Getting your toddler’s diet right from morning to night
Your active toddler is growing rapidly. To get the right balance of energy and nutrients, they’ll tend to need 3 small balanced meals a day with regular nutritious in-between snacks.
A regular routine of meals and snacks will not only provide extra energy – it’ll keep hunger in check. Just as you might have trouble sleeping if you’re over-tired, if your toddler is over-hungry they might find mealtimes difficult. Snacks keep your toddler’s energy levels topped up between meals and prevents your toddler becoming too hungry.
Most toddlers need a 1 ½ - 2 hour gap without food before a meal to be hungry.
Toddlers also need fun and variety to keep them interested – they're ready to chew on more grown up shapes and textures now and offering a variety of foods will keep them entertained while encouraging them to feed themselves. So they’ll be growing in independence and getting a step closer to family mealtimes.
So what kind of small, balanced meals can you give your toddler?
Breakfast time
It’s important that your toddler eats breakfast so they get an energy and nutrient-packed start to their day. If they are still a little hungry, a slice of wholemeal toast with a little butter or margarine should do the trick.
Lunch time
For lunchtime, give them a balanced meal consisting of something high in carbohydrates such as bread, noodle rice, or pasta, protein rich foods such as meat, fish, poultry or pulses and at least two different vegetables. As a drink, cooled, boiled water or diluted fruit juice in a cup are best. You could finish off lunch with a nutritious piece of fruit or fruit pots.
Dinner time
If your toddler has eaten everything up until now, including their in-between snacks, don’t be surprised if they're not up to eating much at dinner time.
Try some beans on toast, a wholemeal cheese sandwich cut into fun shapes, or a little pasta dish. Put a little cooled boiled water or diluted fruit juice into their cup and if they still seem hungry, finish up with a little fruit or yogurt.
Nutritious snacks
Your toddler's tummy is at least 5 times smaller than yours, so they’ll need to eat small amounts of energy and nutrient-rich foods frequently throughout the day. It's not surprising then that mid-morning and afternoon snacks play such an important role in their diet!
Try and have some of the following healthy snacks to hand, so you can avoid reaching for the sweets:
- Plain biscuits
- Fruit pots
- Rice cakes
- Fresh and dried fruits e.g. apples, bananas, raisins etc.
- Cooked or raw vegetable sticks
- Toast fingers
- Unsalted crackers
- Mini muffins / mini sandwiches
- Pikelets
- Cheese- grated, cubed or slices
- Cooked pasta shapes
Encourage your toddler to drink their milk
As a rule of thumb, try to accompany your toddler’s mid and afternoon snacks with a cup of milk.
Reduced fat milks should not be used for toddlers because they are lower in energy than full cream milks. On the flip side, avoid giving your toddler too much milk so that they are too full to eat their meals.
Specially designed toddler milk makes a lot of sense at this stage too, as these often contain added iron and vitamins to support your toddler when their diet is inadequate.