Toddler Finger Food Recipes

Our 13 month old (who used to hate textures and love to be spoon fed) has just decided that the only food going into his mouth, is what HE FEEDS HIMSELF... He is practicing with the spoon, but we expect it to be a few months before it is actually an eating utensil and not a novelty.


So as a result, I am searching for 'finger food' recipes that he will enjoy and are healthy.


We already do the basics like:

steamed veggies

pasta

french toast (cinammon and pepper)

Cheese on toast


What I am looking for is helathy food we could batch cook, freeze and easily reheat.


Also, I like EASY RECIPES :)


Here are some I found, can you please share your recipes?

TOFU NUGGETS


1 package firm tofu

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (more or less)

1 egg equivalent

1 cup fine dry whole wheat bread crumbs

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper


Cut tofu into long sticks or squares.

Spread flour on a small plate or flat dish.

Beat egg in a shallow dish.

Mix remaining ingredients in shallow dish.

Turn each

piece of tofu in the flour to cover, then into the egg, then crumbs, and

then to the rack.

Chill in Fridge for 30 minutes or more.

Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 15-20 minutes until crisp.

Can freeze and reheat later.


CHEDDAR & VEGGIE PANCAKES


2 carrots

1/4 lb zucchini

1/4 lb Cheddar

6 oz potatoes

2 large eggs

1/4 cup bread crumbs

dash of cayenne pepper

olive oil


Peel carrots and potatoes and grate them, along with zucchini and cheddar cheese into large bowl.

Stir in eggs, bread crumbs, pepper.

Heat about 1/2" vegetable oil in a 10" skillet.

Pour in 1/4 cup of batter.

Press down with spatula and flatten.

Cook until well browned on both sides.

As each pancake is done remove from pan and set on plate covered with paper towel to drain.

Serve hot. Makes approximately 12 cakes.

Can freeze and reheat later


CHICKEN STICKS


Chicken breast, cut into thin long sticks

yogurt - plain

crushed cereal - shredded wheat, cheerios, corn flakes,


Roll chicken strips in yogurt

Then coat with crushed cereal of your choice.

Bake on lightly greased baking sheet at 200 C (400F) for 20 minutes or until done.

Can freeze and reheat later.



CHICKEN "NUGGETS"


2 chicken breasts - sliced into cubes

1 egg

bread crumbs or crushed flaked cereal

Small amount of black pepper, basil and oregano


Scramble egg into a wide bowl.

Dip the breasts cubes into the egg.

Roll in the bread crumbs mixed with black pepper, basil, oregano

Bake until golden at (190 C or 375F)

Transfer to plate lined with paper towels, allow to cool and then wrap in foil or plastic wrap, then transfer to freezer.

Can freeze and reheat later



SWEET POTATO FRIES

Scrub sweet potatoes (approx 6 medium/large ones) clean well.

Cut into small cubes or long strips.

In a large bowl, add about 1/4 cup of olive oil.

To this you may add:

cinnamon, black pepper, paprika..


Toss the cut up sweet potatoes into the bowl and stir so that the potatoes are drenched with the olive oil mix.

Dump mixture onto a baking sheet, drizzle remaining olive oil over the potatoes on the baking sheet.

Stir and swirl the potatoes on the baking sheet before placing in oven.

Bake for approx 30-45minutes or until tender at 200C (400F)

Can freeze and reheat later


MEAT BALLS


1 pound ground turkey or ground chicken

bread crumbs

wheat germ

1 egg

1 clove garlic diced very small

½ onion diced very small

teaspoon each of: pepper, paprika, basil, thyme and/or oregano


Mix ground meat with approximately

1 cup of bread crumbs, 1/4 cup wheat germ, 1 egg and the spices you have chosen.

Vary the measurements as you blend the ingredients, you may require more/less bread crumbs.

If too dry, add some pureed vegetables like pumpkin or sweet potato.


Roll into balls,

Place on deep baking pan, with a little bit of olive oil.

bake at 190 C (375F) until golden or for about 25-30 minutes.

Do not allow these to burn.

Cover the pan with tin foil to help prevent burning if need be.

Use a small baking pan so you may shake and roll the meatballs around - helps to keep even cooking.

Cool, Wrap, Freeze!


Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

1 16-oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1 ½ cups Shredded cheddar cheese

3 Large eggs


Heat oven to 190C (375F)

1. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.

*Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example

3. Shape mixture into nuggets or sticks.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes.


Can freeze and reheat later


SWEET POTATO "PANCAKES"


1 cup basmati rice

1 1/2 pounds of Sweet Potato (orange not white ones!)

3/4 cup frozen baby peas

3/4 cup zucchini

1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 garlic clove - 1 egg

2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil


Cook the rice in a large saucepan of water (typically 2 cups of water per 1 cup rice)

Chop & steam or boil the sweet potato until tender, drain well. Mash until almost smooth.

Cut the zucchini into small dices - add zucchini and all other ingredients to mashed sweet potato and mix well,

season with salt & pepper if desired.


Divide the mixture into equal portions and cook in lightly oiled frying pan for approx. 3 minutes each side,

Drain on paper towel. Great warm or cold!


GRILLED CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts

Marinade

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tbsp soy sauce

freshly ground black pepper and paprika

1 tbsp olive oil


Method:

Cover the chicken breasts with greaseproof paper and flatten slightly with a mallet or a rolling pin until about one and a half cm. (1/2 inch) thick.

Cut into long strips

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and marinate for at least one hour.

Remove the chicken and reserve the marinade.


Heat the frying pan until hot.

Brush chicken with a little olive oil and cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Strain the marinade, pour it into a small saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer for one minute (add a little water if necessary).

Can freeze and reheat


CHEESY VEGETARIAN SAUSAGES


Delicious vegetarian sausages that are quick and easy to prepare. If you have time you can form the mixture into sausage shapes and then set aside in the fridge to firm up before cooking.


Ingredients

175g (6 oz) sliced whole wheat bread

25g (1 oz) butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

175g (6 oz) grated courgette / zucchini

150g (5 oz) Cheddar cheese, grated

1 egg, separated

a little pepper

olive oil for frying


Method:

Make the breadcrumbs by tearing the bread into pieces and blitzing it in a food processor.


Grate the corgette / zucchini and squeeze the excess liquid out.


Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion until soft.


Add the grated courgette and cook for 3 minutes until softened.


Mix with the grated cheese, half the breadcrumbs, the egg yolk and seasoning. Shape into 8 sausages about 10 cm (4 in) long, using floured hands.

Dip into the lightly beaten egg white and then roll in the remaining breadcrumbs.


Heat some olive oil in a wok or frying pan and shallow fry the sausages until lightly golden.


Can Freeze BEFORE cooking.

Great recipes CRJ.


My #2 hates being fed as well. SO I usually have a small suction bowl of something for her to play with while I feed her. For example, I always have to have her toast ready, while I spoon in her yogurt which is mixed with flaxseed oil and her morning vitamin supplement. It's the only way she'll take it.


I've been giving the same food that the rest of the family is eating - to some success and also failures. But I do like making sticky "rice balls" of things that she can sort of pick up and eat bits and pieces of. The Korean/Japanese short grain brown rice is actually sticky, not separate like the regular rice. And what I do is mix some stuff together (like some steamed veggies and whatnot) and make a little ball and leave it for her. I put beans in there, that have been well cooked, so it's "sort of" the superbaby porridge. This does get veyr stick and messy as there are rice grains everywhere, and a massive pain in my butt...but still, it's fun.


Also - I do like Inari Sushi, which is the rice stuffed in deep fried tofu pockets. #2 likes these quite a bit, and is happy to eat them. Definitely don't know if you can batch cook these, or freeze them, (in fact I wouldn't advise it) but you could enjoy them, as they are pretty tasty for adults too.


I'm experimenting with different veggie "spreads" for sandwiches, using a cream cheese base. SO some of the veggie cubes defrosted and stirred in with cream cheese and spread on top of bread. So far she hates all of them, but I'll keep trying. HAHAH.


#2 also likes all of the Korean Juhn (pancakes) which are a bit time consuming but can be frozen and reheated. It's simply a matter of taking a courgette, slicing it into rounds, salting them, then dusting them with flour (so the egg would stick) and then coating them with egg and then frying them in veggie oil. Very pretty and works well with a variety things like mushrooms, courgettes, bell peppers.


I miss the days when she just ate super baby porridge. MUCH harder work.

