Top Tips for a Healthy Toddler

• Include a wide variety of colourful fresh fruits and vegetables every day.
• Give different grains other than wheat. For example rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oats, kamut, barley, spelt and amaranth.
• Try to hide foods that are difficult to get them to eat like fish in homemade fish cakes covered in breadcrumbs.
• Always dilute fruit juice with water.
• Make you own popsicles with their favourite diluted fruit juice.
• Give unsulphured dried fruit as sweet snacks.

Strategies for Healthy Eating

• Get one good meal into your toddler every day.
• Encourage snacking every couple of hours. They need about 40kcals per inch of height. They burn calories quickly and need a constant supply of energy.
• Try to make meals and snacks varied. Different textures of foods and colours of fruits and vegetables.
• Invent and re-invent!
• Look at what they had the whole day or week for a better idea of their food intake.

Important Nutrients

• Essential fatty acids (EFA's) Omega 3 and 6
• Good bacteria – Acidophilus
• B vitamins, Vitamin C and the mineral zinc