Friday 13 July 2012

Food Fights with an 11 month old

Dylan has recently developed an adorable habit.  He will eat a couple of bites of his lunch and then try his hardest to spread the rest of it into every corner of the room.  The amazing thing about finger foods is that they are usually just the right size and shape for target practice.  He can easily get a good couple of metres on a good day, a bad day means puddles of food around the base of the highchair.

Sometimes this game starts because he has had enough and wants to recommence playtime, sometimes it is just a fun mid-dinner game.  Whatever reason, I am not a fan!  My poor hoover has been over-used and the carpet is not looking in quite the same shape as when we moved in.  He doesn't quite seem to understand the word 'no' and often laughs in my face as I say it forcefully at him - what am I to do?

The 'game' I can just about cope with at home, but we love going out and that means eating in a public place.  I am waiting for the day a
lovely couple at the next table look down to find a bit of breadstick in the middle of their soup thanks to the amazing biceps of Dylan!

I have wondered whether it is what I am feeding him as you can be certain there will never be a strawberry wasted!  I discovered a wonderful website full of toddler-friendly recipes and decided to cook some up in the hope this would save my poor Dyson!  

Mamacook's Broccoli Nuggets were first on my list.  I am not a natural in the kitchen -in fact I avoid the kitchen at all costs.  I am quite good with a microwave and I can make a mean cup of tea but beyond that my skills are limited.  Luckily the nuggets were so simple, even I could manage them and after a few minutes in the oven I could smell them throughout the house.  18 minutes in the oven and they were done!  I thought it was only fair to try them first, as I like to only feed Dylan things I would eat myself and they certainly passed that test!

Next step, the highchair.  I am pleased to say that not a crumb touched the floor.  He ate several, picking up any pieces he dropped and not letting go until his fingers were clean!  Finally a food that doesn't need to be thrown around!  I was so impressed with them, I wanted to pass on the fantastic recipe in case any of you fancy trying it for yourselves and your little ones, so here goes:


You need:

140g of cooked broccoli
2 eggs
1 slice of bread cut into tiny 1cm squares or as breadcrumbs
Loads of cheese (65g suggested, we used more)



Recipe:

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C

-Mash the broccoli with a fork until coarsely mashed and add in the breadcrumbs.

-Add in the eggs and cheese

-Mix well and dollop into a greased muffin/cupcake tray

-Bake for 18/20 minutes

-Serve and enjoy!





It couldn't be simpler, but the result is brilliant!  Perfect for baby led weaning, toddler snacks and for adults to enjoy.

Unfortunately, there are so many meals a week these will do for, so any advice to stop the food throwing would be greatly appreciated! 










9 comments:

  1. Must be the age as Syd is 11 months old today and has recently started lobbing his grub everywhere! The broccoli things sound yummy, will give them a go! X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like a common issue at this age then! Hope he likes them x

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  2. I love mamacook's blog, so many fab recipes! As far as throwing food is concerned, he will probably continue to do it as long he gets a reaction - they don't really understand 'no' at this age (and even when they do they often don't take any notice!!). Best thing is to pick up what's been thrown and give it back to him (if it's been on the floor less than 10 seconds, I always reckon it's ok!), don't give him eye contact and don't speak to him. If he gets no response then in all likelihood it will stop - at the moment it's a fun game which gets mummy running all over the place! Good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Advice seems to be to ignore so will try that from now on and see how we do! Thanks (And definitely ten second rule in this house!)

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  3. I'm gonna give these a go, see if oscar'll eat them. He does like things with breadcrumbs.
    He still throws his food around, usually accompanied by him saying no or gone, little monkey!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The only solution we came up with to stop food throwing was to only offer one bite sized piece at once. If we give Eli a plateful or access to more than one thing he starts throwing but he's fairly certain to eat the one bit offered. Also we don't acknowledge when he does throw stuff, no "oh dears" or anything as he seems to find that funny!
    That recipe looks fab, might try it next week :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like a great recipe. We found that less food went overboard as madams motor skills improved (she's 22 months) but also we ignored anything that did go over - and she didn't get it back. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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