I have tried 3 of the above so far:


Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets - made them with mixed veggies (what I had) and they are a huge hit! These took the most time to make. Froze a big batch and just reheat 3 at a time in microwave for part of a meal - he was eating them one in each hand :)


Grilled Chicken - I made it with turkey (citysuper had some really affordable chicken and turkey breasts so I bought some), and cut it into small pieces - he loved it! Very easy to make, will experiment with more simple chicken and turkey grilled dishes. Made a batch, froze them and will reheat in microwave.

It was so easy, I am thinking I won't bother with meat balls as they are more work!


Tofu Nuggets - he liked them, but liked the tofu inside more than the crunchy outside - they were super easy to make. Made a batch, froze them and will reheat in oven.


Tortellini - store bought that I made for myself was also a big hit with him, as is pasta (whole wheat or veggie), peas, cheese, Oatios (instead of Cheerios), and other things he can pick up.


He is starting to use the spoon, and we found that if the puree/super porridge is thick enough to stick to the spoon he can feed himself some and seems to enjoy it.


Making sweet potato fries tomorrow and pumpkin pancakes (found recipe on web) this weekend...


Also, a tip from a friend, we bought some plastic bibs with 'pockets' from Eugene Club that 'catch' the dropped food - he then picks from it and can eat what he dropped - still lots goes on the floor, but this saves some at least.


Please share what you find that works :)

i'm guessing this is for real meals, not snacks?

how about french toast cut into strips? but i guess you can't eat that.


try looking at annabel karmel's books, think she's got lots of finger foods ideas. i think she also focuses on making the food look interesting to attract the kid - say sandwiches, use interesting cutters.

French toast in strips is a major hit with baby - we give him egg M-W-F, one day scrambled, one day boiled, one day french toast (with black pepper and cinammon). If we fed him french toast every day he would be thrilled, but very unhealthy, so we limit it :)

any recipes that can be prepared in bulk and frozen?

sorry, lazy mum here.....:P


stb: babies can eat hummus at this stage?

bagels are yum - cinnamon raisin with cream cheese spread!

please share your filling ideas?


kebabs? grilled tofu on a skewer (or too dangerous)?

just looking at annebel karmel's as i type and she's got lots of ideas - golden fish balls, cunrchy chicken fingers, rissoles, croquettes sweetcorn/cheery tomato/tofu kebab,all suitable for freezing!


or tuna melt, courgette fritters, carrots with crunchy cornflake topping!

go check out the book!

STB,


I've got Feeding your Baby and toddler and The New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner.


The Feeding book is more like a coffee table book - visually attractive but could do with more recipe suggestions.


The Meal Planner book is better I feel - not only is it divided into the usual age group, they also categorise into fish/meat/vegetables/pasta/breakfast. No pictures but more variety.

you guys are industrious. I totally respect you all.


I do all the cooking, so I prefer, as much as possible, to have our meals be the same meals as our baby. I just try to make them slightly more finger friendly if I can. Otherwise I do have to resort to making recipes and whatnot.


SO yesterday, I had a hectic day of working, and managed to get some chicken into the oven - it had been marinated from the morning with ginger, soy, sugar, vinegar and garlic. A random mix of sweet and sour I know. But it's good. ANd I cooked it and I chopped it into small chunks for #2. SHE LOVED IT. I was a bit scared, because at one point I let her have one of the drummettes, and she clobbered the thing like it wasn't anyone's business. She cleaned it right down to the bone and wouldn't let that bone go for the rest of the meal.


while she held on the bone I gave her her beans and rice, spinach and soup. HAHHA. It was like feeding a mini caveman.

This was a big hit with both my kids...


Spinach Pie


1 cup cooked rice

1 cup chopped fetta cheese

1 packed frozen spinach (about 250gms I think) - thawed and well drained

3 eggs beaten

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pepper to flavour


Mix it all together and put into a 23cm pie dish (size doesn't really matter), and into a 180C oven for 25 minutes.


Cut into portions and freeze what you don't eat.


I also used to change/mix the vegies eg. grated carrot and zuchinni, corn, beans, peas, etc.

Swmbo - that sounds great, will try this weekend or next week!!

Thanks for this fantastic thread crj.

I've just made the sweet potato fries and the cheese and broccoli nuggets - they are so tasty I don't think there will be any left by the time bub wakes up! Do you serve them cold as well or do they need to be reheated in the oven?

