Healthy diet for a 2 year old?
Answers:
My son (just over 2) is a great eater, luckily, and loves healthy foods. He loves eggs, yogurt, soy milk, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, low-sugar oatmeal, low-sugar cereals, apples, peas & carrots (always together though, not separately), green beans, turkey meatballs, turkey hot dogs, hummus, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, veggie burgers, cheese....a good way to get lots of veggies in is via vegetable soup, veggie chili, or a light version of chicken pot pie (find a recipe in Cooking Light). My son also likes turkey chili. Oh, and he loves quesadillas made with whole wheat tortillas, black beans (super good for you), and tomatoes. And sweet potatoes are his FAVORITE food in the world. He'll eat those day and night. A baked sweet potato is extremely healthy, easy to make ahead, and easy for him to eat.
Some healthy prepared things you can buy that we use are Bell & Evans chicken chunks (all white meat, no hydrogentated oils), Broccoli Munchees (my son DEVOURS these), meatless meatballs -- either soy or mushroom -- and canned turkey chili by Shelton's. Actually, most of the things I listed above are quick and easy, and many are canned or frozen. My husband and I both work, so I don't have much time to get dinner on the table for my son when I get home from work.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Fun stuff!
We used to like to make bunny faces (because my baby was obsessed with bunnies.) He would eat anything bunny shaped. Chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, tomatoes.
Tomatoes are still his favorite because he always loved the bunny shapes...
-Mashed peas
-Mashed carrots
-Steamed zucchini with butter
-Mashed rice
-Whole-grain toast with peanut butter and 100% fruit jam
-Corn cut from cob with butter
-Mashed potatoes
-Broiled pork cut into small pieces
Avoid sugar, juices, heavy fats, and pre-packaged foods.
Kids often don't chew well, so will get more nutrition from foods that are soft and don't need much chewing.
My daughter is 2 now. SHe loves cooked veggies... any kind!! She also loves lots of fruit and yogurt. I try not to give her a lot of junk... and I only give her 2 snacks, so that she will eat the actual meals.
She hates meat... unless its chicken.
I like to let my daugher help cook.. so she is more interested in eating. For example, I let her sprinkle seasoning onto the food, or I let her pour a package of whatever (pasta/muffin mix) into the bowl. When she participates she is more excited to eat the result.
Try to give small portions of each food group at each meal. A little meat or other protein, a little veggie and some fruit. My daughter loves when I tell her stories about the food. I make stuff up in funny voices to get her interested and she'll eat almost anything.
The other thing that will get her to eat anything is if I tell her NOT to... I'll say dont eat it, no, that's my bite (and she can;t seem to steal "my" bite fast enough!!
My son has been a handful about eating. I just make sure that the only things in the house are reasonably healthy ones and largely just let him eat what he likes. Fighting about food just entertains children and destroys parents. And I think you should let them have healthy versions of junk food every now and then so they don't discover it later and go berserk on it. Things like low-fat burgers, quality dairy ice-creams, and plain unsalted potato chips are fine when your child is a bit older so long as you offer them a wide range of fruit, vegies - make fresh vegie juice with a cafe-style juicer if you have to - and all the other stuff.
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