Starting Toddlers Right

[chickadee]

Spoiler: Thread summary

Several parents shared tips on encouraging healthy eating habits in toddlers. This included introducing a variety of flavours and textures, focusing on portion control, and making mealtimes fun. Avocados, olive oil, and nuts are good sources of healthy fats to include in meals. Freezing puréed fruits and vegetables into popsicles is a hit with toddlers. Using cookie cutters to create fun shapes for meals also makes eating enjoyable, and involving toddlers in preparing food can make meal times interactive and educational. Parents also discussed shaping meals into festive or other themes, which both entertains toddlers and helps with their motor skills development. These activities are most effective when done infrequently, making them feel like a special treat.

Setting up good eating habits early helps lay the foundation for a healthy diet and positive relationship with food which lasts a lifetime. Toddlers have small tummies and big needs, so what and how we feed them matters! From taste-bud training to portion sizes, let's discuss all things nutrition for the little ones. Share your experiences, tips, and questions here to help each other get it right from the start!

 

[bookworm]

Good eating habits are crucial to set up early on—well done! As for taste-bud training, we've been focusing on including a variety of flavours and textures from an early age which has been quite fun. We start the day with savory foods like whole grain toast with peanut butter or oatcakes with hummus. Lunch and dinner are also packed with various flavors so that my tot learns to appreciate different tastes.
For instance, last night's dinner was a hit with the little one: lemon-garlic shrimp with roasted vegetables and brown rice. We also do family style meals and let her pick what she wants from the spread. This way, she's learning about making food choices and it's quite adorable watching her make her plate colorful with all the veggies! Portion sizes are a challenge though because my tot is quite tiny, so super vigilant about not overfeeding her! Keeping an eye on hunger cues and not pressuring her to clean her plate has helped.
I'd love to hear your tips on incorporating healthy fats into toddler meals!

 

[koala]

That's wonderful! It's so important to expose them to a wide range of flavours and textures early on - it sets up a good foundation for their palate and helps develop their appreciation for various foods.

Incorporating healthy fats into toddler meals is actually quite easy, especially if your little one already enjoys fruits. Avocados are a great source of healthy fats and can be mashed and mixed with a variety of ingredients. Think avocado pasta, guacamole, or even just as a dip with some crunchy veggies. We also love using olive oil - it's a staple in our household, drizzled on roasted veggies or used in sauces. You can also try nuts and seeds - chopped almonds or pine nuts can be a tasty addition to oatmeal or sprinkled over yogurt.

We found that making eating fun also encourages our tot to explore different foods. Making cute animal shapes with fruit and veggies or making funny faces out of their meals are some of the ways we make mealtimes exciting.

What other fun ways do you guys use to encourage exploration of new flavours and textures? Also, any tasty recipes high in healthy fats would be awesome!

 

[luciana]

Some great tips here already!

We do a lot of puréed fruits/veggies in our house and freeze them into little popsicles - a hit every time! Also add some nutritional yeast to meals - a bit cheesy/ nutty flavour which is nice.

Love the idea of making food fun - often will use cookie cutters for shapes too!

 

[queenie]

Great idea with the popsicles - fun and healthy! Nutritional yeast is an awesome addition too, a nice way to add some extra nutrients and flavour.

Cookie cutters are the best for making food fun! My tot loves it when I use her favourite shapes too - makes eating so much more enjoyable

 

[stargazer]

Shaped cookie cutters have been a godsend discovery! I'd love to see what other fun shapes people use to make meals exciting. Yeast is an excellent suggestion - and one I've not tried yet; thank you! It's so nice to find ways to boost the nutrition too, isn't it?

 

[greenfingers]

Cookie cutters are a fun way to make mealtimes exciting! I use different shaped ones for every meal - lunches, snacks and even dinner. It makes food so much more enjoyable and enticing when it's in a fun shape. I'm yet to venture into using yeast too -- let me know if you have any good recipes to share once you experiment with it!

 

[sunnydays]

Cookie cutters are a lifesaver for making meals fun! I've used star-shaped ones for sandwiches and moon and rainbow-shaped ones for fruit pieces. It's amazing how something so simple can make mealtimes so much more enjoyable.

As for yeast, I've been experimenting with pizza crusts. My go-to recipe now is:

1 cup of warm water
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
A pinch of sugar
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Up to 1/4 cup of olive oil

It's a fairly simple dough, easy to work with, and the possibilities are endless - you can make it into mini pizzas, calzones, or even braid it for a fancy twist. My toddler loves helping with the shaping too!

 

[musical]

That's a great idea about the cookie cutters - anything to make meal times more fun!

Your pizza crust recipe sounds delicious and versatile, and super toddler-friendly too because of the shaping. Do you add any herbs or spices, or keep it plain for now? I usually struggle with getting the dough consistency right so will have to give your recipe a go.

 

[doctormama]

I like to keep it plain, or sometimes add garlic powder and/or dried herbs - nothing too fancy in case junior's tastebuds aren't into it! It's also fun to make different shapes - trees, stars, all the Christmas themes are fun. Meal times become so much more fun with toddlers when you involve them in preparing the food too.

 

[bubblyfish]

Involving them in preparing the food is a great idea to make meal times fun! My 2 year old loves making shapes and decorating them - cutting out shapes for them is such a good activity for fine motor skills practice too. We're planning on getting some Christmas cookie cutters to make some festive shapes this week!

 

[joyful]

That's a brilliant idea! Making meal prep fun from an early age is such a great way to engage them and get them interested in food and cooking. Festive cookie cutters sound like so much fun, your little one would love it!

The decorating and shaping can definitely keep them occupied while also being educational. It's amazing how something so simple can help with their motor skills too. Hope you'll post some pictures of the festive shapes!

 

[koala]

I sure will - hope it doesn't become a daily activity that they expect, though! It's such an easy and Mess-free activity which is also fun for them to lead and learn with. I'm all about finding things that occupy the tot while helping with their learning! Motor skills practice is a great bonus!

 

[eternity]

That's the beauty of it! You can make it an occasional treat so they look forward to it each time and appreciate the opportunity to explore, especially since the outcome is different every time. That way it never gets old! I agree - there are so many ways to learn and keep them entertained and it's great when it works out for everyone.

 

[queenie]

It's a wonderful idea Making such experiences infrequent yet memorable seems like a fun strategy to keep toddlers engaged and intrigued. There's always joy in witnessing their excitement over these special moments and allowing them to explore at their pace. The element of surprise each time is bound to keep the thrill alive!

 

[sunnydays]

Infrequent, yet memorable events can leave a lasting impact on toddlers and foster their excitement for future experiences. By keeping things unexpected and thrilling, we're creating lovely memories for them to cherish!