Niche Topics

Home Money & Lifestyle Food & Drinks Diet Health & Fitness Beauty & Wellness Pregnancy & Kids
Home
Bookmark and Share

What’s New and Most Popular

Enter your email address to receive updates

and freebies from NicheTopics

© Copyright 2004-2010 Niche Topics ™ All rights reserved  Terms & Conditions About us  

 

Niche Topics (Pregnancy and Kids) is all about practical parenting advice and parenting skills to help you deal with common parenting challenges from toddlerhood to teen years. You’ll find tons of healthy food ideas and easy-to-make kids meals, fun activity ideas and creative crafts projects that kids love to do and play!

Categories

Kids crafts and activities

Healthy eating for kids

Parenting tips and advice

Baby and infant care

Make baby and kids stuff

Pregnancy and fertility

Submit your ideas and recipes

Monthly giveaway

Contact us

Advertise

Ebooks

Downloads

Resources

By Martha Sanders

As your baby matures into a toddler, he learns and grows in many ways. During this period, there's increased physical and mental development as the brain prepares for the challenges of more developed walking and talking. To ensure the healthiest growth, a well balanced diet is crucial.

When planning a toddler's menu include:

1. Milk and dairy foods – They provide protein, Vitamins and minerals, and are a good source of calories for your growing toddler.

 

2. Meat, fish, eggs, beans, peas and lentils – They're rich in nutrients including protein, Vitamins and minerals. Some proteins contain essential iron and omega-3 fats which build brain and nerve cells, and can be also found in fish, avocado and olive oil.

You can offer boys up to four portions of oily fish per week, such as mackerel, tuna,salmon and sardines, but it's best to give girls no more than two portions.

Meat, green leafy vegetables, apricots, raisins, beans, lentils and chickpeas, iron-fortified breakfast cereals and follow-on formula milk are good sources of iron.

Toddlers raised as vegetarians should have three servings of iron and consumed with Vitamin C-rich food or drink to help absorption.

 

3. Bread, and other cereals such as rice, couscous, pasta, cereals, potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes – These starchy foods provide energy, Vitamins, minerals and fiber. Fiber helps digestion and prevents constipation in children.

 

4. Fruit and vegetables – Fruits and vegetables contain Vitamin C, and other protective Vitamins and minerals for a healthy body inside and out. In general, include bright colored fruits (unpeeled and washed well) and veggies such as broccoli, green beans, carrot, sweet potato, tomatoes, spinach, watermelon, orange, strawberries, banana, peaches, apricots, pears and apples in your toddler's diet.

While fiber is good but it can be very filling for a small tummy. Too much fiber may interfere with your toddler's appetite and hence unable to provide enough of the energy and nutrients he needs.

 

A sample toddler's menu looks something like this:

Breakfast
100 ml orange juice
25 grams whole-grain breakfast cereal
½ sliced banana
100 ml milk in cereal

 

Mid-morning snack
½ slice wholemeal bread with 2 tablespoons peanut butter
100 ml milk

 

Lunch
½ toasted cheese sandwich
1 wedge of orange
100 ml milk

 

Afternoon snack
whole grain pretzels
100 ml apple juice

 

Dinner
25 grains whole-grain or high-protein pasta (with or without tomato sauce)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
25 grams sweet potato mash
100 ml milk

 

Bedtime snack
1 mini bran muffin
100 ml milk

 

A Day's Sample Menu for Toddler

 

 

Healthy Fast Food Choices for Kids

Do you know some kids meals at fast food restaurants have an eye-popping 1020 calories? Find out how to make health choices for kids, and help them eat well.

 

Healthy Kids Snack Ideas

Healthy yummy snacks that are easy to make and way better than store-bought ones! Your kids will love  them!

 

3 Healthy Snacks that Kids Should Eat

What healthy snacks that kids should eat ? How to make snacks interesting for your kids to enjoy?

 

Foods that Toddler Should Not Eat

What foods are unsafe and unhealthy for toddlers? Also, learn how you can avoid potential food poisoning or choking in young kids.

 

5 Healthy Peanut Butter Substitutes

If PB is banned at your kid's school because of nut allergy concerns, don't miss these nutritious and tasty peanut butter alternatives.

 

7 Tips to Handle Picky Eaters

Going crazy getting picky eaters to eat? You’ll love these tips – they always work like a charm for parents!

 

13 Sneaky Ways to Make Kids Love Veggies

Your kids hate vegetables? You can make kids eat veggies and help them develop lifetime healthy eating habits with these few tricks!

 

How to Choose Healthy Drinks for Kids

What drinks are healthy for kids? How do common kids' drinks like fruit juices and milk measure up on the nutrition scale?

 

How to Encourage Kids to Eat Fish

Getting kids to love eating fish is possible, if you know some really clever tricks to make fish yummy!  

 

5 Fun Ways to Serve Bananas

Delicious ideas to make bananas interesting for your children. Easy recipes that kids can make. Adults love them too!

 

Get Enough Calcium without Diary

Discover good sources of calcium other than milk, including delicious dairy free meal and snack ideas.

 

What Is the Best Milk to Drink

Cow's milk, soy milk, raw milk, fermented milk (kefir), or raw almond milk? Find your answer here.

 

 

sample menu toddler