What Rooney Eats
As soon as Rooney turned 1, she shook her head at purees. She was no longer interested in eating off a spoon - she wanted to feed herself! But with only 4 teeth, it was a little difficult finding foods that we felt were healthy and she could handle with only a few teeth. She now has 12 teeth, but is still eating a lot of the same things since she can't bite into harder things like raw carrots.
Here's a look at what we try to keep on hand for her at 17 months:
Breakfast
- Bananas
- Organic scrambled eggs (sometimes with organic salsa mixed in)
- Gluten, dairy and soy-free waffles with organic butter
- Coconut or goat milk
Lunch / Dinner
With her later bedtime and ability to eat more foods, we've also started eating dinner together as a family each night.
- Avocado chunks
- Mandarin oranges
- Pineapple pieces
- Organic strawberries
- Watermelon
- Peas
- Corn
- Grass-fed beef sticks
- Chicken pieces
- Hamburger patty
- Coconut or goat milk
Bedtime Snack
- Non-GMO popcorn (air popped) with organic butter and real salt
- Water
On the Go
- Trader Joe's O's (not so much anymore but around 12 months she had these a lot)
- Happy Baby gluten-free rice cakes
- Happy Baby gluten-free puffs
- Gerber Organic Lil Crunchies
- Earth's Best Organic Pop Snax
- Water
Out at Restaurants
- Rice (Mexican rice, Spanish rice, white rice, brown rice, fried rice...she loves them all!)
- Chicken
- Mini corn dogs
- Corn
- Peas
- Bread
- Hamburger patty
- Water
As you can see, we buy mostly organic for her. At home we also avoid dairy and gluten as much as possible, but we are buy no means perfect. Where some families offer watermelon as dessert, sometimes that is most of her main meal. She is also not a stranger to donuts or mini corn dogs, but we try to keep those to a once-in-a-while treat. :)
I find it interesting that when she was just on formula and then later, baby food and formula, that I was always concerned if she was full enough to go to bed and sleep all night. Now, even if she doesn't eat much for supper, I trust her instincts that she can make it through the night without eating. She certainly goes through times when she eats more than others, but we try not to make a big deal out of it.
What are some of your toddler's favorite foods?