My almost one year old eats: bananas, avocado, kiwi, apples, pear, peach, sweet potato, carrots, beets, rice cereal, quinoa and breast milk. Do you think this is a balanced diet? She will only eat foods that are puree or mashed. I tried lentles and fish and she wouldn't eat it. I just want to make sure this is a good diet for her. Any suggestions?? Thank you!
I would hold off on the kiwi. It's a HIGH allergy food.
At O., she can eat what you're eating, pretty much.
I would definitely start encouraging finger food. You've gotten great suggestions - I would just add that cereal makes a good finger food. My kids liked Cheerios, Rice Chex, Corn Chex (the wheat are a little chewy for beginners). Plus cereals are all fortified - just don't jump to the sugary ones - if they don't know the sweet ones exist they're good with the low-sugar choices.
Peas! She can pick them up like she would puffs, but they are not processed.
With "and breast milk" on the list, she's getting a balanced diet if you are. One of the great things about breast feeding is that it gives your baby time to adjust to solids while still getting great nutrition.
As far as what she'll eat, it sound like you're off to a good start. The foods on her "will eat" list are all healthy, wholesome, nutrition rich things. Do keep introducing new things along with her favorites list, and don't get distressed if there are tastes and textures she doesn't enjoy on the first (or second, or third) try. My kids (11 and 7) are still finding new foods that they like, or discovering that things they didn't enjoy when they were small taste and feel good to them now. (The latest addition to the maybe-I-do-like-that list is mushrooms.)
Be confident. It sounds to me like you're doing an excellent job of introducing the wonderful and varied world of food while providing excellent nutritional support with breast milk. You're both doing fine, mom!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3...
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3...
Borrow them from your local library to find out if they fit into your family's lifestyle. They were my favorite cookbooks when the kids were smaller.
They were worth the purchase for me. I kept borrowing them over and over. Finally my hubby got tired of running to the library to get them or re-check them out...he ordered them from Hastings Books for me for Mother's Day.
I think you've done a fantastic job feeding her healthy, un-processed foods. Way to go, mama! I personally don't agree with the suggestions of puffs, cheerios, graham crackers, etc. These are highly processed foods with refined flour, sugar, etc. Instead, if you want to get her on finger foods, why not do this slowly, starting with the food she already eats. Carrots that are cooked but not mashed would be a great place to start. On her first birthday (and not a day before, you should also try giving her some whole milk, but you probably already knew that :)
sounds like she does great with fruit and veggies. You should look to introduce a little more protein in her diet. The quinoa is great, try adding a whole milk yogurt and cheeses in. I absolutely LOVE the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I have used it for all four of my kids, none are picky eaters and eat a great variety of grains, fruits, veggies and meats. Some kids are funny about texture and that will just change over time. Check the book out from the library or get a cheap used on on ebay or amazon. The book has great month by month lists for appropriate introduction of foods, but mostly I used it for suggestions bc I felt like I got stuck in a rut feeding the same things over and over! There is also a section that lists fruits and veggies alphabetically with info like when they are season, how to choose ripe, how to store and different ways to prepare. good luck! My 15months still has not had any cow's milk, but loves yogurt and cheese and his almond milk, coconut milk, sometimes soy and goat milk.
Sounds pretty good to me! She is still getting complete nutrition from breastmilk, think of the solid foods as supplementing the breastmilk rather then the milk supplementing the solids. The only nutrient she may need more of is iron, and she needs to try a few more good sources of protein. Try adding some meat or eggs into her diet. Children who are fed meat at an earlier age (like 8 months or so) have higher blood levels of iron, even at older ages. A slow-roasted brisket or pulled pork would be easy to shred into easy to chew pieces. And you can give her scrambled eggs; start with just the yoke since the white is a bit harder to digest. If there are no allergy issues in your family you can also give her peanut butter or other nut butters, waiting for 2+ years to introduce nuts does not reduce the likelihood of allergies. Just spread it very thinly on whole wheat bread and cut it into bite sized pieces. Also, don't be afraid to spice her food up a bit or give her table foods, there is no need to keep everything bland and boring! Add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, dill, or basil to her purees!
Does she have any desire to feed herself? You could try some finger foods. I usually started with a graham cracker, a whole wheat bagel (well, just a small piece or two), cheese cubes, banana slices, puffs. Once they are ok with feeding themselves you can really branch out. Worth a shot!
At one, they should be eating more variety in texture but some babies take a little longer. Have you bought any "puffs" that are made for babies so that she can feed herself? There are lots of baby snacks out there that she can eat/ Since she is only 1 I think it sounds like a healthy diet to me. But you can work on encorporating a greater variety of texture and allowing her to self feed in the coming months.
