Healthy Meal Ideas for 1 Year Olds

For every mom, it requires a lot of effort to feed healthy foods to babies and toddlers. If you have a 1 year old kid at home, then you might be acquainted with the way your baby eats meals. With kids, you need to be more patient and follow certain tips to feed them.

For example, toddlers are very reluctant to eat alone. Hence, make sure that you eat meals together with your kid. They are very picky and usually, don't eat much. When we say healthy meal ideas, they include a list of fresh fruits and vegetables with a minimum serving of fat and refined sugars.

While planning these meals, always try to incorporate the four basic food groups, namely, milk or alternatives, vegetables and fruits, grain food products, and meat or alternatives. While preparing snacks, you can include 2 food groups at a time. If you plan meals and snacks this way, you will succeed in feeding healthy food with the necessary nutrients.

As far as the eating routine is concerned, feed 3 meals a day with 1-3 servings of snacks. This will help in meeting the high energy requirements for the proper growth of your baby.

Breakfast is considered as the most important meal of the day. Start your baby's day with a tempting and healthy breakfast. Some of the recipes that you can include in the breakfast are milk, whole milk with oatmeal, yogurt, bean soup, scrambled eggs, bread, cheese, macaroni, whole-grain cereals, waffles, soft fruit pieces, and boiled or grated carrots.

For serving lunch, you can consider adding solid foods containing rice and bread along with vegetables and meat. Soft rice with meat pieces, fish stuffed in a sandwich and fish sticks are some nutritious ideas for lunch. Do not forget to feed your child with pieces of apple, banana, melon, pear, berries, etc., after removing the skin and seeds.

Healthy meal ideas for 1 year old baby for dinner, include meatballs with pasta, chicken pieces with vegetables, baked beans, soft cooked vegetables in dip sauce, ground meat, fruits pieces, soups, fish, and lean meat dishes. While serving, make sure that the meats, vegetables, and fruits are cut into small pieces, so as to prevent choking.

Offering healthy snacks is necessary to provide the midday energy requirements. While offering snacks, you can incorporate dairy products, flavored yogurt, fruit pudding, mashed fruit, pancakes topped with applesauce, grapes cut into pieces, tomato juice and mixed vegetable juice. Allow your child to feed on his own and do not force him to eat foods.

To avoid dehydration, water, juice, soup and other liquid diets should be added during meals and snacks. Be a little creative while planning the healthy meals, so that your kid can enjoy eating them.

For picky eaters, try to make a note of the food that he likes the most. Plan healthy substitutes that taste similar to his favorite dishes. With these ideas, you will succeed in helping your toddler eat well and remain fit.