Food Ideas For 8 Month Old

[sjust]

My DD is now starting to eat more solids and she wants to feed herself more. With my DS I gave him things like Cheerios and puffs but I can't give those to her. I was wondering if there is a gluten-free version of these things or other suggestions on what to give her.

Thanks

Sarah

[mamatide]

Hi Sarah,

I went back to look at your signature and it says your DD appears to be allergic to all foods FFT. Sorry I don't know what the FFT means, so please omit from my list of suggestions those which might not suit.

Finger foods

CARBS

- rice twice cereal (sweet tasting, easy to chew)

- Glutino Honey Nut or Apple Cinnamon O cereals (not too crunchy)

- Dr. Schar rusks

- MiDel Animal Crackers

DAIRY

- shredded or grated cheddar cheese

- yogurt

- small cubes of creamed cheese

- pudding (Jell-O cooked from real whole milk)

- cottage cheese

VEGETABLES

- cubed ripe avocado

- cubed cooked carrots

- cooked or canned peas

- cubed cooked potatoes (or canned and cubed)

MEAT

- I would stick to pureed meats for red meat

- cubed cooked chicken

- cubed cooked turkey

- chick peas (canned)

- peanut butter, sunflower butter, peabutter in small quantities

There is just so much out there that is naturally gluten free...

Hope this helps!

mamatide

[celiac-mommy]

- peanut butter, sunflower butter, peabutter in small quantities

The list above sounds great, but i would NOT give any kind of nut butter (including sesame/tahini) in any quantity unless your pediatrician says OK. Wait until 1.5-2years. Pureed tofu or small tofu cubes is good, also fruit with yogurt or cottage cheese is a good way to get extra protein. Intruduce one new food every 3-4 days just to make sure there is no reaction. I made all of the baby food for my kids. I batch cooked once or twice a month, froze in ice cub trays and dumped into labeled freezer bags. It really doesn't take much time and it really saves a TON of money--even when you're buying the more expensive veggies and organics!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I gave my kids flaked broiled salmon, soft tofu cubes, mashed sweet potatoes with a spoon, avocadoes (make sure they are very soft), tiny diced canned peaches, pears, and apricots as first foods.

I did NOT do cheerios or puffs (and I knew nothing about gluten at the time)--I figure it should be all about nutrition, not junk. I am not judging you--I think the advertising media frenzy has made a lot of junk food "standard" fare for toddlers, and it is nearly impossible to do otherwise without doing PhD level research on nutrition!

[Dianne W.]

I give my son Amaranth O's and Amaranth Snaps made by Nu-World Foods (Open Original Shared Link). The Snaps are made of just organic amaranth and tapioca starch and the O's are made from amaranth, sorghum flour, and beet fiber (the ingredient list on the website is out of date - this is the ingredient list from the side of the box I just got in my latest shipment).

I don't know what other things you are having to avoid, but my son is gluten/dairy/soy intolerant, so non-messy cracker-like finger foods are still a vital necessity for us. I really needed to find something to be able to carry with me in the diaper bag and give to him when waiting in line or at an appt, etc. Plus he always was trying to reach for his sister's crackers and obviously couldn't have them.

I used to find these cereals at Wild Oats, but now they always seem to be out of stock. So, I just call the company and order directly from them. (Fast shipping, by the way.)

Also - I would give him bits of sweet potatoes but they were too slippery and hard for him to grasp. So I started cutting raw sweet potatos into hash brown sized pieces and spread them on a cookie sheet and would bake them in the oven until cooked thoroughly. Then he could easily pick them up and eat them without them squishing all over.

Gerber has freeze dried apples bits. Be aware, they will likely come out intact in your little one's poos since babies gum them and then swallow them whole.

Hope this helps.

Dianne

[ShayBraMom]

As for Fingerfood/snacks you can get those Gerber Graduates mini-fruits! they are tiny pieces of real fruit or corn, they are just freeze dried, nothing added. they have Apple, Apple-strawberry and corn, those are the ones I've seen. Thoses things melt in the mouth/soften realy fast. they are awesome and purely Gluten or something else free, just freezedried fruits or Veggies, no preservatives or something. My daughter loves them. You can alos blend potatoes , sweet ones or regular for her, she can also have some oven baked (not fried, they are overall not healthy) frenchfries, really soft steamed veggies like the mixture with Pees, corn and babycarrots!

[janelyb]

I would offer mostly fruits and veggies because as you know when they get older they often refuse to eat them!