In addition...

After several responses about the earlier post pertaining to 1 year olds and food, I wanted to expand on a couple things:

• We use all natural/all white meat chicken in a can for anything we make with shredded chicken. It's ridiculously easy and good for them too.
• When serving "sandwiches", we serve them open-faced as their little mouths aren't used to big bites of double bread. Cream cheese and jelly sandwiches are also a hit.
• I serve them almost anything in the crockpot because it's very tasty, healthy, and soft without being soggy
• Spices and such: Steve and I enjoy our food with lots of flavor, so while I don't serve them anything spicy, we're at the point where they like their food to be just as flavored as ours. Most people recommend serving food bland (which we did for the first month or so) and then introducing them to various flavors. Marinating chicken in teriyaki dressing, Italian dressing, a sprinkling of taco seasoning with water, BBQ sauce, etc. and then grilling it, is an excellent way to try new flavors with your little one. I pull frozen tenderloins out the night before, place in a glass dish, pour marinade on top, cover with Saran wrap, and then defrost in the fridge. By dinnertime, they're ready. We have a George Forman which is very helpful for these types of meals.
• Chicken: they eat quite a bit of chicken (although prepared various ways) and aside from the canned chicken, I buy a large frozen bag or fresh "tray" (for lack of a better word) of tenderloins. They aren't as thick as chicken breasts, and their size is much more manageable for them to eat, even to have leftovers. I cut, shred, or pull apart pieces for them.
• Pizza? In my readings and inquiries about introducing food to young children, several people said they could have pizza. We don't want them having greese at such an early age (which is why we don't do fries yet) so I'll be trying English muffin cheese pizza with them this weekend. You can buy whole wheat English muffins and fat free, natural shredded cheese to use. Any pizza sauce should be fine for them.
• In lieu of french fries, I do cut up, season and bake "healthy" fries for them. They'll figure out McDonalds soon enough, there's no reason to introduce those delicacies too soon!
• Vegetables: Any vegetables that are pre-cut are super helpful for me. They are a little more expesive, but worth it for us. 9 times out of 10, we steam frozen veggies in a bowl, in the microwave with a little water. We have also used canned and fresh veggies. Anything works, really. Sometimes I add a bit of butter for extra flavor. The kids eat LOTS of veggies and after a severe case of diaper rash due to some violent diarrhea, we realized we were giving them too much fruit.
• Stuffing is also great to compliment a meal. It's just the right texture for them, filling and delicious.

Other food thoughts...

• These kids eat just about everything. There's only been 1 (maybe 2) meals they havn't instantly devoured. They had a less than positive response to my peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon sandwiches last night. (There wasn't much in the house and I was trying to be creative.) Needless to say, we had lots of fruit to go along with the meal. We feel it's important to offer a wide variety of food and combinations.
• Both kids really like yogurt. We did the baby yogurt for a while, but realized after looking at the ingredients, it wasn't that different from the regular kind. We serve them Dannon Light and Fit only because that's what I eat at home.
• Casseroles are also a great meal. There are easy recipes out there that are tasty and healthy for both you and baby.
• The MESS: We use wet washclothes or papertowels for after dinner cleanup and JJ Cole plastic bibs with that have a little "shelf" for all the fallen food: http://www.amazon.com/JJ-Cole-Multi-Circle-Large/dp/B003KN279Q . These bibs wipe up very well and are a great size for the kids . They also have adjustable snaps on the neck to allow for flexibility.

Please continue the feedback. It's extremely helpful for us. I know I love when I find a blog full of useful information!