Nutritious Toddler Friendly Foods

Summarized by Elece Hollis

As a parent, you want to know which foods are toddler friendly foods. Consider the major food groups as you introduce new foods to your child. Children need dairy, fruits and vegetables, meats and grains.

Fruits and Vegetables

Try sweet potatoes, which provide vitamins galore and are naturally sweet and filling. Green beans are a good choice for toddler finger food. Children like applesauce and can eat thinly sliced raw apple. Chicken, beef and fish are three good meats to feed small children. Cut the meat in small slices rather than chunks to prevent choking. A child shouldn't be fed hotdogs, marshmallows or cheese puffs. Nuts are hard to chew and are a food that small children are often allergic to.

Feeding Toddlers - Nutritional Tips
Summarized By Christine Steendahl

The toddler should eat most table foods that closely resemble the same types of food that the other family members enjoy. Introduce a variety of foods to encourage good eating habits. Give the toddler manageable pieces of food. Food plan for a toddler should be selected based on the USDA guidelines. The food pyramid focuses on the five major food groups.

1) The Grain group - Servings include 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, and 1 ounce of ready to eat cereal.
*Your child should eat 6 servings from this group.
2) Vegetable group - Servings include 1/2 cup of chopped or raw vegetables, or 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables.
*Your child should eat 3 servings from this group.
3) Fruit group - Servings include 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge, 3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice, 1/2 cup of canned fruit, or 1/4 cup of dried fruit.
*Your child should eat 2 servings from this group.
4) Milk group - Servings include 1 cup of milk, yogurt or 2 ounces of cheese.
*Your child should eat 2 servings from this group.
5) Meat group servings include 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans. *Your child should eat 2 servings from this group.
As children grow older, their appetite may decrease.

Simple Ways To Get Your Children To Appreciate Broccoli

Most kids are particular when it comes to eating green veggies. They have their favorites and then there are the ones that they won’t touch at any cost. If your kid won’t venture to try anything green, learn ideas to get them to eat it and appreciate the taste. Today, we’ll be starting with broccoli.

The most convenient way to get your child to eat broccoli is to add it to a dish that they already like. If your child has never tried broccoli, this will make it easier still. The taste of the other foods will mask the taste of the broccoli. Broccoli doesn’t taste bad, but it does need some sprucing up to taste better.

Add broccoli to a bowl of macaroni and cheese. Most if not all kids love to eat macaroni and cheese. Steam a pan of broccoli until it is almost done, but still very green. Once the macaroni and cheese is ready stir the broccoli in. Before you mix it, cut off the stalks. The tops are easier to eat. Sometimes the stalks have hard parts that you could chew on for days and they still wouldn’t disappear. If you don’t want to chop all of those stems, buy bags of broccoli that just contain the florets.

Does your kid love casseroles? Stir in broccoli to your favorite casserole. Transform a cheesy chicken and rice hot dish into a cheesy chicken, broccoli, and rice hot dish. A beef and noodle casserole could get a touch of green with some broccoli florets. Your kids will be so happy that they don’t have to eat peas that they won’t even care about what’s in the hot dish.

My kids crave chicken potpie. Many potpies contain segments of potatoes, carrots, and green beans. If you are making it from scratch, add a few baby broccoli florets to the veggie mixture. Once the veggies soften and mix with the chicken, and the cream soup the taste mixes right in. You can add broccoli to a turkey or a beef potpie also.

Offer broccoli as a snack. Many times, kids will snack on veggies when they are raw and they taste better to them that way. Set out a plate of broccoli with the stalks and a bowl of ranch dressing. Ranch dressing on veggies is yummy and a quick snack to munch on while watching television or doing homework. It fills them up for the moment and there’s no sugar in it to ruin their dinner. If ranch dressing is not their thing, try cottage cheese, yogurt, or another type of dressing.

Broccoli works well as a side dish with a sauce. Most of the time you see broccoli with a sauce, it is cheese sauce. Watch the fat content though. Use a low-fat cheese to melt on top or try Velveeta® light cheese spread. Light salsa con queso (with cheese) is also an alternative for a sauce topping.

Broccoli is a good vegetable to eat. It can be combined to any pasta dish or casserole, or used as a side dish with seasonings for flavor. Getting your kids to consume broccoli is a task but it can be completed if you use their favorite foods as cover.

----------
For More "Simple Ways To...." Articles Log Onto www.kidapprovedmeals.com