Sorting puffs.
Luka's eating habits changed pretty rapidly by 12 months. I knew it would happen around that time, but I have to be honest; the idea of him gaining most of his nutrition from solid foods rather than from his usual formula scared the pee outta me. Solid food? As in, the stuff he wears and smears on things? But it was a relief to learn at his 12 month well visit that his doc didn't recommend yanking his bottle away completely, just reducing the amount of formula and increasing his "real" food. So now he gets 16-20 oz. of formula, plus breakfast lunch and dinner. 12 months is also where whole cow's milk is typically introduced, but of course Lu gets a variety of plant milks instead. So far his favorite is almond milk.
The kid has a great palette! He will eat most anything that he can self feed. Since he's still so preemie teeny, his volume isn't that large. We just let him eat until he doesn't want to anymore, and it's working out fine.
wearing soy yogurt
I'm still working in a larger variety of foods for him. Here are some examples of what Lu eats for meals so far. He will usually have more than one food listed per meal, to keep things square.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal or multi grain cereal with pureed fruit add-ins, like apple sauce, mango, berries, etc.
Banana chunks (his absolute favorite food)
wheat bread pieces with a very light coating of nut butter (peanut or almond)
Oatmeal with peanut butter
non-dairy yogurt, any flavor (another big favorite)
Fruit smoothie with rice protein
Lunch and Dinner:
crumbled baked tofu
pasta pieces with tomato sauce or nutritional yeast sauce
veggie burger pieces (for store bought, we like ones made of actual vegetables, like Dr. Praegers and Sunshine Burgers)
broccoli tops coated in flax oil
spinach, peas, carrots, all mashed or pureed
mashed potatoes (sweet or white)
edamame, cooked soft
rice cooked in veggie broth or a vegan cheesy sauce
falafel balls, crumbled
lentils, white beans, black beans, pinto beans, corn
Here's his general eating schedule:
6 oz. bottle upon waking between 7-8am
breakfast with plant milk from a cup around 8:30am
5-6 oz. bottle for snack before nap between 11am-12pm
Lunch and 5 oz. bottle between 2pm-3pm
5 oz. bottle for snack around 4pm
Dinner with plant milk from a cup around 5pm
6 oz. bottle before bed, between 7-8pm
I feel like I'm stuffing him all day long! But he doesn't eat huge portions at all. We also let Luka taste almost anything we are eating, if he shows interest. He loves to share smoothies with us. Especially if there's a straw involved! For the sake of convenience and also for a larger variety of food, we still keep some organic baby food in jars around. And the organic ones in pouches are really easy for feeding Lu away from home.
What are your favorite toddler foods?
a toddler?! when did we get a toddler?
