2 year old baby healthy food
Feeding & Nutrition Tips: Your 2-Year-Old
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With your two-year-old's blossoming language and social skills, they're ready to become an active mealtime participant. They should no longer be drinking from a bottle, and can eat the same food as the rest of the family. Their diet should now include three healthy meals a day, plus one or two snacks.
Here are some tips to help your little one develop healthy, safe eating habits and get the nutrition their growing bodies need.
Mealtime tips for toddlers
Try not to fixate on amounts of food they are eating.
Avoid making mealtimes a battle.
Pay attention to adopting healthy eating habits—including sitting as a family at mealtime.
Focus on making healthy food choices as a family.
Unsafe foods for toddlers: choking risks
At two years old, your child should be able to use a spoon, drink from a cup with just one hand, and feed themselves a wide variety of finger foods. However, they are still learning to chew and swallow efficiently and may gulp food down when in a hurry to get on with playing. For that reason, the risk of choking at this age is high.
Avoid these foods, which could be swallowed whole and block the windpipe:
Hot dogs (unless cut in quarters lengthwise before being sliced)
Chunks of peanut butter (Peanut butter may be spread thinly on bread or a cracker, but never give chunks of peanut butter to a toddler.)
Nuts—especially peanuts
Raw cherries with pits
Round, hard candies—including jelly beans
Gum
Whole grapes
Marshmallows
Raw carrots, celery, green beans
Popcorn
Seeds—such as processed pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Whole grapes, cherry tomatoes (cut them in quarters)
Large chunks of any food such as meat, potatoes, or raw vegetables and fruits
The best foods for toddlers include:
Protein foods like meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, nuts, seeds and soy
Dairy such as milk, yogurt, cheese or calcium-fortified soymilk
Fruits and vegetables
Grains such as whole wheat bread and oatmeal
It is normal for toddlers to choose from a limited number of foods, reject foods entirely, and then change their preferences over time.
Never force your child to eat something they do not want to eat. The best approach is to let your child to choose from 2 to 3 healthy options, and continue to offer new foods as their tastes change.
Offering a variety of foods and leaving the choices up to your child will eventually allow them to eat a balanced diet on their own. Toddlers also like to feed themselves. So, whenever possible, offer your child finger foods instead of cooked ones that require a fork or spoon to eat.
Supplements for some children
Vitamin supplements are rarely necessary for toddlers who eat a varied diet, with a few exceptions.
Vitamin D. Infants under 12 months of age require 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day and older children and adolescents require 600 IU per day. This amount of vitamin D can prevent rickets—a condition characterized by the softening and weakening of bones. If your child is not regularly exposed to sunlight or is consuming enough vitamin D in their diet, talk to your pediatrician about a vitamin D supplement.
See Vitamin D for Babies, Children & Adolescents for more information and a list of vitamin D-enriched foods.
Iron. Supplemental iron may be needed if your child eats very little meat, iron-fortified cereal, or vegetables rich in iron. Large quantities of milk (more than 32 ounces [960 mL] per day) also may interfere with the proper absorption of iron, increasing the risk of iron deficiency anemia.
Calcium. Your child should drink 16 ounces (480 mL) of low-fat or nonfat milk each day. This will provide most of the calcium they need for bone growth and still not interfere with their appetite for other foods—particularly those that provide iron.
Note: Children stay on whole milk until they are two years of age—unless there is a reason to switch a baby to low-fat milk sooner. Whole milk contains approximately 4% milk fat. It may help to gradually switch your child from whole milk to a lower-fat milk.
Therefore, many pediatricians recommend that children get reduced fat (2%) milk for a few weeks before switching them to low fat (1%) or no fat (skim) milk.
More information
- Sample Menu for a Two-Year-Old
- Feeding & Nutrition Tips: Your 3-Year-Old
- Selecting Snacks for Toddlers
- I Need a Treat: How to Tame Your Child's Sweet Tooth
- Diagnosis and Prevention of Iron Deficiency and Iron Deficiency Anemia in Infants and Young Children (0-3 Years of Age) (AAP Clinical Report)
- Last Updated
- 9/6/2022
- Source
- American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Obesity (Copyright © 2022)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
Sample Menu for a Two-Year-Old
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By age two, your child should be eating three healthy meals a day, plus one or two snacks. He or she can eat the same food as the rest of the family. Do not fixate on amounts and do not make mealtimes a battle. Whenever possible, offer your child finger foods instead of soft ones that require a fork or spoon to eat. See the following sample menu ideas for a two-year-old.
