the same amount of teeth as your little one and she eats everything, well except for beans, she's not a huge fan, but we are finding creative ways to get that in her diet. And she's not a soup fan, unless it's soup that my mother in law makes from scratch, that stuff she inhales.

Some of the things she eats includes:

Breakfast -- oatmeal, cream of wheat, pancakes, waffles, whole wheat english muffins with cream cheese or no sugar added jelly, tons of fruit -- apples, oranges, clementines, bananas, peaches, mango-- cheerios, kix and golden grahams (when I'm feeling like a bad mom and in the mood to give her a little bit of sugar; eggs

Snacks -- teddy grahams, cheerios, fruit, cheese

Lunch -- yogurt, cheese (sticks or slices), pasta including mac and cheese or with marinara sauce, cold cuts (loves sliced turkey, chicken and ham), slice of whole wheat bread plain or with melted cheese on top; fruit as indicated above, whole wheat chicken nuggets, veggie nuggets -- broccoli and cheese or spinach (made by Veggie Patch -- look in the vegetarian section of the grocery store; applesauce (no sugar added, which is actually quite good -- go figure)

Dinner -- whatever we have unless it's something she can't have -- but loves steamed veggies (asparagus, peas, corn, carrots, green beans, she inhales); tofu, any type of stir fry meal with veggies, tofu or meat; loves peppers, especially red ones; beef (has to be really soft, usually something out of the slow cooker since it's very tender, otherwise it's too chewy); rice; chicken; pasta

Give your little one everything -- he'll tell you right away if he's not interested. We give ours everything except for the things the doctor says she can't have. Some things go over well, others do not. We always try things she doesn't like multiple times, sometimes she gets over her initial dislike, other times she doesn't

Good luck.

Gerber makes wonderful toddler meals that are soft and nutritious with a good variety of food: mac and cheese, meat or cheese ravioli's, pasta with veggies, chicken and pasta wheels, chicken or turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy (i used to mix the veggies and meat up in the mashed and my son would it it even though he didn't like potatoes). I get them at Walmart, which tend to be much much cheaper than any other grocery store. My son is 4 and is very picky, I still buy one kind that he loves for his lunch at preschool.

Grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches are also easy to eat and packed with protein.

Soft fruits like strawberries, pears, bananas are also very good snacks too.

GOOD LUCK!

My daughter is 15 months and she has the four top and two bottom teeth too. She also doesn't like eggs or potatoes. But, she does eat lots of other stuff.
Just a couple of examples:

lentil soup, grilled cheese with ham or without, chicken (sometimes), pork chops(boneless of course), applesauce, fruit cups, cheerios, mini bagels, hotdogs (cut into quarters, this is not my favorite thing to give her, but she likes it), rice and beans, cucumber slices, green peppers, bananas, and apples slices (sometimes).

Last night for dinner I made chicken tostadas. She did well with that, too. It was just a corn tortilla with refried beans, salsa, cubed chicken, and cheese on top.

M.,

Your son can eat whatever you eat, you just have to make sure that you cut his food into tiny pieces. My son is 16 months and has 16 teeth, but I still overcook his pasta and rice just a little to make it easier for him. He doesn't chew his food as well as I'd like even with a mouth full of teeth.

If you feel more comfortable sticking to softer food for the time being try hummus. Its a very nutritious source of protein made with chic peas and sesame paste. You can also throw all kinds of vegetables into a soup and cook until very tender.

Good luck.

My son is 15 months with 4 teeth on front and 3 teeth on the bottom...he eats everything!! He eats a good breakfast anywhere from toast and bananas to waffles and grapes. Bad thing about grapes though is he doesn't digest the skins very well. For lunch he eats grilled ham and cheese or chicken. He loves those gerber graduates pasta pickups, but sometimes I buy the canister of mini pastas in the regular food aisle and I cook enough for 3 days. He loves them. For dinner, he eats whatever I am making for my whole family. I figured if I start making special eals for him now, I always will. Good luck!!

Hi - My son is almost 10 months and has 4 teeth on top and two on the bottom. We feed him apple sauce, cooked veggies...he LOVES squash, chicken shredded into little pieces, yogurt, cheerios, sandwich meat (turkey, bolonga, ham), cheese. My Dr said he can have just about anything but we should avoid citrus, peanut products and egg whites. At dinner he usually sits with us in his highchair and I just feed him off my plate. Even without teeth he gums thinks really well.

Good Luck!

fruit salad (lots of berries, melon chunks, etc.)

veggies- canned green beans and carrots, steamed (fresh or fozen) anything! Peas are especially fun!

baked beans

ground beef or turkey

chicken nuggets

cottage cheese, other cheese chunks

grilled cheese sandwich

kashi or nutragrain waffles with yogurt

beans and rice (or any rice dish)

mac and cheese

cereal with milk- chex, crispix, kix, etc. (and cheerios of course!)

Teeth aren't as important for most foods as we think! Your guy can chew most things, as long as they aren't hard. (Nothing too crispy!)

i just wanted to let you know, dont worry about the teeth. there are actually some babies that dont get any teeth until 18 months(a friend of ours). there are also many people who follow something called babyled weaning which is where you only allow a baby to self feed starting at 6-8 months. no spoon feeding at all.

dont stress, babies are perfectly capable of mooshing food with their gums, esp at 18 months. he should be eating just about everything you eat on your plate. regular chicken, red meat, meatballs, all fruits(my daughter loves clementines), vegetables, english muffins, waffles, grilled cheese without the butter, chili, quesadillas, ect, pretty much anything. there are very few things that he wouldnt be able to have for choking. think peanut type consistency. otherwise, just give him your meals and see what he likes, but remember, sometimes you have to give a baby the same thing like 20 times before they like it. just keep offering. good luck

M.,
Here are some things that I feed my 17 month old daughter (hope your inspired)!

Breakfast:
-Farina (Cream of wheat) One of her favorites!
-NutriGrain Yogurt and Fruit bars
-Waffles
-Stoney Fields Yogurt
-Bananas with some dry cereal to pick at

Lunch or Dinner:
-Spinach Nuggets/ChxBrocCheddar Nuggets (found in the organic section)
-Tater Tots with Ketchup
-Shredded Chicken with BQ sauce
-Any kind of well cooked veggie, (sometimes I buy the frozen mixed veggies and mix them in with anything, she loves it)
-I make my own cheese sauce (recipe from "First Meals") that I add to pasta, rice, whatever you want really
-Grilled Cheese
-Tunafish sandwich
-Fish Sticks

Snacks:
-Animal Crackers
-Crackers/Veggie Chips or Sticks with Hummus (she loves this!)
-Fruit (fresh or those fruit cups are good too)
-Yogurt
-Pretzel sticks
-Gold Fish
-Nilla Waffers
-Cheese and crackers

I hope this helps!

Hi M.,

My daughter is 15 months old and she doesn't have any teeth yet! What does she eat? Everything we eat..... I just make sure I cut everything up much finer for her.

Why are you giving your son special foods? He should be able to eat anything you eat (of course, with the exception of those choking hazards).

~J.