Feeding Toddlers Healthy Food

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Do you struggle to get your toddler to eat anything much less healthy food? Here are some tips to help you in feeding toddlers healthy food. Picky eaters can be helped.

toddlers eating healthy food at the table

It’s hard not to worry they are eating enough or eating enough of the right things.

If you are in this situation, please remember that a toddler portion is very small. What we think a serving of food is may just be absolutely too much for a small child.

Remember when feeding toddlers, kids don’t need a pound of protein, toddlers only need about an ounce and a half of protein 2-3 times per day. Protein is in meats, nuts, whole grains, some vegetables, cheeses, milk and all kinds of other things.

Remember, milk is food. Children only need 3, 6 oz. cups of milk PER DAY. That’s it. Most sippy cups are 12 to 16 ounces, so if you give your child a sippy cup full of milk, that may be all the milk they need for that day.

Many children drink tons of milk and juice and they won’t eat any solid food. This is one of the key things I have learned about feeding toddlers healthy food. Do you know why they don’t? Because they are full.

There are enough calories in those big cups of milk to keep them from getting hungry. Make sure kids have water to drink throughout the day and just a few small cups of milk with meals.

Juice and other sugary drinks are totally unnecessary and give kids way too much sugar in their diets.

feeding toddlers healthy food for lunch, three kids sitting at a picnic table with plates of healthy food. They are eating and smiling.

Healthy food for toddlers

Keep the pressure off at the dinner table. Dinner time should be fun, full of conversation, lots of smiles, and good times. It should not be full of “eat your food, eat more, one more bite, Mommy wants you to eat”.

That’s just not pleasant and children will learn they don’t like to sit and eat with the family if it’s not a pleasant experience. This will help you greatly when feeding toddlers.

If all your child wants is junk food, skip the snacks between meals. Your child will get hungry for real food if they are truly hungry at mealtimes.

Children do not need candy and Little Debbie’s. Leave that stuff at the store. I have been feeding toddlers healthy food for years. Click here to see how I get my kids to eat healthy foods.

If you want your meals to be peaceful again, give up the struggle. Your toddler will eat when they are hungry. Keep offering them healthy meals. Limit their drinks to mostly water.

Feeding toddlers

There are a few things you can do to help toddlers want to try new healthy foods. one of them is let them help prepare the food. Let them smear some peanut butter on bread or let them cut up some bananas with a butter knife. Cooking is a great skill that builds self-esteem and makes kids 80% more likely to want to try a new food.

Another great way to interest kids in fruits and vegetables is letting them grow some. Grab a pot or a five-gallon bucket and throw some lettuce seeds in. Let kids watch them grow. They will be very interested in trying something they grew and even more if you let them cut some and wash it and make a salad for dinner.

Gardening with kids is simple and fun and you get super healthy food too. If you need help getting started in the garden, check this out.

Establishing healthy eating habits for kids is key to helping them become healthy adults.

What they put in their bodies establishes habits for a lifetime. Help them grow into their very best selves by doing your best to feed them well. Zero to Hero Nutrition can help transform your family’s eating to a whole new kind of healthy. Check it out!