Hellobee Boards

I've been giving strawberries, blue berries, chopped up cheese, mum mums, and yogurt melts.

LO will eat plain beans, like directly out of a can. They're easy to pick up and have protein. Also, little cubes of firm tofu (you can roll them in ground up cheerios or oats or something else if you want to). Strips of omelet. All kinds of fruit can generally be made snack-sized. Olives (I hate them but LO loves them). Cucumber, red pepper, etc. cubes. LO also eats cold meatball or sausage pieces very happily for snack (you might think this would need to be reheated, but the kids at school all eat them cold). Zucchini or banana bread.

our go-to finger foods (LO is 10.5 mo) are:

cubed, roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips
sauteed zucchini (cut into half moons)
steamed or roasted broccoli florets, cauliflower
nuked or roasted cubes of apple (to get them softer)
fresh mozzarella (the kind in water, torn into pieces)

these are all good at room temp or out of the fridge.

we also do a lot of "pancakes" like ground beef or banana or spaghetti squash mixed with egg and fried, but I generally prefer them reheated. Although LO doesn't seem to care either way!

@Mrsbells: I also made this last week sans chocolate chip. A great hit and so healthy!
http://greenlitebites.com/2009/03/07/banana-oatmeal-cups-with-chocolate-chips/

I usually send fruit for snacks, along with muffins (i use Rose Schulman's recipes as there is very little sugar: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/health/nutrition/04recipehealth.html?ref=recipesforhealth&_r=0), pancakes (egg-banana-pumpkin with spices) that taste good cold.

@Mrsbells: I bet these are delicious cold. I make cold salad with them a lot.

@Mrsbells: That pasta is a great idea! I'm going to try that with my LO

@Mrsbells: I made this recipe last night, it was quick to whip up and they taste pretty good. I'd imagine they'd be great cold too. There are some other finger food recipes on the site too that you might check out. http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/babyfingerfood.htm#.UVxizTfTC8A

Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Nuggets

Ingredients:

1 16-oz Package frozen broccoli, cooked, drained, and chopped
1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs (you could try using baby cereal if you want, we know it works well with "baby meatballs")
1 ½ cups Shredded cheddar cheese (please use real cheese and not a "processed cheese food" product. Try tomato & basil cheddar.)
3 Large eggs or 5 egg yolks -

Most pediatricians say it's ok to use whole egg in a baked good when baby is over 8-9 months old without allergies. We would recommend that you substitute 5 egg yolks for the whole eggs if serving this to those under 1 yr. Ask YOUR pediatrician.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375
1. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well.

*Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example. Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired.

3. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes. Serve warm. Be sure to crumble these if your baby needs.

I started making my own "chips" and they were a lot easier than I thought. Basically just use the vegetable peeler and put slithers on a baking sheet. It's so yummy and you know exactly what's on them!