What (And How!) to Feed Toddlers

As a pediatric dietitian and nutritionist, I’m constantly asked about the best foods and meals for toddlers, and exactly how much a toddler (ages 2-3) should eat in a day to promote growth and healthy development. Let’s dive in!

When you prepare meals for your toddler, it can be difficult to know exactly how much to make, and which foods are best for toddlers. Not to mention how challenging it can be to come up with meals ideas for a toddler!

In this post, I share food serving guidelines to follow when preparing healthy meals for your toddler, as well as sample meal plans with several easy toddler meal ideas. It’s important to note that this is a guide for what parents should offer, not necessarily what a toddler will eat. 

Toddlers’ food intakes can be unpredictable and, to be honest, all over the place. As kids enter toddlerhood, their appetite and food intake slows down and can become more selective as they yearn for independence and control. Try not to fixate on the amount your child is consuming–this should be left up to the child.

As mentioned in previous blog posts, it is the parent’s job to decide when, where and what their child eats, and it’s important to leave the rest up to your child. Allow her or him to self-feed independently, and focus on their own intuitive cues when it comes to how much to eat. 

Check out this post that outlines some mealtime boundaries and the roles that parents and children should play during mealtime.

Below is a visual of two different days to give you a better idea of the amount and variety of food you should offer your toddler each day.

Food Serving Guidelines for two to three years old

• Fruit – 2 servings (1 cup)
• Vegetables – 2 servings (1 cup)
• Grain Products – 3 servings (3 ounce equivalents)
• Milk and Alternatives – 2 servings (2 cups)
• Meat and Alternatives – 1 serving (2 ounce equivalents)

*Water is the only beverage recommended in between meals/snacks and milk (as indicated–no more than 500 mL) or water at meals for hydration. Fruit juice is not recommended at all.

Sample Day 1

Breakfast

• ½ cup homogenized or 2% milk  
• ½ egg
• ½ small banana

Morning snack

• ½ tbsp. nut butter
• 5 crackers
• ½ small orange

Lunch

• 1 slice bread with butter
• ½ ounce tuna
• 1 slice hard cheese
• ½ cup cucumber and carrot coins

Afternoon snack

• ½ cup full-fat yogurt
• ½ cup cut-up strawberries

Dinner

• ½ cup homogenized or 2% milk
• ½ cup cooked rice with butter 
• ½ ounce chicken breast
• ½ cup cooked broccoli

 

Sample Day 2:

Breakfast

• ¼ cup blueberries
• ½ cup cooked oatmeal
• ½ cup full-fat greek yogurt

 

Morning snack

• 1 cup full-fat cottage cheese
• ¼ cup cubed watermelon

Lunch

• 1 slice bread with butter 
• ½ ounce chicken breast (left-over)
• 1 slice cheddar cheese
• ½ cup sliced plum
• 1/2 cup homogenized or 2% milk

Afternoon snack

• 1/2 cup lightly steamed cauliflower and broccoli
• 1 tbsp hummus

Dinner

• ½ cup homogenized or 2% milk
• ½ cup cooked pasta with butter 
• ½ cup green peas
• 1 ounce cooked fish

For more helpful tips on toddler nutrition, check out my Facebook page, where I post daily!

Did you know that we provide one on one nutrition counselling services for families? If this is something you’d like to learn more about, check out our The Centre For Family Nutrition page. 

References:

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility in Feeding

Written by: Dawn Amber (Nutrition and Dietetics Student) and edited by: Sarah Remmer, RD