Protein dinner for 1 year old

[mrsmummy111]

My son is 1 and will only feed himself (which is a good thing) but he hasn't grasped the concept of feeding himself with a spoon yet so its hands only.

He really doesn't like the texture of meat - I've tried lots of different ways (meatballs, poached chicken, bolognese etc) and he doesn't like any of it. He woke at fish just fine but I'm struggling to get protein into his diet. Does anyone have any ideas of how to add protein to his dinners?

We make homemade sausage rolls and he will eat minced meat this way (I make them with turkey / chicken / pork and beef) and he has no issue with them this way. I also make a butter bean spread which he has on toast but won't do beans on their own. Any other ideas?

He will eat fish* (sorry didn't proof read!)

Hummus / thick dahl?

Scrambled eggs
Hard boiled eggs
Peanut butter
Cheese cubes
Hummus
Fishfingers

Cheese, yogurt, eggs?

Omlettes, crustless mini quiches. Fish fingers.

Strips of omelette might work. How about smooth nut butter on toast or avocado?

Don't forget that he'll be getting some protein from his milk too.

Pancakes - increase egg content, decrease milk
Tofu?
Tuna

Homemade fish cakes might work too. Have you tried sardines on toast? Boys can have oily fish upto 3 times a week.

There's also protein in cheese, butter and vegetables.

Eggy bread cut into fingers, omelette, nut butters, hummus, falafels and bean burgers made with mashed beans and chick peas.

Small burritos with black beans and veg
Omelette cut into strips
Hummus with cut up veg
Chickpea sausages (chickpeas, egg, breadcrumbs etc)
Yogurt in those pouches

My son was not keen on meat at that age as it was much harder to chew than vegetables. I would persevere in giving him meat, he will get used to it eventually.

You can get protein from other sources, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, beans (you could do in a stew). Don't stress about it too much, just continue what you're doing and he'll get there.

Have you tried pulled pork, chicken etc? The texture seems to be easier to eat at that age. Good finger food too.

So many wonderful suggestions, thank you!

He has an allergy to cows milk protein so sadly cheese is out, but he has a lot of fortified cream cheese and yoghurt. He also has plenty of eggs and nut butters on toast or rice cakes, he's currently munching savoury eggy bread for lunch with ham after someone inspired me with eggy bread. When we first started weaning I was so adventurous but tend to stick to the same 10 or so things for him, but you've all inspired me to mix it up. He's a wonderful eater now (was horrendous at first until we realised he would eat anything as long as he could feed himself!) and there's now not much he won't eat (weirdly last night he totally rejected salmon and sweet potato fishcakes, so hopefully we aren't reaching the dreaded toddler fussy stage!)

Thanks again everyone. Keep the suggestions coming though!

Sorry to her about his allergy. Hopefully he'll be one of the ones that outgrow it

Eggy bread is definitely a good one!

What about feta, mozzarella and manchego cheeses?
I love Roquefort but that would probably be too strong for your one year old.

We don't eat meat and DS (15 months) also has a dairy allergy and will only feed himself with his hands.

So we do things like falafels & hummus, tofu scramble, sticks of tofu on their own or in fajitas, lentil bites / patties, Dahls, chickpea curry, beans on toast, soy yoghurt. He also loves eating plain butter beans and they're very easy to pick up.

If you actually track his protein on an app for even one day, you'd be surprised at how quickly it adds up - everything from cereals to fruits and vegetables have some protein. And especially if your DS is having yoghurt, eggs, nut butters, and formula etc. I bet he's getting enough.

Slow cooked stews and casseroles so meat is extra tender? My DS and DD both liked these at that age. Stew meat until tender, then add root veggies and cook until as soft as you like.

Switch his grains out to wholemeal and you'll be surprised how quickly he'll reach his protein levels!

For a one year old he'll need about 16g... if he had some egg with a slice of wholemeal toast for breakfast that is already 11g!

DS was (is) a terribly picky eater and protein used to be a massive concern of mine but they actually need far less than we think!

Switch his grains out to wholemeal and you'll be surprised how quickly he'll reach his protein levels

I thought you weren't supposed to give wholewheat under 2 or have I got that wrong?

No you're right, young children shouldn't really have whole grains. Wholemeal bread is fine, but if you're also giving brown rice, brown pasta it's all too hard for them to digest and they can miss out of nutrients.

And actually i think NHS advice is avoid/limit whole grains until they're 5.

Thanks Cary