What to Feed My 11 Mo. Old, He's So over Baby Food

Updated on January 18, 2011
J.B. asks from Marrero, LA
15 answers

Hey Mamas,
I am looking for some more ideas to nourish my hungry little man! He will be one next week and he is just not having baby food of any kind anymore!! What he eats so far is stuff like waffles, bananas, bread, grilled cheese, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cheerios, baby yogurt, baby granola bars etc. But I have some questions bc I want to broaden his horizons a bit. I am thinking he can handle pasta, but I am just nervous about it. If I cook it really soft and sort of fork mash it, would that be ok considering what a healthy little eater he is? Also, I have seen suggestions on here before about how to give fresh apple but I forgot, something about sticking it in the microwave....can someone help me out there, bc I don't want him to only have banana every day. Can he have oranges at this age, broken in small pieces? Oh and what about meat. My first dealt with reflux and so he was a little later with the whole eating thing, but this one just wants everything in sight. I tried to give him some baby food meat last night with a little gravy, he thought it was gross. Should he be able to handle shredded meat now? We are having fish tonight, so I was thinking of shredding some up for him. Anyway, and thoughts or helpful hints would be so great. My first was just a little different, this one is like so easy, already weaned, on a cup only, he is just a kid that wants to charge full steam ahead and I am having to catch up!! Thanks for any advice ladies :D

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A.J.

answers from Killeen on

I think you're on the right track. Just give him whatever you're eating for dinner in small pieces. I think my kids aren't picky eaters b/c we never really used baby food, we just gave them what we ate. Baby food is soo bland, so when a baby goes from baby food to table food, it can be hard for their taste buds to adjust to all the seasonings found in "real" food. If you start out giving him the foods you cook, he will get used to the way you cook and the seasonings you use right away, and is more likely to continue to be a good eater =)

2 moms found this helpful

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J.E.

answers from Los Angeles on

he can eat what you do. But I wouldnt add salt until you seperate his dinner. Small chunks of everything he will take, I do a cheese, banana, avocado, toast bits sampler plate my dd loves for a small lunch or snack. (10 m.o.) she loves spaghetti, I just cut it up. I do slightly overcook pasta and rice so it wont absorb the water from her bowel and constipate her. baby meats are gross, although my cat didnt mind it lol, but he can have little bits of meat too, and fish. Dont mash it, he wants what you have, and hes big enough, teeth or not. just smaller pieces. you can grate the apple to give it to him raw. Let him guide you, and be happy he isnt picky or one of these texture sensitive kids. the more variety the better. I love it when they eat our food, its fun to see how "big" they can be at self feeding. (not so fun- how messy lol. I used to feed my middle dd in only a diaper, especially for pasta with tomatoe sauces for easier clean up)

3 moms found this helpful

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Pasta is FINE! Just cut it into small enough pieces that in the event he doesn't "chew" it, that he can swallow it whole with no problem.

Best advice, is feed him what you're eating. Tiny bites or shreds of chicken, pork, steak, etc... Cut or mash up your veggies very small, etc...

My son stopped eating baby food around 10mos, he just wouldn't take it anymore. So I just gave him whatever we were eating, in small enough pieces for him to handle. He barely had any teeth - he was late with that. I have to say that now, at 2.5, he eats EVERYTHING (Veal Parm is a favorite of his!). Not even a little picky.
I don't know if giving him everything helped with that, but it sure is nice to not be restricted to mac/cheese and chicken nuggets all the time!

Give it a shot. He may surprise you!

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L.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

When our children were 11mos, our pediatrician said they could eat ANYTHING/EVERYTHING, except honey. Whatever you're having for dinner, cut it up really small.

2 moms found this helpful
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B.B.

answers from Portland on

cut into cubes: avacado, mango, peaches, pears, cheese, steamed baby carrots. Other finger foods: black beans, mandarin oranges, macaroni noodles, large curd cottage cheese,

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L.D.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter is 11 months old and we give her any table food we are having, just cut up into small pieces. She some orange the other day (one of the little ones) but I cut the segments into 3 pieces.
I'm also a giant fan of the frozen bags of mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, greenbeens, etc). I put a handful in a bowl with a little water, microwave for a minute, take it out and let it cool and then put it on her tray. She will sit for 30 minutes trying to get all of those little pieces in her mouth.
My son, 30 months, eats the frozen peas frozen.
I also like canned beets, cut into little pieces - messy but good. You can mix those with oranges for a little salad, or mix them with yogurt to be fed to him with a spoon.
Try cooking beans - black eyed peas, split peas, etc. He may eat them off of his tray, or he might eat them mixed with apple sauce or sweet potatato. Same for brown rice.

