What Do You Feed a ONE Year Old?

small cooked and diced veggies and meat
small, diced fruit and raisins
dry cereal such as cheerios
brown rice
small whole wheat pasta with various sauces (usually tomato-based)

We're blessed to have a one-year-old with a healthy appetite, so we feed her what we're eating. I'll cook dinner, make sure it's not too spicy or seasoned, and let her have what we're having. We tried the toddler foods from Gerber for a little while, but she'd throw those on the floor when she saw what we were eating. Breakfast is fruit and cereal, Lunch is leftovers from the night before and Dinner is whatever everyone else is having.

We did this with our son and he has no expectations that I'm going to cook something seperate for him. If he doesn't eat what I cook the first time it's offered, it's what he gets when he later complains that he's hungry.

This may not work for everyone--I think God knows my cooking limits and gave me kids that are willing to deal with it. ;-)

snacky ideas...all depending on her chewing ability and teeth
black olives sliced or diced as approrpiate.
mandarin oranges rinsed (remove sugar)
dates coated in oat flour instead of sugar
vegetable soup-with vegetables she can approrpaitely eat. maek a batch and freeze ins mall portions. you can serve it with very little liquid. great practice for spoon and pincer grasp and color discrimination
guacamole or sliced avocados are VERY nutritious
steamed beets are often a favorite. canned beets aren't bad...
butternut squash-steamed or baked.
it isn't always necessary to offer toddlers tiny sized pieces. unless you need her to eat while you mop or cook or something. i think it is nice to offer toddlers food in big pieces so they learn how to bite off and how the texture feels when they bite or break it. you can always steam the vegetables extra soft if you arenervous about it.
if she is able to masticate food-you can consider nuts. there is a WIDE variety of opinions about it. I nkow many moms who offer nuts at about a year if their baby is able to chew food (has molars or has demonstrated the ability)
same wiht eggs. there are some good nutritional sources that recommend eggs as early as 4 months, so a 1 yr old can definatley try eggs-scrambeld are a favorite, but why not try hardboiled-what a fun experience that can be!
many moms are concerned about nuts and eggs due to allergies, so consider your families history.
sweet potatoes cut liek fries, coated in olive oil and baked are a GREAT finger food. and a great way to introduce spices. some curry or some cumin, and of course cinnamon!

I give mine, mandarin orange segments. Watermelon. The love turkey breast and chicken in small pieces. Pasta filled with spinach. My girls are 15 mos old and they still don't drink milk, one of them is intolerant but she can eat a small amount just in yogurt and half a slice for a sandwich. Peach slices, cheerios, and dried apple.

mine LOVES cottage cheese but you said no dairy so... canned peach slices cut up. cooked chicken cut up. macaroni. meatloaf. steamed carrots sliced in little pieces. cooked spagetti and sauce then chopped in blender. steamed sweet potato. mine loves homemade sweet potato baked fries!!
apple sauce. oatmeal mixed with fresh sliced banana. steamed brocolli. canned corn. spagettios. i can't get mine to eat green beans so I mix them in with mashed potato and he'll eat them. canned peas and carrots. del monte fruit cups. lasagna cut in lil bitty pieces. mine goes crazy for it! Like Garfield! :) chef boyardee beefaroni. scrambled eggs with spinach. french toast or pancakes cut up. refried beans. nonspicy guacamole. beef enchilada cut up. he loves beef enchilada! I cut up the tortillas and bake with the beef and sauce so its more like a casserole. he snacks on goldfish,cheerios,and natural cheeto puffs. tonite he ate a ground beef patty cut up and a side of corn. play around with certain foods and you'll discover what your little girl likes to eat. usually if she sees you eat it, she'll want to eat it too.