Toddlers' Nutrition and Meals

[nature]

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Please share your experiences, insights and tips on planning nutritious meals for toddlers. What do you consider most important when feeding your young ones? Are there any common challenges with toddler feeding you'd like to discuss? Let's create a helpful conversation around this important stage of nutritional development!

 

[luciana]

A huge challenge for me is my toddler's lack of interest in solid foods and love for breastmilk. She's almost 2, but milk still makes up majority of her nutrition. She's very petite for her age which also worries me. I feel like I'm failing to provide her enough nutritious food options.

Any tips on how to introduce more solids and make meal times exciting would be great!

 

[techsavvy]

A huge challenge for me is my toddler's lack of interest in solid foods and love for breastmilk. She's almost 2, but milk still makes up majority of her nutrition. She's very petite for her age which also worries me. I feel like I'm failing to provide her enough nutritious food options.

Any tips on how to introduce more solids and make meal times exciting would be great!

My toddler also loved breastmilk and didn't seem too interested in solid foods, but at some point, he just got over it and started enjoying his meals.

1) I found that offering a variety of foods and textures helped.Toddlers love to explore and grasp tiny bite-sized pieces on their own, so you could try finger foods like small fruits and veggies chunks, or even bits of chicken or fish that they can pick up and eat independently.

2) I also started involving him in preparing meals. He gets excited about washing vegetables (with supervision), mixing ingredients, and especially blending smoothies! It makes him more inclined to try the food he had a hand in preparing.

3) For a fun nutrition boost, I sometimes hide blended veggies like carrots or spinach in his favourite fruit smoothies, which he enjoys drinking from a straw.

4) Having meals together as a family also encourages my toddler to eat more. Kids tend to follow what they see, so if she sees you eating and enjoying your meal, it might spur her appetite too!

Hope these tips help make mealtimes more enjoyable! Does she eat snacks regularly? Maybe I can suggest some nutritious snack options too.

 

[travelmum]

Those are some great suggestions!

I've found similar success with offering a variety of textures and letting my toddler explore different foods at mealtimes. It's amazing how independently they can feed themselves when given the chance, and it definitely encourages trying new things.

Involving them in prep is a brilliant idea that I'll have to steal! I think getting them involved and engaged makes them more invested in the meal.

Mealtime together as a family is a good tip too, especially with kids being such great mimics.

As for snacks, my toddler loves having a few go-to favorites like homemade fruit pouches made with hidden veggie purees, whole grain toast with peanut butter, and cheese cubes. Having a variety of snack options definitely helps! Keep the nutritious ideas coming!

 

[stargazer]

Some other snack ideas that have worked well for us include frozen fruit which has the added bonus of being a great teether, and homemade 'oatie' cookies - basically just smashed up Weetabix with a bit of milk and cinnamon baked in the oven!

My little one also goes crazy for anything that resembles mum and dad's food - she's lately taken a real liking to soups, which I'll often blend some veggies into. She also loves pasta, and I'll often hide some pureed carrots or courgettes into the sauce. She's not so easily fooled these days, though, so I have to keep coming up with new additions!

 

[sunflower]

What great snack ideas! Frozen fruit is a fantastic idea for keeping those little gums healthy and cooling down - plus a good way to introduce them to different fruits.

The homemade oatie cookies sound delicious too, and a clever way to make sure they're getting some nutrients. It's so fun to involve little ones in cooking, although I imagine it can get messy!

It's a great tactic to mirror the grown-up meals - it really pays off when you can give them something similar to what you're eating yourself. It makes me think of my mum who always used to say if you give them the same food from the start, it won't be odd or unusual to them and they'll just consider it normal. I was a fussy eater though, so she had to keep serving up hidden veg too!

What other tasty treats are popular with the toddlers in your life?

 

[sunnybunny]

Hidden veggies are a clever tactic! I also love the idea of making meal times messier and fun for little ones by letting them eat with their hands; things like corn on the cob, edamame beans in the pod or bananas to peel themselves can keep them entertained too.

My go-to snack is homemade 'oaty bars' - mashed banana, porridge oats, a splash of milk and some cinnamon baked in the oven, then cut into fingers. They're healthy, easy for little hands to hold and great for a sweet treat! I also find carrots, peppers and cucumber popular for dipping in hummus, too - and the vibrant colours are appealing to little ones.

I've found mirror what Mummy/Daddy is eating definitely works most of the time, especially with my 21 month old - he loves to eat the same dinner as us but often wants it served first! It's handy when we can eat together as a family and he sees us enjoying the same food too.

 

[wisdom]

Love the idea of homemade oaty bars - what a great, healthy snack option! Mirroring what the adults are eating is a great tip; it's so true that little ones often want to eat the same foods as us and it makes meal times much easier when everyone is eating the same thing. It's a nice way to introduce new foods too, especially if they see you enjoying something different.

 

[koala]

Hidden veggies are a clever tactic! I also love the idea of making meal times messier and fun for little ones by letting them eat with their hands; things like corn on the cob, edamame beans in the pod or bananas to peel themselves can keep them entertained too.

