Healthy Food For Your Toddler

Mealtime is an important part of your toddler’s day. She loves to feed herself and explore the different textures of food. This is the perfect time to help her create a lifetime habit of eating healthy foods.

Skip the chicken nuggets and fresh fries, and pass on the sugar cereal, cookies and other candy. Pre-packaged finger foods may be convenient, especially if you are out and about, but your toddler won’t get the same nutritional value, as she will from freshly prepared foods. Let’s look at some quick and easy meal and snack ideas for your toddler that combine healthy food with convenience and are fun for your child.

Breakfast is a great time to let your toddler experiment with food. Offer some dry cereal, cut up fruit, etc. Or scramble some eggs and serve with little cubes of bread or toast. Just toss everything in a bowl and let her feed herself.

You can also easily hide some fruits and veggies in whole grain or bran muffins. Add some banana, grated apple, carrot or even zucchini to the muffing mix for an extra serving of fruits and vegetables.

Small sandwiches with turkey or chicken breast are a good healthy option for your toddler’s lunch. Serve it with a little vegetable soup, some applesauce or a bowl of small pieces of fruit on the side. Make these little finger sandwiches even more interesting by using metal cookie cutters to cut them into fun shapes.

Your growing toddler needs to snack several times a day in addition to regular mealtime. A peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk are always a good option. You could also offer cut up fruit with a side of vanilla yogurt as a dip. For a fun frozen snack, dip a banana in vanilla yogurt, then roll it in granola and freeze. Frozen grapes are another yummy treat when it’s hot outside.

For dinner offer small pieces of lean meat like chicken, or lean hamburger meat with a side of vegetable and either potatoes, or whole grain pasta. If you toddler isn’t very fond of vegetables, you can easily hide them in casseroles and pasta sauces. Try adding grated carrots, or even peas or black beans to your pasta sauce. You can add almost any finely diced vegetable to a casserole. Vegetable soup is another great option. Add some alphabet shaped pasta as a distraction from all the healthy veggies in the soup.

Give a few of these ideas a try and see if you can’t convince your toddler that healthy foods are yummy and fun.

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