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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.

Healthy Foods for 2 Year Old Child Along with Recipes

Food habits change rapidly as your infant grows. Within the first two years, your baby will have begun teething, moved on to solid foods, and more or less integrated with family mealtimes. Here is a food chart, as well as some recipes on how to integrate healthy eating habits in your child and include good, wholesome and nutritious food in his diet.

How Does Your Toddler’s Meal Time Change?

Your child will have begun eating solid foods as he starts teething. Kids this age are impatient and even fussy around mealtimes. At one and a half years (18 months), toddlers usually manage to handle a spoon to feed themselves. By 24 months, your child will have joined the grown-ups table as a regular!

Some Useful Steps to Form Good Eating Habits in Your Child

A toddler’s eating habits and tastes are only being established as he first starts eating solid foods. This is the time when parents should strive to build a healthy eating habit.

Delay your child’s introduction to fast food and sweetened aerated drinks, and help build a preference for fresh, wholesome food.
Stick to strict meal timings. Establishing a routine will lead to your child developing a fixed mealtime by getting hungry at the right time.
Do not feed your child heavy snacks or lots of liquid rights before mealtime.
Each meal should last for 20 minutes and no longer.

Food for a 2-Year-Old Baby

While a balanced diet is essential for us, children need a boost of nourishment that helps them grow.

1. Dairy Products

Milk, yoghurt, and paneer are all rich in calcium. Calcium helps build strong bones. In case your child is lactose intolerant, he may need to take calcium from other sources like nuts and pulses to make up for a gap in the calcium intake.

2. Chicken

Chicken and other non-vegetarian foods contain good quantities of easily absorbable iron and protein. Iron helps power haemoglobin in the blood and prevents anaemia. Iron found in vegetarian food is harder for the body to absorb and, hence, your child will need to consume at least twice as much of it to get the required amount.

3. Fish

Fish is a good source of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). EFAs help builds immunity and strengthens the cardiovascular system. Vegetarians will need proper substitution of EFA sources, as it is not produced in the body and can only be gained externally.

4. Healthy Oils

Flaxseeds, walnuts, soybeans, and other nuts and their oil contain reasonable amounts of EFAs and minerals.

5. Carrots

Carrots are famous as a rich source of Vitamin A. Spinach, kale, and other vegetables also contain high levels of Vitamin A. It is essential to include foods rich in different vitamins in your child’s diet. Vitamin A helps in boosting eyesight and immunity.

6. Citrus Fruits

Lemons and oranges are renowned for their Vitamin C content. Deficiency of Vitamin C can lead to serious diseases like scurvy. Vitamin C helps in strengthening gums and blood vessels and recovering from bruises. Guavas, mangos, bananas, tomatoes, and spinach also contain Vitamin C.

7. Sunshine

Although this isn’t technically a food, it is something the body absorbs. Hence, it is included in this list, considering the integral role it plays in growth. The element we gain from sunshine is Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for a child to achieve his maximum growth potential. Foods that contain Vitamin D are fish and dairy products.

8. Bananas

Magnesium and potassium, are essential elements for cardiac health, and muscle condition, and are found in bananas. Incorporate this beneficial fruit into cereals and other foods to make it a staple.

Food Chart/Schedule for 2-Year-Old Baby

	Breakfast	Mid Morning	Lunch	Afternoon	Dinner
Sunday	Poha/Upma with vegetables/ sprouts/ peanuts and milk/ curd	Cup of milk and fruits	Curry made with any pulses or rice and dahi	Paneer cutlet with milk	Aloo matar with missi roti
Monday	Dosa or Moong dal cheela with added vegetables and curd	Seasonal Fruits	Mixed vegetables curry with chapatti	Fruit milkshake	Chapatti with fried soya chunks
Tuesday	Egg roll in roti or egg rice	Vegetable soup / fruits	Veg biryani with cucumber sticks	Boiled corn or boiled peanuts + fruit	Vegetable khichdi with curd
Wednesday	Idli and sambar	Almonds/ raisins	Aloo paratha with dahi	Fruits	Boiled chicken with rice
Thursday	Ragi porridge with chopped nuts	Fruit	Chana dal khichdi with curd	Upma with curd/ milk	Vegetable soup with 2 cutlets (veg or non-veg)
Friday	Oats cooked in milk	Fruit smoothie or custard	Chole curry with chapattis	Oats khichdi	Sambar with rice
Saturday	Vegetable paratha	Fruits and nuts	Paneer pulao	Omlette or cheese-chapati roll	Vegetable pulao with dahi

Homemade Food Recipes for 2-Year-Old Baby

Here are some select recipes from the food chart that may not be too familiar to you.