Note: This menu is planned for a two-year-old child who weighs approximately 27 pounds (12.5 kg).
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (15 mL)
1 tablespoon = 1⁄2 ounce (15 mL)
1 ounce = 30 mL
1 cup = 8 ounces (240 mL)
Breakfast
- ½ cup nonfat or low- fat milk
- ½ cup iron- fortified cereal or 1 egg
- 1⁄3 cup fruit (for example, banana, cantaloupe, or strawberries)
- ½ slice whole wheat toast
- ½ teaspoon margarine or butter or 1 teaspoon jelly
Snack
- 4 crackers with cheese or hummus or ½ cup cut-up fruit or berries
- ½ cup water
Lunch
- ½ cup low- fat or nonfat milk
- ½ sandwich—1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 ounce meat, slice of cheese, veggie (avocado, lettuce, or tomato)
- 2–3 carrot sticks (cut up) or 2 tablespoons other dark- yellow or dark-green vegetable
- ½ cup berries or 1 small (½ ounce) low-fat oatmeal cookie
Snack
- ½ cup nonfat or low-fat milk
- ½ apple (sliced), 3 prunes, 1⁄3 cup grapes (cut up), or ½ orange
Dinner
- ½ cup nonfat or low-fat milk
- 2 ounces meat
- 1⁄3 cup pasta, rice, or potato
- 2 tablespoons vegetable
Additional Information on HealthyChildren.
org: - Unsafe Foods for Toddlers
- Selecting Snacks for Toddlers
- Picky Eaters
- Winning the Food Fights
- Last Updated
- 12/21/2015
- Source
- Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, 6th Edition (Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
2 year old child's menu with recipes
Menu author: Natalia Dik — pediatrician. She graduated from the Chelyabinsk Medical Academy, clinical internship and residency, specialty pediatrics. She has been working in her specialty since 2007, from 2005-2008 she has been the head of the Allergy Department of the City Clinical Hospital No. 1 of Chelyabinsk, since 2008 she has been a specialist in clinical trials of drugs. She enjoys cooking and practices the Menu of the Week system in her daily life. |
By the age of two, most babies are able to eat many foods and dishes on their own, there is no need to grind food in a blender or knead with a fork. Rejoicing at such changes, some parents want to give the baby to try more new dishes. Some, on the contrary, are afraid to introduce something new, and they are in no hurry to transfer it to the general table. There is some common sense in both approaches. Although the digestive system of a two-year-old baby is already much more mature compared to a one-year-old, nevertheless, it is not yet strong enough.
Therefore transition to adult food should be gradual .
The sample menu for week below is suitable not only for feeding a two-year-old child, but also for the whole family.
Do not worry if one of the days the child has not eaten all the dishes you have prepared. Our ideas about how much a two-year-old baby should eat often differ from reality in the direction of overestimation. In addition, children may have their own characteristics and preferences. Everything new is best offered in small portions. Often, babies carefully try unfamiliar or otherwise prepared foods, but if they are offered the same dish next time, they can eat it with pleasure.
