Toddler's Nutrition – Tips & Suggestions

By Super

Friday, October 7, 2011, 12:13

A couple of years ago the only thing on my mind was how to provide complete nutrition to my little one, who was almost two years old. This meant giving her food that she loved to eat, yet making sure that it was packed with nutrition. Providing your toddler nutrition that keeps her constantly active is a great challenge!

A toddler's nutrition has to be complete as they are involved in a lot of physical activity at this age. At this age they are more prone to common colds or coughs. So, your toddler's dietary needs must include something that will provide them immunity. As preschoolers, toddlers require a balance diet that keeps them energetic.

Everyone suggests that you provide a wholesome diet to your child. But what is this wholesome diet? It is a diet that comprises of all the essential nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins etc. To ensure that your toddler's nutrition includes all of the above, follow the below tips.

Tips to improve your toddler's nutrition -

1.Your toddler is someone who cannot sit for long. So, you cannot expect him to eat everything that is served in one big meal. Give his food in smaller portions. Present the food to your child in an attractive manner. Try to add color to the meal.

2.Porridge prepared using various cereals like ragi, wheat, soya and other grams are a great filler and also ensure complete nutrition. Wash each grain individually, allow them to sprout, then roast them well and ground everything into a fine powder. This porridge can be prepared with sugar and milk, if your child has a sweet tooth or with salt, if he likes savory food. nuts like almond, cashews or peanuts can also be added.

3.Include at least one or two fruit in his daily diet. If your toddler enjoys eating on his own, give him the whole fruit after washing it carefully. Else, cut it down and serve it to him with cream or honey.

4.Steamed vegetables are great source of nutrients, but most toddlers do not like them. So, serve vegetables along with dips. These dips can be prepared using home-made yogurt and herbs.

5.Cook lentils with vegetables. This can be mashed together, seasoned mildly and mixed with rice to provide a complete meal. Lentils and leafy vegetables are key ingredients in your toddler's dietary needs.

6.Toddlers like to eat noodles and pasta. Add different vegetables while preparing noodles. Cheese too can be included with pasta.

7.Parathas are an healthy option for toddlers who are ready to chew their food. This gives you the advantage of adding cheese along with vegetables in the stuffing for the paratha.

8.Prepare milkshakes or smoothies, using milk and little sugar. One advantage of having this is the child gets the goodness of milk and vitamins from the fruits. This is also easy for the toddler to gulp down.

9.Include snacks in your toddler's daily diet. But see to that you prepare the delicacies using healthier ingredients and omega 3 rich oils such as olive, soya or rapeseed.

10.Desserts like gajar ka halwa, paneer jamun, home-made ice cream or peanut chikki's are somethings that most children like. Try to prepare all this at home to make sure that they do not include any preservatives.

Prepare a family-meal plan, based on the above toddler's nutrition tips. This will help you save time while preparing different meals for you and the toddler. Also, it will give your entire family a chance to dine together at least once a day. Seeing everyone in the family enjoy a similar diet will encourage your toddler to enjoy his food as well. These parenting tips also ensure healthy parent-child relationship.