1.

Moong Dal Cheela

A power-packed start to your day!

Ingredients:

1 cup moong dal
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
½ teaspoon roasted cumin
Salt to taste
¼ cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Finely chopped green chillis
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
Butter

How to Prepare:

Soak the moong dal in water overnight.
Drain the water and grind with adequate water to form a thick paste – similar to dosa batter.
Add spices to the batter and mix well.
Add the seasoning and a pinch of hing, and mix again.
Allow the batter to rest for 15-20 minutes.
Heat butter in a non-stick pan and spread the batter like you would a dosa.

2. Coconut

Chutney

A traditional accompaniment to dosas and idlis!

Ingredients:

½ cup fresh grated coconut
2 tablespoons fried yellow gram
½ teaspoon cumin
2 green chillis
1 garlic clove
¼ teaspoon mustard
1 dried red chilli
¾ teaspoon urad dal
Hing
Curry leaves

How to Prepare:

Blend all the ingredients, except the seasoning, together.
Add water and salt (to taste) while blending.
In a few drops of oil heated in a pan, saute the seasonings.
Add the blended chutney to the seasoning and turn off the heat. Serve with idli or dosa.

3.

Chana Dal Khichdi

A simple recipe that uses very little seasoning and embraces the natural flavour of chana.

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder
1 pinch of asafoetida
½ cup of rice
½ cup chana dal
Oil
Water
Salt

How to Prepare:

Soak the rice for 30 minutes prior to preparation.
The chana dal should be soaked for 4-5 hours, prior to preparation. (If time does not permit, you may soak it in hot water for about 30 minutes)
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pressure cooker and add the seasoning.
Add the rinsed chana dal with salt to taste and stir.
Add 1 cup of water and cook under pressure for 6 minutes or 2 whistles.
After it has cooled down, add the rice and cook for 1 or 2 whistles.

4.

Paneer Cutlet

Paneer provides a boost of protein and calcium to the common vegetable cutlet and gives a uniquely soft texture to the cutlet too.

Ingredients:

2 pinches of turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon garam masala
200gms paneer
150gms potato
100gms carrot
1/3 cups peas
Paste: 1 green chilli
2 cloves of garlic
1-inch slice of ginger
3 tablespoons rice flour
3 tablespoons rava
3 tablespoons oil

How to Prepare:

Cut the green chilli, garlic and ginger, and grind to a paste.
Peel and cut the vegetables and cook for up to 4 whistles in a pressure cooker, with 2 cups of water.
Drain the water when cooled and transfer the cooked vegetables to a mixing bowl.
Mash the vegetables, add the paste and seasoning, and mix well.
Add the paneer (Paneer should be crumbled or grated).
Add 3 tablespoons of rice flour and salt to taste, and mix again.
Take small portions of the mixture and shape into patties.
Coat with rava and fry in a shallow pan until both sides are golden brown. Serve with ketchup or chutney.

5. Soya Chunks Fry

A healthy and tasty dish that is simple to make. It goes great with both chapattis and rice!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soya chunks
2 onions, shredded
2 green chillis, slit
1 big piece of ginger cut into thin strips
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 Tsp garam masala
1/2 Tsp chaat masala
½ tsp red chilli powder
2 tomato, finely chopped
Coriander leaves
2 tablespoons oil

How to Prepare:

Immerse the soya in hot water for about 20 minutes.
In a pan, saute the onions in oil.
Once the onions are golden-brown, add the garlic and ginger.
Add the green chillis and then the tomatoes.
As the mixture cooks, add the seasoning and mix well. Turn off the flame.
Now, drain the soya chunks (You may need to squeeze them with the help of a sieve to drain them well).
Add the soya chunks to the mixture and begin cooking again.
Add salt to taste and mix the contents of the pan thoroughly so that the soya chunks are well coated with the masala (You can also add a bit of lemon juice to this, for a hint of tanginess).
Cook in a pan till the soya chunks are browned.
Turn off the flame and garnish with plenty of finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve warm.

