Toddler Nutrition

Toddlers are unique little individuals with their blossoming personalities, boundary pushing, learning new skills like walking, running, talking, and so much more! With so much going on in their development, it’s not surprising that that once ferocious appetite as an infant is suddenly…gone! This is normal. Frustrating yes, but absolutely normal and typically not a concern to see these changes in your child’s appetite and patience for eating a meal. Understanding the development and uniqueness of a toddler will help to better understand how to approach meal times with them, and what strategies may be helpful to implement.

One of the most common concerns I hear from parents of a toddler is, “they aren’t eating enough”. Is the child still hungry and asking for more food after a meal? Are they falling off their growth chart? If you answered “no” to both, then your child is probably eating enough. As parents though, we may feel they are not getting enough. This could be because we feel they just should eat more, they should feel more hungry because they are just so non stop all day long.

Maybe they ate more as an infant (or has a younger sibling who eats more) and are now eating noticeably less. Maybe they are offered a plate of food, regularly throughout the day, but they never finish it. Maybe they eat really well for snacks, but not for meals. These scenarios are not unique. Keep in mind that one of the reasons infants have such a robust appetite is that they triple their birth weight in the first year, compared to toddlers who will only gain about 5-6 pounds over the course of their second year. Their appetites reflect these changes.

Scheduled Meals and Snacks

Following a schedule or routine for meals and snacks is highly recommended. In fact, if you aren’t following one, start today! Children thrive with routines and meals and snacks are part of their daily routines. Toddlers have small tummies so they need to stop for nourishment every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Aim to offer 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2-3 snacks (morning snack, afternoon snack, and potentially a bedtime snack).

Toddlers need about 1000-1400 calories per day, but you are not expected to count that! This is simply to provide some context. Divided into 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day, meals would be roughly 300-350 calories and snacks roughly 100-200 calories. Can you visualize that? I can help with that, too.

Portion Sizes & Serving Sizes

Before we get into the portion and serving sizes, I first need to remind you that these are only a guide. The proper portion or serving size for your child is individualized, varied, and fluctuates over time. Just because you offer them a certain amount of food, it doesn’t mean they will eat it. They may eat none, some, most, or all, and they may even ask for more. Their appetites may really fluctuate day to day, meal to meal or they may more routinely have a few meals or snacks that they tend to eat better than others. What your job is, is to make sure that you offer more if they ask for it, but try not to push or force more if they aren’t interested. Help them listen to their own body and tummy.

Sample Meal

So let’s break down the 300-400 calories per meal and 100-200 calories per snack, and talk about portion sizes. The portion is size is the “guide”. This is how much you could offer your child. The serving size is how much your child chooses to eat. So you may offer 1/2 slice of toast and they may eat 2 bites or they may ask for a second 1/2 slice of toast! Allowing your child to dictate how much they want to eat is important in allowing them to listen to their own bodies (and tummies!).

Breakfast:

1/2 slice toast with 1 Tbsp nut/seed butter + 1/4 cup raspberries + 1/2 cup whole milk

Morning snack:

1 cheese stick + 1/4 cup grapes + 4 crackers

Lunch:

1/2 cup pasta + 2 oz baked fish + 1/4 cup sugar snap peas and carrot sticks + 1/2 cup whole milk

Afternoon snack:

1/2 cup full fat yogurt with hemp hearts and chia seeds + 1/4 cup blueberries

Dinner:

3 turkey meatballs + 1/4 cup rice + 2-3 piece of broccoli + 1/2 cup whole milk

Meals with toddlers isn’t always clear cut. Hopefully with these tips, you’ll find you can navigate your toddler’s appetite and intake a little more easily. For more childhood nutrition tips, follow @NutriKidz on Instagram and for individual nutrition advice, contact us to learn how we can work together.

Growing Up: Baby “Introducing Solids”

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Hayley Zimak on her podcast, Growing Up: Baby, about introducing solids to your baby. Check out the podcast episode here to listen for yourself.

Considerations for Introducing Solids

Age:

• Typically around 4-6 months of age

Signs of Readiness:

• Good head and neck control

• Can sit up with some support and lean forward

• Developmentally appropriate motor skills

What to offer:

• Iron-rich foods: iron fortified cereals, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, chickpeas

• Vitamin C-rich foods: berries, kiwi, mango, citrus fruits, tomato, broccoli, sweet potato, squash

• Energy-dense foods: sources of fat (oils, butter/margarine/ghee, avocado, nut/seed butters or ground nuts/seeds, grains and starches with added fats

Food Texture:

• You can start with purees, start with table foods like in baby led weaning (BLW), or a combination of purees and BLW

Food portions:

• The million dollar question - how much? Start with 1-2 tablespoons of a few foods, but watch your baby. If they are interested in more - give more! If they’ve had enough after one or two bites - end the meal

• Keep offering a wide variety of foods, but allow baby to explore at their own pace. Try not to focus on how much they are eating but if they are having a good experience

What’s Next?

Reach out to book a one-on-one consultation with me to get your baby started on solids! I’ll work through all of the considerations and provide you with resources and support to help with this phase.

Mediterranean Baked Fish

Since becoming a mom of now two little boys, I’m finding that I need faster, simple, kid-friendly, flavourful meals that I can get on the table in a hurry. I developed this recipe because it can be prepped ahead of time (even the night before or whenever you have some spare time in your day) which is a huge time saver when it comes to dinner time. The prep work and the roasting of the tomato and onion mixture can be done well before dinner so all you have to do is cook the fish. Fish is an easy protein for young children to eat because the flesh is so tender and whitefish is really mild, so its a great variety to add into your rotation. All that’s left for you to do is cook a side dish and we really like potatoes, rice, or pasta to pair with this meal.

When I make potatoes for this dish, I often roast them in the oven with oil, vinegar, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pasta and rice can be kept super simple. Plain buttered noodles or steamed rice pairs well with this flavourful dish.

MEDKTERRANEAN BAKED FISH

Author: Andrea Carpenter, RD

Recipe Type: Entree

Serving: 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

• 14-16 ounces white fish (haddack, halibut, cod)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (whole) or 3 roma tomatoes (roughly chopped)

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove fish from packaging and allow to air dry in the fridge, for about 4-6 hours, on paper towel, leaving it uncovered. This will help to remove excess moisture from the fish which is especially important if using frozen fish.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Layer tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a baking dish. Add oregano, salt, pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix everything to combine and then bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. Tomatoes will blister and soften.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

5. Place fish on the tomato and onion mixture, allowing some of the mixture to sit around the fish. Add another drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to the flesh of the fish.

6. Bake fish for 15-20 minutes for haddock, 30-35 minutes for a thicker fish like cod and halibut, and once the internal temperature of the fish reads 145 degrees.

7. Spoon the fish and tomato and onion mixture onto a plate and serve with rice, potatoes, or pasta.