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My 13-month old boy is transitioning from jars of Gerber Baby Food to table food. He does very well on toast and cheerios and other similar things, but he doesn't much like eggs, and we want to make sure he's getting enough protein and fat in his diet.

Fully raw meat is a bit difficult to keep circulated in the house on a regular basis, deli meat has the listeria risk and doesn't last for much longer, and I'm worried that canned meat will have too much sodium in it for his diet.

What's the safest, most reliable way to ensure my son is getting a regular intake of protein and fat in his diet?

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  • How do you get meat in your diet? What is your normal meal?
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 4, 2022 at 17:25
  • @Joe We take turns preparing meals throughout the week, though some days neither of us are up for it and we either order out or bring food home from the store - but even on days like that, we still need to feed our son something healthy.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented Oct 4, 2022 at 18:17
  • Understood, but what is it that you are preparing or ordering? Your question mostly eliminated the standard answers, so - what do you actually eat?
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 4, 2022 at 18:26
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    We do bake, and we do make things like baby-safe stir fry vegetables, soups that we can easily puree for him, spaghetti that we can cut up for him, and other stuff that's generally okay for him to eat - I'm more concerned with nights where we don't feel like cooking at all, and either order out some pizza/sushi/chinese, but still need to make something for our son.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 12:58
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    I happily feed my son pizza/sushi/Chinese occasionally, as the rest of his diet has very little salt in it!
    – R Davies
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 14:10

1 Answer 1

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Several possible solutions:

  1. Just feed them exactly what you are having, cut up appropriately. Don't worry if you think the food might be too flavoursome or spicy, let them have a go anyway. You do not need to feed your child bland food. Also kids need fat to grow, more calories than you'd think and some salt is required in moderation. The NHS in the UK has some great resources on cutting up the food so its easier for kids to get to grips with on the start4life site, along with recipe ideas and healthy eating advice. Note in British English "weaning" refers to starting a baby on solid foods, as well as the process of stopping milk feeds.

  2. If for some reason you can't feed them exactly what you have. Can you batch cook something at the weekend/when you do cooking and freeze small child portions you can defrost and reheat in the week. The BBC good food website has a whole load of "toddler" friendly recipies

  3. Deli meats are fine if you cook them, here is something from the Australian food standards agency Listeria and food - advice for people at risk

  4. Meat and eggs are not the only protein sources here is some infomation from BBC good food Best sources of protein my toddler LOVES greek style yoghurt. Tofu is also nice and soft and easy to eat. Peanut butter on toast is another hit, though spread it thinly and use smooth peanut butter.

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    Thank you - we usually try to feed some of what we have to our son, but on some nights we order stuff that isn't appropriate for his age group, and I was hoping to hear some ideas for what we could prepare for him without much fuss. These suggestions definitely fit the bill.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented Oct 5, 2022 at 13:00
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    @Zibbobz I can't think of a single grown up food that is actually unsafe for a kid (alcoholic drinks of course are a no go). If you just think he won't like it because it is grown up flavouring, just let him try anyway and make clear he has a choice. You will be surprised what kind of foods your son will gladly eat.
    – quarague
    Commented Oct 19, 2022 at 15:16

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