If you would like some motivation to help you cook healthy and attractive food for your kids, try these meal ideas. Though they are not suitable as first foods, they are ideal once your baby starts eating a good range of solid foods. When preparing food for toddlers, don’t add sugar or salt (including stock cubes and gravy) to the food or the cooking water.

breakfast FOODS for TODDLERS

1. Unsweetened porridge or lower-sugar cereal mixed with milk and topped with fruits.
2. Whole-wheat biscuit cereal with milk and fruit.
3. Low-sugar breakfast cereal and unsweetened stewed apple with plain, unsweetened yogurt.
4. Toast fingers with mashed banana and smooth spread (preferably unsalted and no added sugar varieties)
5. Boiled egg with toast fingers and slices of tomato, banana, or ripe peach.
6. Toast or muffin fingers with tomato slices.

LUNCH FOODS FOR TODDLERS

1. Rice with lamb curry
2. Cauliflower cheese with cooked pasta 
3. Baked beans with toast whole wheat bread 
4. Scrambled eggs with toast, chapati, or pita bread served with vegetable finger foods
5. Cottage cheese dip with pita bread, cucumber, and carrot sticks

DINNER FOODS FOR TODDLERS

1. Mashed potato with chickpeas and cauliflower
2. Shepherd’s pie with green vegetables
3. Rice with mashed peas and courgette sticks
4. Diced chicken and vegetable casserole with potato 
5. Slices of canned salmon with couscous and peas
6. Fish poached in milk with broccoli and carrots

There you have it. The write-up above covers certain foods for different times of the day that will surely nourish your little ones. 

FINGER FOODS FOR TODDLERS

In addition to that, you can put finger foods in place to act as snacks. Finger foods refer to foods that toddlers, children, and adults can take without silverware. The list below comprises finger foods for babies;

1. Softly cooked vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, parsnip, and sweet potato
2. Carrot sticks and avocado
3. Fresh fruits, banana, ripe peeled pear or peach
4. Toast, pita fingers
5. Rice or corn cakes
6. Boneless strips of meat
7. Full fat cheesy toast fingers and cucumber
8. Hard-boiled eggs
9. Omelet fingers 

SNACKS FOR TODDLERS

It’s normal for toddlers to feel hungry between meals, but we must be very cautious of what we feed them in such cases. Most snacks are mostly filled with refined sugar, enhanced sweeteners, and refined flour, leading to something fatal if not cautioned. For newborns, healthy snacks, mostly with vegetables, should be encouraged. Example of such snacks are listed below;

1. Broccoli florets, carrot sticks, or cucumber sticks
2. Fruit slices like apple, banana, or soft, ripe peeled pear or peach
3. Greek yogurt
4. Pita or chapati fingers
5. Unsalted and unsweetened corn cakes
6. Cheese balls or cubes

Getting children to eat fruit and vegetables can be very hard and tedious. All it takes is patience. You can try incorporating small quantities of vegetables into their meals and offer them fresh fruits for snacks. After a few trials, they’ll get used to it. 

DRINKS FOR TODDLERS

For the first six months, breast milk and first infant formula should still be a baby’s main drink. Whole milk should be used in cooking or mixed with food from around six months but should not be given as a drink until they’re about 12 months old. Milk should tend to children for about two years since it contains all the nutrients and additional energy to aid and speed up their growth. Skimmed and 1% milk aren’t suitable for youngsters under five years old, as they contain fewer calories than their body needs.

Sugary drinks, fizzy drinks, and store-bought fruit juices are high in refined sugar and additional sweeteners. Toddlers shouldn’t be taking these drinks as it is one of the leading causes of high blood sugar, tooth decay, and cavity amongst young ones. You can easily substitute these with homemade fruit juices, where you can monitor the ingredients used. 

Parents should strictly monitor their kids’ diet, and with the help of this article, their diet is under control. Always go for organic and natural foods rather than packaged and store-bought foods for your young kids.