Toddlers Eating Healthy – Plan For Kids Eating Healthy Without Food Allergies

Why use a sample healthy eating plan for toddlers with healthy eating child friendly suggestions?

Researchers are shocked at how early bad eating habits start:

A U.S. study of more than 3,000 kids under age 2 found that large numbers of babies and toddlers have already developed a preference for hot dogs, French fries, candy, and soda.

The study, in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found kids ages 1 to 2 get nearly 30 percent more calories than they need. Over half of toddlers eat too much salt and more than 60 percent of 12-month-olds have sweets at least once a day.

Fruit and vegetable intakes do not meet recommendations for most.

Researchers have also found that the longer you breast feed the less chance your child has of developing food allergies or allergic diseases such as eczema and asthma.

With a plan for your toddler eating healthy, you will be rewarded with a happy child that has fewer behavior and medical problems! But when and how to start? For instance...

Can Toddlers Eat Shrimp?

• Wait until at least EIGHTEEN MONTHS before introducing potentially-allergic foods, such as EGG WHITES, TOMATOES, SHELLFISH such as SHRIMP, and PEANUT BUTTER.

• Delay introducing cow's milk products until at least a year of age. Goat milk is more like human milk if allergies are a worry.

• By TWELVE MONTHS of age, your child's intestines are mature enough to screen out most of the food allergens. See Ask Dr. Sears about preventing food allergies and starting solid foods.

Sample Plan for Toddlers Eating Healthy

It will be YOUR ENTHUSIASM for great tasting nutritious food that will rub off. Toddlers eating healthy should be served the same foods as the whole family, with a variety of textures and flavors for balanced nutrition.

• For the first food, unsweetened APPLE SAUCE can be a staple, along with BROWN RICE CEREAL!

• Great for FIRST FOODS when still breast feeding -- for making foods easy to eat -- get an easy to use Baby Food Mill so that your toddler can eat the FOOD YOU EAT at every meal at your table. You can use it at home and in restaurants – super easy for toddlers eating healthy. You will NOT NEED to have ONE JAR OF BABY FOOD EVER and ensure your toddler eating healthy!!

• PREPARE FOR SNACKS -- have a bag of unsweetened whole rice puffs handy and make carrot and celery sticks for the day, or cut up pieces of apple, cucumber or avocado along with yogurt. Chewing on a whole apple can keep a baby happy when they have only two teeth.

Once chewing, you can open a can of beans, make “finger toast” with soft egg yolks or later, almond butter, or toast and sardines – make a list of your best options so you are not caught off guard by a cranky toddler.

• Get creative: SNEAK VEGGIES into pasta sauce and soups. Be inventive. If your child refuses plain steamed vegetables, present these foods in ‘hidden’ ways, such as mashed or minced in casseroles or soups. For example, mash carrots with potatoes and add some steamed chopped greens. Flavor with butter and milk.

• YUMMY BROCCOLI: Veggies are more tasty when stir fried or raw, so make sure they don't reject something because they have only tasted a soggy lack-lustre version of some veggie.

• Make OATMEAL cereal from non instant rolled oats (best organic) and add raisins, pieces of dried apricots, apples or other fruits to sweeten without sugar. Experiment by adding fruits, sprinkling on chopped almonds or sunflower seeds (ground in a coffee grinder.) Try new combinations until you have a family favorite for your toddler eating healthy!

• Make brown RICE or PASTA with LENTILS for any meal of the day. Saute or fry an onion in olive oil and add chopped greens such as spinach, chard, kale, bok choy and add red peppers and mushrooms. Mix with the rice or pasta and flavor with soya, tamari or oyster sauce.

• Make a POT OF LENTILS or KIDNEY BEANS and add onion, celery, carrots and greens and serve with brown rice and grated cheese. Use a package of dried beans or lentils. Beans need soaking but lentils cook in a half hour. Use small orange lentils if in a hurry – they cook faster. Add BARLEY when cooking a big pot of soup.