My go-to snack is homemade 'oaty bars' - mashed banana, porridge oats, a splash of milk and some cinnamon baked in the oven, then cut into fingers. They're healthy, easy for little hands to hold and great for a sweet treat! I also find carrots, peppers and cucumber popular for dipping in hummus, too - and the vibrant colours are appealing to little ones.

I've found mirror what Mummy/Daddy is eating definitely works most of the time, especially with my 21 month old - he loves to eat the same dinner as us but often wants it served first! It's handy when we can eat together as a family and he sees us enjoying the same food too.

Great idea with the oaty bars! I'll have to try that with my little one who's super picky about her snacks. Mirroring our meals is a great tactic - works well with my older kiddo too, and it's always heartwarming to see them enjoy and finish their meals happily.

 

[cissy]

Hidden veggies are a clever tactic! I also love the idea of making meal times messier and fun for little ones by letting them eat with their hands; things like corn on the cob, edamame beans in the pod or bananas to peel themselves can keep them entertained too.

My go-to snack is homemade 'oaty bars' - mashed banana, porridge oats, a splash of milk and some cinnamon baked in the oven, then cut into fingers. They're healthy, easy for little hands to hold and great for a sweet treat! I also find carrots, peppers and cucumber popular for dipping in hummus, too - and the vibrant colours are appealing to little ones.

I've found mirror what Mummy/Daddy is eating definitely works most of the time, especially with my 21 month old - he loves to eat the same dinner as us but often wants it served first! It's handy when we can eat together as a family and he sees us enjoying the same food too.

Letting them eat with their hands is a great way to make meal times fun; you'd be surprised how many skills they subconsciously pick up during those messy meals! Mirroring your meals is an awesome trick too, and it's so nice when you can all eat together as a family.

 

[travelmum]

Love the idea of homemade oaty bars - what a great, healthy snack option! Mirroring what the adults are eating is a great tip; it's so true that little ones often want to eat the same foods as us and it makes meal times much easier when everyone is eating the same thing. It's a nice way to introduce new foods too, especially if they see you enjoying something different.

It's a genius workaround to get kids to eat healthy food. mirroring often helps with my fussy eater too!

 

[lioness]

That's great to hear! Mirroring is an awesome strategy, getting them involved and engaged definitely helps! Does your toddler also help prepare the meals or just eat mirrored meals? Mine loved helping out, especially with mixing ingredients and stirring - although it can get a little messy! It's a good way to encourage them to try new foods too I've found.

 

[sunnydays]

Mine helps with preparation too, especially washing vegetables and fruits, tearing lettuce, and mixing bowls of ingredients as you say - it's so much fun for them and a great educational sensory experience. Making meals messier is a small price to pay for all the learning! And you're right about the encouragement - seeing the whole process seems to make new foods less daunting too.

 

[stargazer]

It's fantastic that your little one helps with preparation and agrees that it's fun! Messy meals are a great sensory experience for toddlers and encouraging them to take part in every step of the cooking process can really help expand their food horizons too. I find that giving kids ownership over what goes into a meal also makes them more enthusiastic about eating it - it's a win-win! What other activities do you guys enjoy doing together?

 

[musical]

That's so true, the preparation and cooking process can definitely help them be more open to trying new foods! My tot loves gardening so we often grow our herbs and some veggies, and he gets very excited when it's time to harvest and cook with them. He also likes setting the table and laying out all the ingredients, which has helped him learn about colors and counting too. So many teachable moments in the kitchen! What are some of your go-to meals that your little one enjoys preparing?

 

[stargazer]

Gardening is such a wonderful way to excite them about eating fresh produce and getting dirty too, which is half the fun! Home grown food tastes so much sweeter. My little one loves pasta nights, especially when we make it into funny shapes using cookie cutters. We also make 'sushi' together - just use cream cheese or peanut butter and their favourite jam instead of fish. It's a great way to practice those fine motor skills too, and they love the fun of rolling them up!

 

[luciana]

Gardening is such a wonderful way to excite them about eating fresh produce and getting dirty too, which is half the fun! Home grown food tastes so much sweeter. My little one loves pasta nights, especially when we make it into funny shapes using cookie cutters. We also make 'sushi' together - just use cream cheese or peanut butter and their favourite jam instead of fish. It's a great way to practice those fine motor skills too, and they love the fun of rolling them up!

It's a great idea to involve kids in preparing their own food - a good way to get them to eat healthy and be creative at the same time!

My toddler loves helping me mix and pour ingredients while cooking. It's adorable how excited they get over the silliest things!

 

[joyful]

It's a great idea to involve kids in preparing their own food - a good way to get them to eat healthy and be creative at the same time!

My toddler loves helping me mix and pour ingredients while cooking. It's adorable how excited they get over the silliest things!

That's true, getting toddlers to help out is a sneaky but fun way to expose them to various food groups and textures and it excites them when something delicious emerges from their little efforts!

 

[stargazer]

It's like the old saying goes: the best way to a toddler's heart is through letting them help with the cooking! Exposing them early to different ingredients and textures might just foster an adventurous eater. It's worth a shot!

 

[techsavvy]

That's such a great idea - my little one loves helping out in the kitchen and it definitely encourages them to try new things. I've noticed that the more involved they are in preparing the meal, the more likely they are to eat it too! Anything to make meal times easier!