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T.B.

answers from Houston on

Hello, Your son sounds like mine. As soon as he could he wanted to feed himself and was over mushed up food. I would definitely go with noodles and fish. I wouldn't even mash it up. If he has teeth it will get mushed up. Noodles with butter and seasoning is one of his favorites and he loves fish of any kind, which is usually pretty soft. try other fruits like mango, blueberries, cantelope, honeydew and veggies like steamed squash, sweet potatoes. He will let you know what he likes. Good Luck!

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T.T.

answers from Chicago on

he can have berries, softened apple chunks ( in micro or steamer) pears peaches anything really. hes not going to choke on pasta or meat hes 11 months old. i never fed my kids mushy baby food. shes always had real food since she was 7 months old. she never choked because she never learned to just immediately swallow mush in her mouth. just feeed him whatever you feed your older one or yourself. all kids can be sensitive to oranges so you may wan to wait. also the skin taht wraps and orange can be hard to navigate in the mouth. id avoid them for a bit

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E.B.

answers from Houston on

We did deli meats cut into small cubes a slight bit bigger than peas(have it cut thicker and then cut into cubes). Pastas cut up. Cheerios in yogurt. Mac n Cheese-a HUGE favorite. Grapes cut in quarters. Anything, everything. Cut it up and see what he does! My first was like this- ate everything-on the other hand my now 15 year old would still be happy if I fed her baby food!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from New York on

Check out http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com. They have great, healthy recipes for every stage of the baby feeding game. They offer great age charts to help you plan out what meals your little one is ready for. I printed these out when my son was younger and hung them on the fridge. Great site.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I would feed him anything you eat just cut up in small pieces. Be sure and watch this salt and sugar intake with that you are making and eating also. Steer clear of chocolate, honey, and nuts though.

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C.S.

answers from Houston on

My son never liked the soupy consistenecy of babyfood, I just made my own, cut things into cubes or bite size, they can chew a lot w/ their gums & few teeth.
tofu, no salt beans, no salt or sugar canned dice tomatoes, any fruit or veg, eggs, chicken, fish, frechtoast, whole grain noodles plain or coated w/canned pumpkin or plain yogurt... be creative. Remember they are experiencing textures & temperatures, they won't miss syrups & sauces if you don't introduce them, make good habbits now. If they don't like a food, try again in a couple days, their taste buds change every couple days.

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L.M.

answers from Houston on

I was repulsed by the looks of jarred baby food meat. So, I got a mini-food processor and sliced sandwich meat, ham, turkey, roast beef. I ground up a couple of slices per meal for him to eat. If we had roast beef or something like that, I would grind it up for him.

My son had trouble with tomato based foods until he was almost 2. They gave him horrible gas. Funny thing was when I was pregnant with him, anytime I ate pasta or pizza, he would roll and roll from side to side in my tummy. They were giving him fits then too. I just didn't know that was the problem. He's 8 now and does not have those issues.

If he's eating well on his own, let him try some new things such as pasta and small chopped up fruits and veggies. I'll never forget the surprise in my son's diaper the first time the day care gave him raisins. He was about 18 months old. His poop had these black blobs in it. I was convinced he was seriously ill and needed to go to the hospital immediately until I did some, how do you say, research (poking and prodding) and discovered he had not chewed up his raisins.

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S.A.

answers from Austin on

My son loved ravioli and other canned pastas. Other big hits were green beans, carrots (both steamed), tortellini with cut up ham was great too, strawberries, quartered grapes, and hot dogs (I cut them in half length wise and then dice it up to make them safer to chew on). It is hard to see what they'll want to eat, good luck!

B.A.

answers from Austin on

Here are some lunch ideas and other tips with more detail at the link below:

http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/08/12/...

Avoid brown bag boredom and try the following healthy, easy and fun options. Bonus – your children will want to eat these choices!

Turn lunch into an adventure:

* Cut sandwiches into playful shapes with cookie cutters. Children are more excited about eating a star- or dinosaur-shaped sandwich because it makes the experience fun! Choose cheese or deli meats to replace breads and cut them into fun shapes, too.

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