• DRINK only WATER or MILK after one year. Children should drink full cream milk at least until age 2 because the fat helps the absorption of other nutrients. Avoid fruit juice and sweet drinks. For sweets use whole fruit. Fruits and berries can be blended or mashed into yogurt or milk. Add a banana for extra sweetness.

• SPRINKLE EXTRA NUTRITION on cereals and soups: EXPERIMENT with using wheat germ, ground flax seeds, (use coffee grinder) brewer’s yeast for iron and vitamin B, (health food stores) and sesame seeds etc. Have jars handy on your counter for quick use.

• GET PRO-BIOTIC. Good bacteria are a must for disease prevention and a good immune defense. Make sure you use "bio-active" YOGURT or make your own KEFIR (get a starter at the health food store) to ensure toddlers eating healthy. Young children who are exposed to moulds and dirt have build up immunity and are healthier later in life than those in a very clean environment!

• Get OMEGA 3 fats needed for brain development, especially if not breast feeding any more. Use egg yolks and poach fish in a fry pan with a bit of water and mix small pieces with stir fried broccoli or cauliflower. Supplement with cod liver oil and vitamin D in the winter.

• SPRINKLE CHOPPED SEEDS or NUTS such as walnuts or almonds on apple sauce, yogurt, or dip apple slices or pieces of banana in sesame seeds, or chopped sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

• FAST & GOOD: Eat soft boiled egg yolk and make “finger toast” for dipping. Get toddlers eating healthy with pieces of avocado, kiwi, banana, apple, cooked beans or whole puffed rice.

• ADD SPICES and HERBS: Introduce turmeric, the yellow in curries, which is not very spicy, for flavor. Some young children love chili, so experiment. Add GARLIC and MIXED HERBS to SOUPS and sprinkle OREGANO or BASIL on SALADS, adding cucumber, kidney beans, white beans or garbanzo beans for variety.

•BE A PURE PARENT: During the early years, make your child's diet as fresh and as additive-free as possible. The fewer cans, boxes, and packages you open, the less likely your child is to be exposed to allergens. Be especially vigilant to keep FOOD COLORINGS out of your child's tummy, namely YELLOW DYE #5 and RED and BLUE dyes.

• So Easy: Award-Winning Baby Food Kit With CD, Storage Tray and Tips * Making Fresh Baby Food At Home: Cookbook and Workbook * Easy Organic Recipes To Nurture Your Baby and Toddler *

Yummy Oven Yam Fries

• 2 medium yams

• 1 ½ tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds

For the rest of the family, you can add:

• 1 clove crushed garlic,

• 1 teaspoon oregano,

• 1 teaspoon basil,

• salt to taste

Cut yams into wedges or chunks and divide in 2 sections. In a bowl combine the coconut oil and chopped pumpkin seeds, add the yams and mix by hand.

Take out enough yams for your toddler, and spread on a baking tray lightly oiled with coconut oil.

Add the herbs and garlic to the remaining yams in the bowl and combine, mixing with your hands making sure all pieces are covered with the mixture.

Spread the yams on a baking dish and bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees. If you like them crisper, add 10 minutes.

Serving suggestions for the whole family: steam broccoli, add either roasted chicken breasts or cooked lentils to make a family meal, and everyone will enjoy your toddlers eating healthy menu.

Healthy Eating Child Friendly Advice from Experts

Promoting Toddlers Eating Healthy Right From the Start Healthy eating and play for toddlers 1-2 years (gov’t Aus)) Advice on Toddlers and Fussy Eating How Can Parents Establish A Toddlers Healthy Eating Relationship? Study On Racial Differences In Pre-School Obesity

Toddlers Eating Healthy: Healthy Eating for Kids, Children Eating Healthy: Recipies

GO TO Health Discoveries HOME PAGE from Toddlers Eating Healthy