Feeding Tips

While providing healthy food for 2-year-old baby do not fixate on the amounts eaten. This will change from child to child and between different days and mealtimes.
A 2-year-old toddler’s food requirement does not have to include artificial supplements.
Indian baby food recipes for a 2-year-old can be spicy. If your child is fussy about this, you can experiment with reducing the amount of seasoning, especially red chilli powder.
Give your child notice before every mealtime. This gets him thinking about food and builds up an appetite.
Have the food ready and plated for mealtime when your child arrives.
Do not punish or reward your child’s eating habits, as it can create a problematic attitude towards food and harm your child’s relationship with food.
Don’t allow your toddler to watch T.V. during mealtime, as he needs to focus on the food. Talk to him instead and include him in conversations with all the family members.

Disclaimer:

Look out for allergies. Your child could be allergic to certain nuts, grains or dairy products. Make sure you avoid these food items and consult your doctor about the allergies.
When introducing your toddler to new foods, you should ensure that you introduce new food one at a time as this will make it easier for you to check for allergies and help you understand your child’s preferences.
If your child is suffering from diarrhoea, don’t stop feeding him. Consult a doctor and feed him foods that are nutritious and can control the diarrhoea.
Don’t force-feed your toddler. Toddlers can be fussy with food, be patient and know when he has eaten enough.

Eating nutritious food that is fresh and doesn’t contain preservatives is seen by many as something that takes too much effort, but with the right motivation, it can be a habit and not a chore! Include different fresh fruits in your child’s diets, so his tastes vary and he is less likely to become fussy over time.

Previous Year: 1 Year Old Baby Food Chart

Nutrition of a child in the 2nd year of life: regimen, diet, menu, necessary products | Mamovediya

The child in this period of life grows intensively and therefore must receive nutrition that quantitatively and qualitatively satisfies the needs of his body.

Nutrition should be rational: balanced and consistent with the daily routine. Balance - the inclusion of all the necessary nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, trace elements) in the appropriate proportions that the child's body can absorb.

Nutrition is considered rational if it meets the age needs of the child and is carried out according to the daily routine.

In addition, the so-called rational nutrition includes the culinary processing of food used for a given age, and the correct methodological methods of parents in the process of feeding a child.

The environment surrounding the baby during the meal, the appearance of the dishes served should excite the child's appetite.

Child's appetite is a state of organic need for food, expressed in the child's desire to eat. At the same time, an adequate positive attitude of the child to food is noted.

A good appetite, as a rule, depends not only on how well the menu is compiled, but also on the correct organization of the feeding process. To form and maintain a good appetite, parents must clearly know: what, when and how to feed the child.

How nice it is to feed a child who has a good appetite. It brings pleasure to adults and great benefits for the baby. However, very often it is necessary to observe cases of violation of normal appetite from small deviations (decrease in appetite, refusal of certain dishes) up to its complete absence (anorexia - as it is called in medical practice).

A child with a decrease or lack of appetite at the mere sight of writing or a reminder of food expresses protest, turns away, defends himself, tightly closes his lips and teeth. It looks like an unnatural negative reaction of the baby to food. Why does a child lose his appetite? Who is to blame for this? The reasons often lie in the wrong method of feeding (strong pressure on the child's tongue with a spoon, the child's lack of interest in food), in the negative sensations associated with eating (too hot food, poor taste), improper organization of the situation during feeding (distraction with a book, toy, punishment), etc.

Many parents, seeing a decrease in appetite, try to force-feed their child, but this further reinforces the child's negative attitude towards food and everything connected with it. This is strictly prohibited.

If a child suddenly lost his appetite, first of all think about whether you could have made mistakes in the process of upbringing and feeding, in especially persistent cases, you should consult a pediatrician.

During feeding, do not forget to introduce the child to the names of dishes (soup, cutlet, compote, etc.) and the properties of objects (food is tasty, sweet, sour, salty, hot, cold, a large spoon, a small one, etc.) .). In this way, the child will form the first ideas, concepts.

