Help with toddler's diet

[Thecaravan]

Hi everyone,
DD is almost 2 years old and is in full time nursery. We send her with 2 snacks and lunch each day as she is there from 7.15 til 4. Nursery staff are saying she is hungry and we need to send more food but I'm struggling to think of healthy yet filling foods for her.

DH and I are worried about her weight as she has a large stomach and is on the 90th percentile for weight and 70th for height. She was born on around 50th percentile but gained weight quickly and was on the 80th by 2 months old and has fluctuated between 80th and 90th since then. She was EBF until7.5 months. I know that when she has her 2 year check they'll say she's overweight so am trying to feed her wisely and hoping she will get taller and grow into her belly!

Current example diet:
Breakfast: porridge made with milk and oats, or weetabix. Some fruit e.g half a banana or some melon. Usually a cup of milk when she wakes up. (About 100mls max)

Snack 1: she has a small lunchbox with 3 sections containing any 3 of these sort of foods:half banana, broccoli, carrot sticks, hard boiled egg, melon, chopped tomatoes, grapes, frozen peas. Dont give all fruit.

Lunch: Pasta, rice or a sandwich (1.5 slices of wholemeal bread with crusts cut off) Often tuna, egg or chicken with e.g. sweetcorn, tomatoes, broccoli, peas, pesto

Snack 2: plain full fat yogurt with some fruit mixed in and a few oats to make more filling. About 2 tablespoons worth.

Then dinner we have as a family. No dessert. Cup of milk before bed.

She never eats sweets and only has the occasional biscuit or cake if we have people round visiting or on a day out. Am at a bit of a loss really as to a) what else we can send to nursery that's filling and nutritious and b) why she is a bit overweight.

For context, both DH and I are slim. I am 5'10" and DH is about 5'11". We were both huge when we were born-9lbs 4oz for me and 10lb 6oz for Dh so were surprised to have a 7lb 4oz baby!

Whoops sorry for the essay!

That seems like a very healthy and balanced diet to me.

If she is still hungry though I don’t think I’d be overly restricting a nearly 2 year old as long as you are only offering healthy whole foods. Could you add some more fat maybe in the form of cheese or yoghurt? Maybe give her some dips with the veggies such as hummus. My 3 year old also really likes breadsticks and pate which is quite filling. Omelettes and boiled eggs also go down well and are quite filling and I’ve sent boiled eggs into lunch boxes before.

Hopefully she’ll start to grow into her body at 3 and definitely by 4 but if she doesn’t then I would start looking at her diet more closely then. Children that are fed healthy options tend not to overeat and it doesn’t sound like you are feeding her a bad diet.

Her diet sounds really good to me and I'm also struggling to see why she is overweight, which makes me think that, as you say, she will grow into her weight. Could you add a bit more protein (eg chicken pieces) to her first snack?

That sounds like a great diet. If you're not wanting to overdo it, but going with the nursery's advice, how about adding some carrot sticks/ rice cake/ cucumber or something like that with hummous? I agree with thisisthetime that probably not necessary to restrict a toddler's diet too much. It should even out soon, but i understand you not wanting to be told she is overweight at 2 year check. Maybe if you show examples of meal plans to h.v at the check they'd see things are on track. Good luck xx

Don't worry about the weight/hight and don't label her as overweight (she's within the centiles, but just bigger than other kids). My son's towards the low end of the centiles but we don't declare him as being underweight. If your child was very short but top centile that maybe more of a concern, but if she about the same height and weight wise don't worrym

I work on the school of thought if hungry then feed them.

Your daughter is probably doing lots more things at nursery t
han at home and is probably developing as well, if she's wanting more let her eat more. Maybe include dips with her veg sticks or increase portion size. My 2 year old once Wolfed down an entire cucumber in one sitting (I shit you not). Try including some fats in her first snack, maybe some cheese cubes, or yoghurt or dip etc.

Her diet sounds healthy and balanced, you and your partner are both taller so shes going to be a similar height. As long as she's developing at the correct level I doubt your HV will be over critical.

Thanks everyone. Some great tips there. Cheese cubes, rice cakes, hummus and extra protein are great ideas. Really don't want to label her as being overweight. I'm just worried that that is what they'll say at her 2 year check even though for the previous 2 years she's just been at the higher end of the percentiles! She's always starving in the mornings and seems to eat less as the day goes on which I've always been happy with. Hopefully she'll grow taller and that puppy fat will disappear.

More protein? She gets a lot of veg (how? Tell me your secrets!) but protein generally helps you feel fuller so hummus, cheese, roasted chickpeas, mini egg & ham muffins etc

The health visitors said my daughter was over weight at her two year check. She had a slight belly but was tall for her age. Like your daughter she ate a really varied healthy diet but she liked to snack a lot. I included snacks like cheese and a cracker or veg sticks and hummus. She is now 6 years old, a perfectly healthy weight with no belly and doesn't snack that much anymore. If your daughter is hungry continue with the healthy snacks and I'm sure she will level out with age.

Definitely more carbs and protein and healthy fats. I would add in crackers or cheese cubes or breadsticks/hummus for snack 1 and then something else with snack 2 (2 spoonfuls sounds like very little- my 19 month old would be absolutely starving if that’s all he had all afternoon). Breadsticks with hummus or cream cheese also a good option. Or just add in a piece of fruit with the yogurt/oats for her to have on the side. Rolled up ham and cheese with cucumber sticks. Cheese and crackers. Another small sandwich. Or just more yogurt and oats if she’ll eat more of that.

Some great advice here folks, thank you.
Bells no idea with the veg! She just devours broccoli and carrots like they're sweets! We keep waiting for her to get to the fussy toddler stage but she doesn't seem to be going through it I'll dig out some recipes too for little egg muffin style foods for some variety too. Thank you everyone. That's so helpful!