Importance of Number of Meals :
He/she is most likely to reject this option and stay hungry. A toddler has very little stomach capacity and he/ she cannot take 3 big meals a day. He/ she will typically need 6 small meals a day to fulfill his/ her body’s energy requirements. The best part about feeding your kid frequently is that you don’t need to worry much about his quantity of intake. Even if the kid eats 3-4 biscuits, he will be good for the next 1-2 hours… A little effort from your side will help him/her stay satiated and disturb you less during meal times.
Menu planning for Diet of Indian Toddlers :
In the above-given chart, the outer 6 boxes represent the different food groups. This chart will help you in planning your own menu based on your convenience and timing for your baby. follow the following tips for planning a healthy menu for your toddler.
Add 1 item from each food group:
The trick is to simply add at least 1 item from each group throughout the day. Of course, you can use a particular group more than 2 times too. However, in order to maintain variety in terms of taste and nutrition, its important to plan from each group. Ex – you can plan for rice in the afternoon and oats in the evening menu. both the items belong to the cereal group and are equally healthy.
Variety in terms of taste:
Make your choices of food from the given food group more interesting for the kid. Ex – instead of feeding your baby with rice and milk every day, introduce variety. Plan for rice and curd, or lightly lemon flavored rice, mix rice with mung dal from pulses group to add protein and variety to your kid’s menu.
Mixing of 2 Food groups:
After your kid turns 15 – 16 months old, you can mix up 2 or more food groups together. Ex – Oats porridge with apple. Here Oats cover the cereal group, Milk will cover up for protein and apple will cover the fruits group. some kids with good digestibility can tolerate the mixed groups’ concept right from 12 months onwards.
Cereal Group:
This group includes cereals like Rawa (semolina), Ragi, Rice, Oats, wheat and its products like brown bread, wheat-based biscuits. These cereals are easy to digest. Initially, its best to grind the food product, or mash it well to avoid choking. some kids take time to learn to chew.
Milk and Milk Products Group:
As the name suggests this group includes all varieties with milk. Cows milk has the best digestibility. Hence it is preferable to give you kids cow’s milk. You can later introduce him with milk products like cheese, curd, buttermilk, and paneer. Cheese on brown bread is a good snacking option for your 2+ years old toddler. They relish it.
Non – Vegetarian Protein Group:
This group includes chicken, eggs, and fish. I would really recommend you to start your kid a little late with fish. Maybe after he is 2 +. This will ensure his digestion capacity. It is not that kids do not eat fish before this age. There are individual differences and food preferences. All you need to do is ensure your kids’ digestion capacity and allergic reactions to these foods.
Dals And Pulses Group:
Start with easily digestible dals like mung dal. once they are tolerated well by the kid, you can then move forward to slowly introduce her with all the other varieties of dals, and pulses. make sure the first time you try any new pulse, it should be diluted enough. If your baby has any sign of intolerance towards these foods, like change in color of stool, hard stool or watery stool or gases or stomach ache after the intake, reintroduce the food after a week in a diluted form
Fruits and vegetables:
The fruits and vegetables that are mentioned under the groups in the above infographic diagram, can be used in any form. you can mash the fruits, make juice out of it, pressure cook the fruit for 1 whistle and then mash it (apple). or you can hand over them as slices to your kids. So they also learn to eat on their own. you can use vegetables in soup forms or cooked vegetable form, just the way you consume it at home. make sure you add little or no spices to the preparation. You can introduce the spices and masala for the baby after she is 2.5 + years of age.
Fats and Sugars:
This group is placed in the center on purpose. although you need to use a very little amount of fats and sugar for your toddler, please do not ignore this group. Your baby really needs good fats for better digestion. don’t forget that these little ones also require tasty foods just like us. you can add sugar or jaggery to their food preparations.
• Milk Intake :
Give your toddler the regular milk when he wakes up in the morning. Give him 100 to 200 ml of milk in the morning and in case he/she is allergic to milk and milk products, you can replace milk with whole fruit, almond milk, or soya milk. If your child has crossed 2 years of age, you may consider adding health drinks such as Pediasure to his milk. Make sure to give your toddler full cream milk and he/ she requires milk energy to support his body’s functions and to grow into a powerful adult with time. In the evening, give your toddler 100-50 ml of milk depending on his preference. Yes, do value his preference as many toddlers simply hate the taste of milk. You can’t help as I’m sure many of you also hated milk in your childhood. Use your imaginations, make them tasty smoothies or milkshakes
• Water Intake:
A toddler’s daily water intake may typically consist of at least 5 glasses of water. This includes the juices, milk, and other fluids that your toddler consumes throughout the day.
• Bread:
Make sure you give your toddler wholewheat or brown bread or bread that is fortified with vitamins and minerals.
• Fruits And Vegetables:
You may opt for cooked or pureed food. Cooked or pureed vegetables with bland flavors are the best options for toddlers. These may include vegetables such as pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, squash, carrots, and butternut. Try with mashed food items. It’s better to feed your toddler steamed vegetables and pulses
• Homemade Food:
Today’s nuclear family setups coupled with an increase in the opportunities for women employment, the time has become a scarce resource for today’s families. It is always better to avoid tinned and packaged foods as they contain preservatives that may be detrimental to your child’s health. Make sure you invest some time to secure your child’s health and prepare meals at home. We are sure that love will help you find that time!
• Oatmeal Cereals:
It is a good idea to help your child build healthy eating habits at a very young age. You may introduce oatmeal cereals at a very early stage as they are healthy breakfast options and your child is most likely to develop an acceptance for oatmeal cereals as well as other complex carbohydrates.
• Portion Intake:
1 tablespoon of each food: The Rule of Thumb. At one time, a one-year-old child should be fed 1 tbsp of cooked cereal, pureed fruit, pureed cereal, cooked meat, cooked vegetable, one egg, and a ½ cup of milk and dairy products. On a similar line, a 2-year old child should be given 2 tablespoons of different foods at a time. And as you can already guess, 3 tablespoons of different foods at a time constitute the perfect dietary portions for a 3-year old child.
• Nutritious Snacks:
Your kid will eat when he/she is hungry and will stop when he/ she feels full. Sometimes, you may consider providing nutritious snacks to your kid. This does not mean that you have to put a lot of extra effort into preparing healthy snacks as a lot of healthy yet no-hassle snacks are available in the market. Prepare some finger-friendly, bite-size foods and your toddler will take the responsibility of feeding himself/ herself:
• Thinly-sliced fresh fruit
• Low-sugar breakfast cereals
• Mini muffins with whole-grain crackers
• Shredded cheese
• 2-4 ounces of pure fruit juice, with one part juice being mixed with two parts of water.
• Tart with pureed or strained vegetables such as green beans, squash, or carrots.
- Kids who are fed at small intervals are not only healthy but are also less irritable and less cranky in comparison to the kids who are fed with more time gaps.
- You need to feed your growing toddler every 2- 3 hrs, don’t wait for them to signal for hunger. Kids get really cranky and irritated if they go without food for long. To become a smart mom, you need to set your timetable accordingly. Keep your busiest hours for their milk feeds. But do not overdo Milk. Excess milk feeds and no solid will make her/him hate food.
Some Common Mistakes that You Should Avoid:
• Making your child drink more than 16-24 ounces of milk per day.
• Forcing them to eat when they are not hungry.
• Allowing your child to eat sugary snacks
©Dr.SHEBIN C E & Payal Banka (Dietician)
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