Eating processes should be organized in such a way that the child has a desire to eat. Before eating, you should arrange a calm pause after a long walk or noisy and active games.

You should not give your child new interesting toys shortly before feeding, and quickly take them away before eating. By doing this, you will cause a strong emotional reaction that will slow down food arousal and reduce appetite.

While eating with a child, one should only talk about what is connected with this process, concentrating his attention on food, developing the child's active participation in eating.

A child's appetite is increased not only by deliciously cooked food, but also by its beautiful design, attractive dishes specially painted for children. Children should only be seated at the table when food has already been served. You should not put all the dishes on the table at once, the child is distracted from the first dish, reaches for the third or second, as a result, the sequence of eating is disturbed. Remember that many violations in the health of the baby are associated with errors in his diet.

By the age of 1 year 3 months, the baby can already eat solid food with a spoon, and at 1 year 6 months he can eat any food - thick and liquid. Try to develop these independent skills and abilities, which are very important for later life, in your son or daughter. How joyful it is to look at a baby who skillfully takes food from a plate with a spoon, without mistake brings it to his mouth and actively removes it with his lips. Something, of course, still pours from the spoon past and remains on the lips or chin of the child, but these errors in eating will soon pass, and the baby will learn to carefully eat the entire portion. Remember that a large amount of food contributes to a decrease in appetite, and an insufficient one does not cause a feeling of fullness.

A child of this age should be able to chew food. Make sure that he does not keep the pieces in his mouth for a long time, but swallows them in time.

A child of the 2nd year of life is fed 4 times a day with an interval of 3.5-4.5 hours. However, in the first half of the year, the baby can receive another fifth feeding - kefir or milk at 23-24 hours if he wakes up at night or at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Establishing rational nutrition is painstaking and very responsible work, but if you do it systematically, without giving "indulgence" to yourself and your child, then your reward will be good health and good physical development of the baby.

When compiling the menu, it is necessary to correctly distribute how much and what kind of food the child will receive during the day. Feed your baby 4-5 times a day. In the morning it is better to cook dairy dishes, lunch should always consist of soup, meat in the form of mashed potatoes or meatballs with a vegetable side dish, compote or jelly, fruits, kefir are given in the afternoon, a vegetable dish is prepared for dinner.

The one-time amount of food consumed in children of the 2nd year of life is different - up to 1.5 years, somewhat less than in the second half of the year.

Under no circumstances should children of this age be given food from the common table. This is very harmful. Malnutrition of a child older than a year will undoubtedly affect his health in the future. Injury by coarse food to the still unprotected mucous membrane of the child's stomach, the stressed state of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract lead to the formation of early gastritis, enteritis, cholecystitis and other diseases.

The menu can be diversified by replacing meat with cottage cheese, fish, eggs, introducing a variety of vegetable or cereal dishes, changing the culinary processing of food (mashed potatoes, cutlets, jelly, compote, etc.), improving its taste, adding greens (dill, parsley, celery, etc.).

If a dairy dish is served for breakfast, then in the afternoon you should feed the baby with vegetables and vice versa; if vegetable soup is prepared for lunch, then the second dish should be cereal, etc. To maintain appetite, make sure that meals are not repeated during the day.

This set of products does not have to be used every day, and it is practically difficult, for example, to measure 3 g of cheese for a child. It is important that during the week the proposed list of products be used in baby food. Therefore, cheese can be used once a week and immediately in the amount of 20 g (3 x 7, say, give the baby vermicelli with grated cheese for breakfast.

A few words about food products intended for baby food, or rather, their brief description.

Milk and dairy products. Natural milk can be given to a child only after boiling. One-day kefir and cottage cheese are very useful. Milk should be boiled in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the lid closed. When preparing dishes from milk (porridge, mashed potatoes), raw milk is added and allowed to boil once with ready-made cereals or vegetables. Milk must not be boiled twice. It should be remembered that excessive milk reduces the child's appetite, so milk should not be given to quench thirst instead of water.

