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Best Early Finger Foods for Baby

A good rule of thumb is to serve pieces of food that are about the size of a pea to start. This will be easy for baby to pick up and eat and will also reduce any chances of choking. Let your child's unique hunger be your guide for portions (though start small to avoid wasting food)—serving sizes here are just an approximation. And know that the nutrition info here will vary according to which foods you serve.
Course Baby Food
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 124kcal

Ingredients

First Finger Foods (choose 1-3 per meal)

Fruits and Veggies

  • 1/4 cup mashed roasted sweet potato (broken up into small pieces)
  • 1/4 cup warmed frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup Roasted Zucchini
  • 1/4 cup diced Roasted Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash
  • 1/4 cup blueberries (cut in half or quarters)
  • 1/4 cup raspberries (broken into small pieces)
  • 1/4 cup banana slices (broken into small segments—they are less slippery this way versus slicing them)
  • 2 tbsp avocado (diced and mashed slightly—be sure it's ripe and very soft)

Whole Grains and Carbohydrates

  • 1 Spinach pancakes (moisten with applesauce or plain yogurt if needed; this recipe is particularly moist and great for babies)
  • 1/4 cup Oatmeal (cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool)
  • 1/4 cup Baby Puffs
  • 1/4 cup Peanut Butter Puffs
  • 1/4 cup fully cooked rice (it's easiest if it's in little clumps so baby can pick it up; this Coconut Rice or this Cheesy Rice are both good options)
  • 1 Baby Banana Muffin
  • 1/4 cup O cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
  • 1/4 cup Baked Oatmeal (diced or regular oatmeal broken into little pieces)

Dairy

Instructions

  • For each meal or snack, choose 2-3 foods from a mix of food groups. Aim to include some fat in most meals and protein in many too.
  • Prepare the food, cutting into small pieces and/or mashing as needed to make the food easy to eat.
  • Start with small portions and allow more as baby indicates according to their hunger.

Notes

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge.
  • Many foods you cook for your family will work as baby finger foods—just be sure they are easy to squish between your fingers and the pieces are small and easy to chew.
  • Babies very normally make a lot of faces when they eat, so don't assume they don't like something just because they scrunch their nose!
  • Flavors and textures can take time to learn to eat, so continue offering foods in small portions even if baby hasn't liked them in the past—and make sure they taste good to you!

Nutrition

Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 81mg | Potassium: 344mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 9857IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg