Toddler diet

[user000717636]

Is my 18 month old eating enough, too much, the right foods?

Today as an example:

Breakfast
Scrambled egg, crumpet, whole banana

Snack
Rice cake and yoghurt

Lunch
Ham and tomato sandwiches
Raisins
Pom bear crisps
Biscuit or sliced pear (if he'll eat it)

Snack
Cup of whole milk followed by nap

Dinner
Spaghetti bolognese or shepherds pie and veg
Yoghurt or other pudding

Bedtime
Cup of whole milk

Any suggestions would be perfect!

Nobody?

It really depends on quantities. Content looks fine to me, though I wouldn’t give crisps to a child this age (I have a 16 month old, so I’m not speaking from the lofty heights here).

@EssentialHummus what would you give them in replacement?

@EssentialHummus (that wasn't meant to sound sarky!)

How is their weight? Are they following their %?
Are you giving a multivitamin? (Recommended until 6 years old by NHS).
Are the getting at least 5 portions of fruit and veg? (40g is a portion)
3 portions of dairy?

These are the questions I ask when I look at my toddler’s diet.

I would give veg or fruit instead of a crisps as they already have carbs in the sandwich.

It's more than my 2.5year old would eat but she eats like a baby bird and always has. It seems to be quite toddler dependent

My daughter would have a combitination of some pepper slices, cucumber, cherry tomatoes or sugarsnap peas with a sandwich, but she is a rare one who would eat the veg over the carbs

Sounds like a pretty good diet to me and I wish any of my three DCS had eaten like that at that age. Or at their current ages, come to think if it

Hiwever, get ready for the "raisins have too many carbs" brigade who are even now saddling their horses and will be stampedingalong any minute.

They don't "need" crisps, I tend to give them once or twice a week, mostly if we are out for lunch rather than being a staple at home. Looks pretty standard though. Mine have

B - cereal or porridge. Maybe a couple of rice cakes or yogurt but mostly not.
Snack - fruit.
Lunch - sandwich/crackers. (Ham or cheese mostly) cucumber, cherry toms, grapes. Yogurt.
Dinner - spag bol. Shepherd pie carrots, broccoli. Sausage chips beans. Salmon and veg. Roast. Omelette. Whatever I have often. Fruit, maybe yogurt or custard.
Might have a biscuit after.

Sounds fine to me

Wish my toddler would eat that well! Think it depends a lot on the child but sounds about right to me. Xx

There’s a really good guide from the Caroline Walker Trust that gives sample menus and portion sizes if you want a bit of reassurance.

Tracking their centiles is a good way of checking if they are getting enough calories and I agree about giving the vitamins too

I’m not sure I’d give anything instead of crisps, I’d rather up the quantity of other stuff.

For comparison, DD - who loves food - has:

B: porridge with fruit puree in
L: chicken, green beans, rice, mushrooms, yoghurt
S: apple slices or half a banana
D: same as lunch/similar, with cheese instead of yoghurt and maybe a rice cake after.

And 7oz of whole milk before bed.

I always try to offer him fruit but with the exception of banana he will only eat it if it's disguised in porridge, for example.

That's my main struggle!

Wow, my 19 month old doesn't eat much at all compared to that. She basically snacks throughout the day and picks at meals and is still having four bottles a day due to her lack of interest in food!

I would say if they are quite happily eating all of it, then continue. With DD when she is finished, it gets chucked on the floor.

Hi @RedBlu tbh, he doesn't always eat it all but I always try to be consistent in the amount I offer.

His appetite swings in roundabouts, some days he's not interested at all whilst other days, I can't seem to offer enough!

Looks fine to me but as others have said how about some snacky veg with lunch?

My 21 month has today had:
B: porridge with a banana mashed into it
S: apple and a malted milk biscuit
L: chicken slices, whole avocado, cherry tomatoes, yogurt (refuses carbs at lunch for reason, we’ve tried everything!)
S: half a raw pepper
D: two chipolatas, roast carrot and parsnip, frozen mixed veg, mini custard.

Plus a few cups of milk and an advent calendar chocolate.

I try to make sure she has some form of carb, protein, veg and dairy available with each meal then trust her to eat what her body needs. She eats absolutely loads!

Silly question but have you tried blueberries? They’re like crack to every toddler I know

Seconding wheresmrlion my kids love blueberries and raspberries and would always choose them over apples/pears/bananas...expensive tastes! Another favourite here is watermelon

He loves them in his porridge but if I give him raspberries or blueberries as a snack he spends his time playing and squeezing them to mush 😂