Cheers

10 - I have frozen everything, so reheated them in the microwave - but be sure to add water when you reheat the nuggets or they dry out too much.


I asked the maid to make the spinach pie last night, so we will try it today - I tried a piece and it is great - something we would eat and could also serve him. We used 1/2 feta and 1/2 tofu.

SWMBO - The spinach pie is great and so easy to make, we used half feta and half tofu, and brown rice instead of white - for the whole family! Freezes and reheat well too.


The tofu nuggets have been funny - he loves the tofu, but not the outside so much - so I can save a lot of time and just give him plain tofu!


Another huge hit has been tortelini, I made some for me and let him try one - he ate 6! And that was AFTER his regular meal, he loved them.

the recipes all sound yummy,definitely want to try for my kid and evev for all of us.


question - baby has not had eggs yet as hubby has a history, reacted to them as a child and now eats it only if in cakes...will throw up if he eats an actual egg. can we substitute the eggs with something else for the above recipes? thanks!

There are 'vegetarian' egg substitutes, but I would check the ingredients as they might be not suitable.


For most recipes you can use yogurt instead of egg - like to 'coat' the nuggets so the breadcrumbs stick.


For the recipes where egg performs a 'binding' fucntion, check the below (google!):


http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/celiac/eggsubs.html

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/catering_and_cookery/eggfree.php

egg question is interesting.


you need a binder - and so I did a search online for suitable substitutes.


In quiches (which is similar to what is above) they recommend tofu, and up the binding factor of something else. SO I'm thinking you use a melty type cheese, like mozzarella, tofu, cheddar, and a bit more rice to soak up the juice from the tofu. That's the best I can come up with.

so - I did another search for an eggless quiche.


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/eggless-tofu-spinach-quiche/detail.aspx

the wonton/gyoza wrappers are an easy way to make toddler food. In Seoul, I make very very time consuming korean "mandoo" which is basically a bunch of cabbage, beansprouts, scallions, garlic chives, tofu, ginger, garlic, meat and seasonings all mashed together and then stuffed. Korean tortellini if you will.


But then, just recently, I just had some skins leftover, and remembered that you could make homemade ravioli with them, so I stuffed it with some cheese and veggies and gave them to #2. She liked it a lot (But she definitely prefers the Korean traditional mandoo) and that worked really well. You could make your own fillings, and I saw on Martha stewart kids a recipe for one with squash. Very cool idea I think and you could vary the fillings.


#2 discovered strawberries. (they are in season here in seoul) She REFUSES to take them cut up from a fork, but is happy to have a whole one and squish it in her hands and shove it in her mouth. (VERY messy.)

re korean strawberries,


i never knew you could get korean strawberries until recently when the fruit seller at my new neighbourhood told me to try some! it's absolutely delicious and baby loved it too!!

I've been following this thread and decided to print out the recipes on here and try one. I got my helper to make the spinach & feta cheese pie, I was very excited to try some new food on my daughter but NO!!! she absolutely refused to eat it, I didnt even get it in her mouth. No point freezing it so hubby and I will have to eat it.


I'm going to try the sweet potatoes chips next!


She is one fussy eater!!!

We always try things again and again... sometimes babies refuse something because it is 'new' and it takes up to 10 times for them to actually realise they like it!


Other times, they like something one day, and then not again for a week... keep trying :)

very interesting, shall try that!

We have had a few other hits with OUR FOOD, which is great!


Quiche - I made a spinach quiche for us, and gave baby a slice cut up the next day and he loved it - and it had lots of garlic and onions!


Tortellini - still a hit, even with our sauce, again with lots of garlic


Grilled Turkey, Chicken, Salmon - all worked out well, marinated in lemon juice, soy, black pepper, nutmeg, garlic. Cooked on grill, then cut up in little pieces and frozen, so we can reheat when needed.


Brown Rice Cakes (no salt)


Brown Rice - I have made brown rice with my dinner and brown rice vegetable stir fry and he loves eating off my chopsticks.


And just for him, okay I have some too...

Cheese on Toast, French Toast with Black Pepper and Cinammon, Cheese Toasty - all hits with wholemeal bread, but limited to once a week.