Oils. In the diet of children of the 2nd year of life, both butter and vegetable oil can be used, and the amount of vegetable oil should not exceed 10-15% of the total amount of oil consumed per day (i. e., not more than 2 g per day) . Vegetable oil should be stored in a sealed container, protected from light and air. It cannot be boiled, so it is better to lay it in the finished dish. In the diet of children, it is not recommended to use refractory fats - beef, pork, cooking oil, and margarine.

Meat and meat products. Lean beef, rabbit meat, chickens are useful for children You can use offal - liver, tongue, heart, brains, chicken giblets. Meat should not be soaked in water, as this transfers some of the nutrients into the water. The liver should be fried under the lid and given to the child in a puréed semi-liquid form. For children under 1.5 years old, meat, like other food, should be cooked pureed. This is due to the absence of chewing teeth in a child at this age, the underdevelopment of chewing muscles and the insufficient activity of digestive juices.

Fish and fish products. Children can only be given low-fat varieties of fish - hake, cod, sea bass, pike perch. Fish is equivalent to meat in its nutritional properties, but, in addition, it contains trace elements important for the growth and development of the child (iodine, phosphorus, copper, etc.). Keto or sturgeon caviar should be treated with caution, as it can cause unwanted allergic reactions in children.

Eggs. It is recommended to give children only chicken eggs and be sure to boil them. Raw eggs should not be served, as they can be contaminated with pathogens due to the porosity of the shell, and raw protein is poorly digested in the stomach, and raw yolk can cause allergies. Duck, goose, and eggs of other birds are prohibited from being included in the children's menu.

Bread and bakery products. It is useful for children to give both rye and wheat bread. You can give bagels, bagels, crackers, by the way, children love them very much.

Cereals and pasta. The most valuable in terms of mineral composition are bean, buckwheat, oat and millet groats. But you can use their other types - semolina, peas, as well as pasta. The groats are boiled in water (oatmeal and buckwheat - for l '/g h, millet - 1 hour, semolina - 20 minutes), then unboiled milk is added, and after removing the porridge from the heat - butter and sugar to taste.

Sugar and confectionery . In children's food - in tea, milk, cereals, compotes, kissels - you can add sugar, but in moderation. Remember that excess sugar is harmful to a child, as it can contribute to obesity or diabetes. Other sweets are recommended marmalade, jams, marshmallows, marshmallows, cookies, especially oatmeal, waffles. Do not give children cakes with rich creams, chocolates and chocolates, as well as lollipops, especially rounded ones.

Vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs. All these products are very useful for young children, because, in addition to vitamins, they contain fiber, organic acids, pectin, tannins and volatile substances, as well as minerals and trace elements. Raw vegetables can also be used in children's nutrition. At the same time, they must be thoroughly washed, poured over with boiling water, and then grated on a fine grater. Fruits and berries are best given fresh to a child, and raw juice should be added to a boiled fruit and berry dish. In the nutrition of children, you can use canned vegetables and fruits specially prepared for baby food, as well as compotes, juices, freshly frozen and dried vegetables and fruits. Boil vegetables and fruits in a saucepan with a lid to preserve as many vitamins as possible.

From 1 year to 1 year 3 months

You can be told about the methods of preparing various children's meals by a district nurse or a nurse in a healthy child's office in a children's polyclinic.

The menu for a baby at this age can be compiled as follows:

Breakfast

Porridge (vegetable puree) -150.0
Tea with milk (milk) -100.0
Bread with butter
Lunch
- Soup (vegetable, meat) —100. 0
- Meat puree (patty) — 40.0
- Side dish (vegetable puree, vermicelli) — 50.0
- Compote (fruit juice) —100.0
- Cottage cheese - 30.0
- kefir (milk) with a bun of –150.0
- Fruits - 50.0
Puree vegetable (porridge) –150.0

milk -150.0

Second supper

Kefir (milk) -150.0

Recall that the second dinner is provided for those children who wake up at 23-24 hours

From 1 year 3 months to 1 year 6 months vegetables, finely chopped in the form of a salad, seasoned with vegetable oil. This is a very healthy dish, because, in addition to the vitamins it contains, it makes the baby chew food thoroughly, which means it stimulates the development of the child's chewing apparatus.

