daily nutrition advice for toddlers

[*happy*]

Ijust wondering if such a thing exists?
Im debating going to a nutritionist.we have awful eating
Habits and are both keen to do better with family meals.
Atm.it's grab-a-bite-when- you-can!
 +although DD is a good eater,in general,im not
sure im giving her what i should,kwim?she doesnt eat what
we eat 90% of the time.i've used AK's book for her.
Would love some rules!

[Buntybear]

There has got to be loads online. Not sure you need to go to a nutritionist yet chick. A few better food choices should do the trick 

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/healthy-eating/Pages/Healthyeating.aspx

What is your fruit and veg intake like?

How much protein do you eat? Oily fish? Swap some white bread/rice/pasta for brown. Include more seeds, grains and pulses.

Avoid refined sugars - biscuits, cakes etc

[*happy*]

Thanks hun.it's for DD really,&we'll row in at dinnertime
,kwim?
Im curious about portion sizes & the food pyramid for her,
how much of what should she be getting etc.
Will have a look at that link now.

I should add...im the type of cook that burns boiling water.
Red-face!

[*Ali*]

There is specific advice here about how many portions of each food group your LO needs. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/understanding-food-groups.aspx#close

[*happy*]

More great info,thanks!
On my phone now,but im gonna put that info
together tomorrow when im on the laptop&get my
head around it all!
Better late than never!

[creations]

Hello, although portion size and individual needs vary child to child I found this helpful when DS was younger, but don't panic over it, it is a guide and LOs often eat lots of one thing one day then lots of another thing the next. I'm sure you already know it is useful to look at balancing food groups over a week rather than in a day (and over a day rather than in a meal - so it doesn't matter if each meal doesn't cover all the food groups so long as they are offered daily and eaten weekly).
A 'toddler' also covers a wide age range and sizes of child from 8 months up to preschool so their portion sizes and appetite will vary, but like I said this is a guide...

milk/dairy 4 servings per day
1 serve =
- half cup milk or yoghurt
- 1.5 oz cheese or 1 inch cube

grains 6 servings per day
1 serve =
- half slice bread
- quarter cup cereal
- quarter cup rice
- quarter cup pasta
- 3 crackers

fruit 2 servings per day
1 serve =
- quarter fresh fruit
- child/s hand full of grapes or blueberries

veg 2 servings per day
1 serve =
- 1 to 2 tablespoons

protein 2 servings per day
1 serve =
- 1 egg
- 1 to 2 table spoons meat/fish/poultry/beans

Sorry I don't have a reference for where I got this info as I jotted it down in my recipe book but it was a valid source (I think the number of servings came form the NHS birth to five book which is also available on-line somewhere). hth

[*happy*]

creations is there anything, and i mean *anything* at all in this huge earthly world, that you do not know?!?!?!
i'm off to print out this thread now.....

at a quick glance....we've been giving too much fruit & not enough veg....although hard to tell because the veg is often mixed as part of the meat/fish dish...

[amayzie]

creations is there anything, and i mean *anything* at all in this huge earthly world, that you do not know?!?!?!

Not much!! I'm not sure of how she is in the rest of her life- but everything to do with children up to and including the age of her son she is pretty much the font of all knowledge!!

[*happy*]

it baffles me the knowledge all you ladies have!!!!!how do ye remember all the useful information?!the past 20months have been a total blur for me!!!!

[cuckoochick]

Thanks for posting that creations. I know we're guilty of overloading C at times and it can be hard to monitor how much of each food group Charlotte is eating. This will make me more mindful now. Thanks

[creations]

creations is there anything, and i mean *anything* at all in this huge earthly world, that you do not know?!?!?!

Yeah - I have absolutely no idea how my mother can sleep 12-16 hrs per day or how I manage to survive on 4 - 6

we've been giving too much fruit & not enough veg

A couple of times I've reduced DS's fruit intake, once or twice he wasn't particularly happy about it but I could see his diet was going too far out of balance to be ok.  Otherwise though he has ALWAYS had more than those servings sizes of fruit, and has almost NEVER achieved the guidance number of portions of protein per day but I am pretty sure his diet is fine.  I think one of the reasons these sort of portion sizes are not talked about often is that we could get hung up on them and forget that babies and toddlers are quite good at self regulating, or there would be parents trying to force food and others withholding food. Even places (for instance the NHS) that document guidance don't do it consistently. The birth to five book and other NHS pages say toddlers need 2 portions of fruit and 2 portions of veg whilst the video Ali linked to the woman said 5 portions of fruit and veg (and we all know about the five a day rule).  And if they never tell you how big a portion is then it doesn't really matter whether it's 2 or 3 of these random sized portions...I did find it handy to have a guide to just look at his weekly intake though.
I think the thing to remember really is that portion sizes for toddlers are very small, smaller than most of us would imagine and with adult portions getting (on the whole) bigger and bigger it so easy to distort how much we think they need to have.  A portion of chips for example is FOUR chips! FOUR!  I put about 15 on DS's plate and he will eat them all too.  Luckily we very rarely eat chips and usually I make baked/roasted vegi chips instead which makes me feel much better about the whole serving too many chips thing.

[Mama_Mia]

at a quick glance....we've been giving too much fruit & not enough veg

I dont think that is possible. I have spoken to 2 different doctors about M's fruit intake, he eats tons of fruit and I do mean TONS. And both doctors told me simply, "let him have it" Fruit is very good for them and it is a great help on bowel movements. As long as they are eating other necessary foods then let them have all the fruit they want.

[*happy*]

great to know,thanks!
she would eat fruit,raw or pureed til the cows
came home!

[TB9]

If it helps I try to do three food groups at meal times, and 1-2 food groups for snacks.  It is easy that way to get the number of servings per food group that creations posted.

Portion sizes she was eating around 1/3rd of what an adult would eat.  Now she is devouring probably 1/2 of what I would eat because she is getting bigger.

She is a fruit and veggie addict too, I'm not too worried about it as she is growing just fine according to the ped at her last checkup

[*happy*]

that's a handy way of organising things tink,even for
us as adults!