SIMPLYTHEBEST - can you type out some of your recipes here, I need to introduce more new food :)

I envy all you Mums that seem to get your kids to try new foods. My little one is getting fussier by the day. Anything requiring chewing she spits out apart from rice. Pasta was a hit and now isnt. I've got a few potato/cheese or tuna recipes from an Annabel Karmel book that she will eat. I know the books say if they won't eat take it away and don't give a pudding but then of course I run the risk of her waking up in the night for a bottle of milk. She will be 2 next week.

I have heard it all changes with the terrible twos... oh no, your post proves it is true ....

It does change a bit. My daughter went from eating EVERYTHING to being a bit more particular. I think these are a bit learned however - her friends at school say things like "I don't eat carrots and spinach blah blah" and I think she picked it up. AT home she generally does try and eat everything, but her veggie intake has definitely dropped. sigh.


This book, "super immunity for kids" by Leo Galland warns of this drop to eat "better foods" and has some tips about how to get kids to eat more. it's a decent book (a bit old) but I found it really good.

yum, do share!

Thanks SImplyTheBest!


The reason I limit the bread to once a week, is I think bread is not the healthiest food, although it is very filling - and although he loves it, I want to get more vegetables and proteins into him while I can.


He also often gets bread at the weekend if we go out to a restaurant.


The Bean Burgers sound great... please share :)

we don't do bread alot because it takes forever to finish and when you think he is done, i see he has tuck much of it to the side of his mouth!!


but i do make soups like cream of tomato soup for his dinner and to make it more substantial, i tear bits of bread into the soup.


ok, the last 2 weeks, we have tried a few recipes that we made that the whole family could enjoy. so basically, i cook the night before for dinner, baby has it for lunch next day and i keep one more portion in freezer. generally the idea is to keep it simple (one dish meals always best for me, especially with cleaning up later). we are not fussed about eating supposedly baby food but come weekends, we have more adult versions which baby might not be ready for like roast, steaks and what not. oh, i don't use salt.


gremolata crusted salmon bake (but i didn't add any capers like recipe suggested):

http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/recipes/recipesearch/recipe/0601ws25-r03.asp

orzo with green beans, corn and chicken:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=ce9ecf06cd80f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=orzo&rsc=ns2006_r10

creamy celery soup:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=178943e303a0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=creamy%20celery%20soup&rsc=ns2006_m2

fish with mushroom sauce, tomato and mascarpone sauce pasta, cream of tomato soup, chicken paprika, chicken with tomato sauce and rice - annabel karmel's feeding your baby and toddler/baby and toddler meal planner


tonight we are having a creamy chicken pasta dish and i plan to make shepherd's pie tomorrow.

ok now we do milk in the cup 1st thing when he wakes up, milk in his oats porridge and milk in a cup just before bed.

i realised we have to pick and choose certain battles with our kid - we won the bottle to cup fight, we won the formula to COLD cow's milk fight (yes, we have officially retired the bottles and the steriliser, yipee) BUT we are struggling with convincing him to drink it quick instead of sitting on his highchair for 15-20 mins, few sips, play, few sips play.


so we get his daily requirement of milk but it's no walk in the park. i might try out the smoothie idea....although, not to be rude but pumpkin and tofu??? hahaha...when he was ill awhile back, we blended greek yoghurt with bananas and mangoes for breakfast because he refused anything lumpy or hot. he loved that so smoothies might work for him too!

Our boy drinks from his straw cup pretty much all day... at the park, in his room, etc... and he gets through 4 cups a day now! He doesn't seem to just want to drink with his meal.


We are okay with this as it is what adults do... take sips all day long.


He walks over, picks it up, has a few sips, and puts it down, etc... self regulating :)

Here are some more links to Finger Food Recipes:


http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/startingsolids/weaningrecipes/


Check the Eating with the Family and other links...


http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/startingsolids/weaningrecipes/sevenmonthsplus/

Recipes for the whole family...


So far we have tried:

Baked Pasta stuffed with riccotta cheese and spinach

Tortellini with pasta sauce

vegetarian mousakka

Pancakes (Korean, American, Sweet Potato, Potato...)

Fride Rice

Any steamed or stir fried vegetables

Roast chicken/turkey

grilled tofu

grilled fish

dim sum, dumplings, cheung fan (rice rolls), steamed buns

Omelettes - spinach and cheese