The Tasting Plate: Introducing The One Handed Cooks Tasting Plate

By : | 6 Comments | On : March 11, 2014 | Category : Fussy Eaters



For more inspiration check out our Foodie eBooks or bestselling books ‘Raising a healthy, happy eater‘ and ‘Boosting your basics‘ which both have dedicated Tasting Plate chapters for fussy toddlers. 

Read next: Why we love the tasting plate 

Read next: Parent-led weaning Vs baby-led weaning

When it comes to feeding your child, one of the most important things you can do is to offer a wide variety of nutritious food to choose from. The problem is, that babies and toddlers are often more interested in exploring the world and making a mess than sitting down to a large meal. So, when every bite counts The Tasting Plate provides a practical and simple way to offer food, while ensuring a natural progression to family foods and forming good food habits for life.

Research has shown that food preferences are established early in life.  So, developing positive food associations with your children right from the start is the best way to save hours of mealtime battles and stress. More importantly, encouraging your children to develop a happy and healthy relationship with food can make a huge difference to their mood, growth, development, lifestyle and future wellbeing.

Finger foods can be incorporated into your baby’s food routine as early as you wish – usually around 7 months of age. The tasting plate will progress with your baby until you have reached the stage where he is eating the same meals or at least a deconstructed version of the meals that you are eating.

Finger food safety

As with all finger foods, there are some risks with choking. Those risks can be avoided by taking simple precautions:

  • Make sure your baby is sitting upright to eat
  • Don’t give your baby whole nuts or hard inappropriate foods
  • Cut small fruits in half and remove any pips
  • Don’t let anyone except your baby put food into his mouth
  • Never leave your baby alone with food
  • Partake in a child’s first aid course so you feel more confident in the unlikely event choking does occur.

Pictured example toddler plates

Plate 1: Tomato risotto balls; Broccoli, carrot and zucchini shreddies; strawberries

Plate 2: Crumbed fish fingers, Sweet potato baked chips, peas, sliced pear

Plate 3: Lamb quinoa patties, ‘coleslaw’ style salad, melon Fruit skewer

We love the Nuby tasting plates or the Boboandboo bamboo tasting plates (get 10% off using the code ONEHANDEDCOOKS)

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  1. posted by Felicity on March 16, 2014

    The plates look fantastic! One question – where can I buy the plates?

      Reply

    • posted by Allie on March 28, 2014

      The colourful plates are from Nuby and can be purchased from your local supermarket or department stores, the white ones are from a hobby store and more of a picnic plate 🙂 Ax

        Reply

  2. posted by philippa fergusson on July 13, 2014

    Im keen to introduce this to my 7 month old, is there a list of age appropriate ideas somewhere? Ive founf some on your website….but for toddlers.

      Reply

    • posted by Jess on July 15, 2014

      Hi Philippa,
      We have just published an article about the importance of finger foods in the current issue of our magazine (Winter Warmers/Issue #3). With respect to age appropriate ideas and recommendations we can only suggest ideas of a general nature (see below) rather than specifically for your 7 month old. If you require individualised advice please consult your health care professional. Note: the current Infant Feeding Guidelines recommend foods with a high risk of choking such as whole nuts, seeds, raw carrot, celery sticks and chunks of apple should be avoided for the first 3 years as their size and/or consistency increases the risk of choking. It is also advisable to always supervise your children while they are eating to prevent choking.
      We hope this helps 🙂
      Best wishes, Jx

      First finger food ideas include:
      Steamed soft vegetables: pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower
      Soft, ripe fruits: pear, banana, strawberries, blueberries
      Avocado
      Toast fingers
      Soft, boiled small pasta e.g. penne pasta
      Crustless sandwiches with smooth, soft fillings: avocado, cream cheese, hummus
      Peeled cucumber sticks
      Cheese sticks or slices
      Rice rusks and mini rice cakes

        Reply

  3. posted by Sacha on April 29, 2015

    My 12 month old has become VERY fussy in the last month. We have tried everything from tasting plates, passing food off ours, food on the high chair tray, to even offering bread for dinner and we have had no success. How long do you perservere for and when do you stop offering the food they ‘should’ eat for dinner to moving on to what they do eat so they don’t go hungry?

      Reply

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