tips for feeding + food ideas for a toddler

{parks waving ‘hi’ in the new bella tunno spring catalog}

a few weeks ago, right before parks turned one, he went from trying most foods to only wanting a few things: bananas, yogurt, whole wheat toast and baby food. it’s so important to us that he eats whole, nutritious foods as much as possible at this age. i know that babies go through “stages” so i tried not to stress and just tried my best every day to feed him the best i could. plus, he was getting a few molars, along with other teeth, during this time period. 

at his one year check-up, this was really my only main concern… so i asked our pediatrician for advice and a day later, everything changed (for the better!) we love her so much- let me know if you are in charlotte and want her information. so i thought i would share what worked for us with you all.

tips: 

+ the first thing she mentioned was whether or not he was drinking too much milk throughout the day? we switched to whole milk right before christmas (and i stopped pumping right after christmas- after over eleven months… life is good right now!!) when she mentioned this, it immediately hit me… yes, he probably was drinking too much… and therefore, wasn’t hungry for meals. 

+ give veggies first and/or things he may not love the most at the beginning of each meal

+ pretend to feed yourself and a favorite stuffed animal while making exciting reactions

+ once he tries a piece, cheer/clap/act really excited!! (he loved this, so many laughs and fun) 

+ don’t think of snacks as being ‘snack foods’ (still try and give natural, whole foods) 

+ he used to throw food a lot… so she recommended that we just put a few pieces on his tray at a time (in case he does throw!) and then to all be stern and say ‘no no’ every time he throws (no laughing/everyone on the same page) *this has also gotten much better. 

+ about a week after we started this… things were getting much better. however, the next week for lunch, i decided to give him his first piece of cheese pizza (not something we will do regularly at this age) but i wanted him to see just how amazing food is… and the result was beyond successful. he loved it (so much) and now seems to try almost anything! 

+ baby food is no longer part of his meal, but he is loving the pouches when we are out and about. she recommended not using them all the time so that he doesn’t get attached to only eating those when he is older, which i also thought was excellent advice. 

here he is with his favorite stuffed animal, ‘bobo nono’ during storytime this morning

this boy is a lover and loves stuffed animals more than anything else 

food ideas for a one-year-old 

+ these 30 meal ideas are fantastic 

fruits | blueberries, strawberries, peaches, applesauce (with no sugar added), kiwi, raspberries, watermelon, pears

veggies | steamed carrots + sprinkled with cinnamon on top, steamed peas, avocado, mashed sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, cauliflower, and broccoli 

proteins | yogurt, string cheese, meatballs, salmon, tilapia, scrambled eggs, boiled egg, soft chicken 

others | black bean burger, gran muffins, brown rice, chili, smoothies, pesto tortellini  

as we find more things he loves, i plan to share more with you
(we have found that he loves spicy, ethnic foods like indian and mexican, just like his parents! yay)