Finger Foods - 9 Months

Eleanor has not been a fan of letting us feed her lately - everyone says she is becoming independent while I am freaking out that she isn't getting the nutrients she needs becasue she can't feed herself all the vegetables I can puree quite yet to therefore get her optimal nutrients needed to keep her healthy! I then realized this is the beginning of many more moments she will crave independence and I, her worrisome mother will fight tooth and nail to keep her, my sweet baby, close and under my control ha! I guess this is where I need to learn to practice trusting God that He will lead her when I can't...maybe a little dramatic when using that statement to talk about her food independence but still...this is the beginning nonetheless.

Anyway, I have been trying various finger foods with her, here are a few she has had. She loves most. The vegetables take some getting used to but we just keep offering them hoping she will eventually like and not spit them out. Luckily, she, especially with peas, will pick one up, spit it out, and then reach for another thinking maybe it will taste different I guess and then the process starts over again ha!

Eleanor has tried:

- bananas (sliced then the slices halved and cut three times)

- whole cooked peas

- the top (floret) part of cooked broccoli

- steamed and sliced up butternut squash

- cooked zuccini sliced into tiny pieces

- cooked carrots and then sliced super thin

- shredded cheddar and mozzerella cheese (DEVOURS...we are cutting down on this snack)

- rice (tried to make cilantro lime rice and accidentally bought parsley instead of cilantro...she liked it anyway :))

- avocado

- black beans

- shredded baked or boiled chicken (loves it)

- pieces of whole wheat bread

- whole wheat pancakes (LOVES them)

- pan seared tilapia (had seasoning on it but we gave her pieces under the seasoning)

- turkey breakfast sausage cooked and cut up into tiny pieces

- turkey meatballs (I made sure the garlic chunks weren't in what I gave her)

- fresh parsley (she has had it in the meatball and in the rice)

- blueberries (quartered, fresh)

- egg yolks (she didn't like at all - prob. bc they are pretty strong...we will wait until she can eat the whites too and give her scrambled eggs before probably offering eggs again.)

She mostly likes bread (pancakes or wheat bread), cheese, and any kind of meat/fish we have put in front of her. Bananas are something she delights in as well but the problem is all of those are still white/yellow. She needs some greens, reds, and oranges on her plate so here I am, a mother on a quest to get her to have a more colorful plate...is this too OCD for a 9 month old? Am I stressing over something silly right now? My quest to have a healthy, non-picky eater continues.

Hope this helps if anyone is wondering what finger foods their 9mo. old+ can have :)

Our feeding routine now includes us trying to feed her the usual portion (whatever food I have cooked and food processed into a puree) and then also letting her finger food it in between bites as after two or three bites she pushed the spoon away and doesn't want us feeding her. Below are some pictures of her trying her new spoon out. We let her hold HER spoon, sometimes put food on it for her to feed herself, and let her feed herself with her hands (finger foods) while trying to sneak her pureed meal in at the same time. It is a major mess these days but she is learning, so whatever it takes! Might I re-state, Eleanor is a BEAUTIFUL MESS when she eats :) Love her!