The following foodstuffs can be included in the sample menu:

Breakfast

Porridge (vegetable puree) -150. 0

Tea with milk (milk) -150.0

Bread with butter
3
Lunch

Vegetable salad - 10.0

Soup -150.0

Cutlet (meat, fish, liver) - 50.0

Garnish (cereal, vegetable) - 80.0

Compote -100.0

Snack

Cottage cheese — 50.0

Fruits –100.0

Tea with cookie --150.0

Dinner

Vegetable puree (porridge) –150.0

kefir (milk) –150.0

of 1 year from 1 year old from 1 year from 1 year 6 months to 1 year 9 months

Do you consider a child's taste? Children very early begin to distinguish tasty food from tasteless, they have favorite and unloved dishes. Try not to include foods that are vital for the development of the child's body.

Sample menu for a child of this age.

breakfast

Gate carrot - 30.0

Dairy porridge --150.0

Tea with milk –150. 0

Bread with oil

9000 9000
Salad from vegetables - 40 ,0
Soup (shchi, borscht) -100.0
Meat puree (patty) - 60.0
Garnish (vegetable, cereal) -100.0
Fruit juice -100.0

kefir with a bun --200.0
Fruits –100.0

Dinner

Puree vegetable (porridge) —200.0
Milk (kefir) –150.0

From 1 year 9 months to two years

Children's food in this age period can be liquid, semi-liquid, steamed, and also in the form of pieces (for the development of the child's chewing apparatus). The kid should equally willingly eat any food, no matter in which of the listed types it is served. We recommend the following menu:

In the intervals between feedings, the child can be given a drink (no more than 100 g) of water.

We remind you that in order to prevent allergies, it is better to exclude chocolate from the child's diet, limit the consumption of foods that are high in carbohydrates, such as condensed milk, honey, sweets, and confectionery.

The child's food should be varied, full of vitamins. In addition to the well-known sources of vitamins, you can also use such as mountain ash, wild rose, various vegetable mixtures (turnip, rutabaga, lettuce) and greens (dill, parsley, celery), which not only enrich the nutritious diet, but also decorate dishes, which attracts children and stimulates their good appetite.

It is desirable that parents feed the child at the same time and try to form the right attitude to food in the baby from an early age and teach the culture of behavior at the table.

Union of Pediatricians of Russia

Nutrition for children aged 1 to 3 years

The period from 1 to 3 years of life is a crucial stage in the transition to an adult type of nutrition, which has certain features. In order to ensure that all the necessary nutrients enter the child's body and at the same time prevent an excess of individual nutrients, nutrition should be balanced and varied.

The daily amount of food for children aged 1 to 1.5 years should be 1000-1200 g, from 1.5 to 3 years - 1200-1500, the amount of food in one feeding should not exceed 300-350 ml. The diet consists of three main meals per day and two snacks. It is considered optimal when breakfast is 25% of the total energy density of the diet, lunch is 30–35%, dinner is 20%, and additional meals are about 10%. In general, the child can eat the same food as the rest of the family.

In the diet of a child of 1-3 years of age must be present daily : animal or poultry meat, dairy and sour-milk products, vegetables, fruits, bread, cereals, vegetable and butter; fish and eggs are included in the diet 2-3 times a week.

Cereal products: bread - 2-3 servings per day, cereals and side dishes - 1 time per day
Fruit and/or vegetables: at least 5 times a day
Dairy products: at least 3 servings per day (including those used to make cereals, yoghurts, fermented milk drinks, cottage cheese, infant formula or breast milk).

Domestic pediatricians recommend, when compiling a diet for children aged 1–3 years, preference should be given to specialized children's dairy products of industrial production that meet high quality requirements and safety indicators for this age. Most children's dairy products are additionally enriched with vitamins and/or minerals and other biologically active components, taking into account the physiological needs of children of this age. At the same time, in foreign recommendations, children over 1 year old are offered the gradual introduction of whole cow's milk, which is rich in fats necessary for proper growth and development, the absorption of vitamins A and D, the development of the child's brain and nervous system.

Meat dishes: 2-3 times a day
Fish dishes: 2-3 servings per week
Eggs: 2-3 per week
Dietary fats: 3-4 teaspoons of butter and/or vegetable oils per day

When cooking, use the minimum amount of salt and sugar, and do not add them to industrial products.