Food for thought
A Meal Plan for Toddlers and Preschoolers
When we first started making breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks for our kids we felt like we had no rhythm.
We weren’t sure what to feed them, how to avoid repetition, what to do about desert. Then we started to get the hang of it, creating a food outline for meals and snacks. Each day we fill in the blanks from a range of mostly organic vegetables, proteins, fruits and grains.
Here’s our outline with some example meals and snacks:
Breakfast: protein, grain and fruit
Scrambled egg or egg whites, oatmeal and blueberries
Snack: fruit, grain and/or protein
Fruit leather, crackers, goat yogurt
Lunch: protein, 2 vegetables, grain/starch
Chicken, steamed zucchini and beets, spelt pasta
Snack: fruit, grain and/or protein
Graham crackers, apple slices with almond butter*
Dinner: protein, 2 vegetables, grain/starch
Tofu, steamed cauliflower and green beans, sweet potato
Dessert: fruit, benign cookies, goat yogurt
Kiwi, animal crackers, goat yogurt with blueberries and Agave Nectar
*With increase in nut allergies, safest to wait until child is 3 years old.
A few notes:
+ Offering two vegetables adds more color to the plate and usually there’s one the kids prefer so they don’t feel like they’re getting stuck with a “bad” vegetable. We don’t include fruit at meals because we save it for desserts.
+ We keep portions small to medium so the kids can ask for more if they want.
+ We don’t force them to eat all their food. We do expect them to try some of everything, and we don’t make substitutions if they decide they don’t like the food on their plate one particular night.
+ At home, we don’t offer dessert at lunch because we’re usually doing naps or quiet time (30-60 minutes playing quietly alone in their room). Instead, we might offer a sweeter afternoon snack like an orange.
For preschoolers at school, we do include a little something sweet in their lunch box (applesauce, fruit stick, animal crackers).
+ Kelly started a ritual of ice cream Fridays. The idea is not to deprive kids (so all they want is what we don’t let them eat) and teach them about balance.
For afternoon snack, the kids go to the ice cream stand or have ice cream or a fruit popsicle from the freezer at home.
+ We avoid soft drinks altogether. We offer water at every meal. We use fruit juice sparingly, and always watered down for toddlers.
I love this article. I’m already feeling uninspired and bored with my routine choices for Savannah. I’ve made her organic food all along, but now it seems she’s falling into the “white flour category” of breads and crackers. If the veggies are covered in cheese (organic white mac n cheese) or pasta sauce she’ll eat it, otherwise it goes right onto the floor. She is obsessed with all fruits, including avacado. The one item that is shocking that she loves for breakfast is Amy’s spinach, mushroom quiche. Thanks for the ideas.
One more thing. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Yo Baby Yogurt and how best to introduce cow’s milk. She’s nearly 14 months and we’re still slowly giving 1 oz a day in her formula.