MONDAY
Breakfast: Porridge made of oatmeal with caramel apples
Lunch: Pumpkin soup with chicken+salad “Sunny”
SUPPLE: Smoothies with shepherd
Dinner: Stewed vegetables with freaksheels
Pediatrician's comment: As with all ages, it is very important to diversify the diet of children, including different types of foods . Recommended norm of milk and dairy products - up to 600 ml (of which at least 200 ml are fermented milk products), vegetables 300-400g (of which potatoes - no more than 150g), fruits - 130g, meat (red or poultry) - up to 90g per day , bread - up to 90g (of which black - no more than 30g). It is advisable to eat fish 2-3 times a week (weekly norm 175g), eggs - no more than 3 times a week. |
At the same time, vegetables (fresh and cooked), fruits, cereals, milk and dairy products, vegetable and butter should be on the children's menu daily. TUESDAY
Breakfast: Kindergarten-style scrambled eggs
Lunch: Borsch-mashed potatoes + Potato casserole with vegetables
Snack: Baked apples with cottage cheese
Dinner:
Pediatrician's comment: Make sure your child drinks enough liquids. |
The norm is 35 ml/kg of water per day ie with a weight of 12 kg your baby should drink 420 ml. It is desirable that it be clean water. If the child refuses it, you can try to give unsweetened compote, herbal tea, but not store-bought juices. MEDIUM
Breakfast: Millet porridge with pumpkin in a slow cooker
Lunch: Borscht puree + White cabbage salad with apple
Afternoon snack: Banana smoothie with cookies and nuts
Dinner: Buckwheat porridge + Braised liver
Pediatrician's comment: In the diet of two-year-old children, there should be no such things as fast food (in addition to hamburgers and french fries, these are various chips and store-bought crackers), smoked meats, semi-finished products (sausages, sausages), canned and pickled foods, mushrooms and seafood. |
THURSDAY
Breakfast: Cottage cheese casserole with apples
Lunch: Soup with fish meatballs + Carrots and dried apricots
SUPPLE: yogurt+milk cake
Boutiker porridge+carcass liver
Pediatrician's comment:Of course, it is best to prepare baby food from natural products. If, nevertheless, there is a need to purchase finished products (yogurts, curds, etc.) - be sure to read the information about the composition of on the labels, since at present, even in products intended for baby food, you can often find various flavors, thickeners and preservatives. Manufacturers use many tricks to confuse customers (for example, they write "No preservatives" even if the composition contains citric acid, a powerful preservative). |
FRIDAY
breakfast: Sweet pilaf with dried fruits and nuts
lunch: Soup with fish meatballs + Salad “Vitamin”
SUPPORT: yogurt+milk cake
Dinner: Potato cutlets with turkey and raw
Pediatrician's comment:At the age of two, it is already allowed to introduce a small amount of fried , however, try not to abuse this cooking method, preferring boiling, stewing or baking to it. |
SATURDAY
Breakfast: Cottage cheese casserole with pumpkin in a slow cooker
Lunch: Ratatui soup in a multicooker+beetroot salad with prunes and feta
Polteria: Kisel from cherries
Dinner: Potato cutlets with turkey and raw
Pediatrician's comment: The diet of children at the age of two remains 5 times a day: three main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and two intermediate ones. |
If the break between the main meals is short, then in between it is enough to give an unsweetened fruit (apple, pear) or a vegetable salad (for example, apple + carrot). If the break is long, you can offer the baby a fermented milk product (yogurt, cottage cheese) with bread or cookies. SUNDAY
Breakfast: Pancakes with carrots Some experts do not recommend introducing sugar and confectionery into the diet until the age of three , or even for life. If you are already giving your child sweets, remember that the daily intake of sugar for a two-year-old child is up to 50g per day, and the less, the better. Health to you and your children! Author: Anastasija Stewed vegetables with meatballs is a recipe for all ages and seasons. Small, ruddy, juicy and fragrant meatballs are always desired and loved by adults and children. And complemented by mouth-watering and bright stewed vegetables, they are generally irresistible and very, very healthy! These meatballs have a little secret - they contain cottage cheese, but there is no usual bread or crackers, so they will serve as a rich source of animal protein. And carrots and cabbage will add vitamins and fiber, make this dish a great lunch or dinner for the whole family. Especially it will appeal to children from about 2. ★★★★★ 3 Rate recipe Ingredients: Preparation: Mix minced meat, chopped onion, cottage cheese and egg. Salt and pepper, mix well. Shape into small, walnut-sized meatballs. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the meatballs and fry first over high and then over medium heat until golden brown on all sides, about ten minutes. Remove the meatballs from the saucepan and keep warm. Carrots in thin circles along the oblique, and cabbage in squares. Put the vegetables in the pan where the meatballs were fried and simmer, stirring, over low heat for about five minutes. Add about 125 milliliters of boiling water, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
Lunch: Ratatouille soup in a slow cooker + Beetroot salad with prunes and feta
Afternoon snack: Cherry jelly
Fish casserole 10019 Fish casserole1 9000
Pediatrician's comment: 
Chocolate and chocolates should be avoided as they stimulate the nervous system of children, often cause allergies and can cause constipation. Do you like these recipes?
Stewed vegetables recipe with meatballs
5 years. In this case, take lean minced veal. It is especially tasty to cook this dish from young vegetables: cabbage and carrots.
In addition, meatballs are convenient to freeze and store in the freezer, which makes them a universal helper for every housewife.
While the meatballs are frying, chop the washed and peeled vegetables.
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