BLWers, how do you give meat?

[fluffyanimal]

As my ds is getting more and more keen on finger food and self feeding, can I pick your brains on how to give meat? I can't quite believe he has got the ability to gum-chew a piece of meat, but I want him to get lots of good protein.

[Quootiepie]

strips or chunks - fist sized. He was having it from 6 months... xXx

[hunkermunker]

Yep, just gave big bits - big enough to hold and gnaw on, like baby cavemen

[NotQuiteCockney]

Roast chicken is ideal for this. Well, chicken cooked any way. It breaks up nicely into chip-shaped chunks.

DS2 did pretty well with strips of rare steak. Whether you want to do that depends on how you feel about them just sucking the blood out, though.

[fluffyanimal]

[nervous emoticon] Really? Does the meat get chewed? Ds has all his front teeth so I'm a bit wary about him biting off chunks and swallowing too quickly.

NQC, at your rare steak!

[hunkermunker]

DS2 has his front teeth too (well, five and a bit of 'em).

No meat escapes him. He adores it, as does DS1 (I have to think of cunning ways to get DS1 to eat carbs...!).

[lulumama]

minced meat balls or bolognese , then progressed to strips of tender meat

[evamum]

DD used to just suck the juices out until it collapsed!
I give it in either strips or for loin or chops i just cut the fat and bones off and hand it over like that.
Her faves are mince (from either shepherds pie or bolognese, shes not so keen on tacos) and strips of chicken poached in milk cos it breaks up really easily.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Well-roasted chicken breaks up pretty easily, particularly dark meat.

It is a little gross seeing blood mixed with saliva on your child's chin. But hey, steak is gross if it's not rare, so how else would I feed my kids steak?

[hunkermunker]

There are vegetarians and vegans all over the country passing out reading that post, NQC

[NotQuiteCockney]

Weirdly, I'm somewhat off meat again these days. We have a lot of vegan and vegetarian meals.

But if I'm eating (unground) beef or lamb, it's going to be bloody.

[AitchTwoOh]

agreed, nqc. dd loves rare steak. not quite blu, though, but certainly rare.

i'd say big hunks is the way to go first... i remember giving dd little burger things i'd made and she coughed and spluttered when they broke up. she was much happier with a mahoosive chunk of pork fillet or steak. and her favourite 'can't fail even if she's not well' meal is roast chicken.

[evamum]

NQC, dont get me wrong, roast breaks up well too, but as I very rarely cook roast chicken I always poach it!

[welliemum]

Big chunks of meat here.

dd2 age 7 months ate a full roast dinner last night including a huge piece of pork which she gummed enthusiastically until it had all gone.

[PinkTulips]

another vote for the chicken to start with here... breaks into perfect chunks for them to hold and comes apart really easily when they gnaw on it.

tried him on lamb meatballs last week and it broke apart a little too easily for him and he got confused and upset