If you’ve had the luxury of making meals for a toddler you’ll quickly appreciate the one constant that comes from creating a toddler feeding routine. Here’s a look at what my toddler eats in a day- from breakfast to dinner and snacks included!
The biggest difference I’ve noticed between feeding a baby and feeding a toddler is that my toddlers thrive off of a schedule— well, and feeding toddlers is REALLY stressful. And that goes beyond mealtime too- they do well with a schedule for activities and sleep. But really, so does Mom, so that shouldn’t surprise me that they are following in my footsteps. So what does a day in the life of feeding my toddlers look like? Here you have it! Hopefully Joey and Anthony’s toddler feeding schedule provides you with some ideas for structure. And please note, this isn’t precise and everyday changes depending on moods, sickness, and lack of sleep! Mom’s lack of sleep that is…. and other days we’ve been known to eat almost the same thing at every meal and Mom has finished everyone’s fruit and veggies on their plates. But for the most part, I TRY to offer meals and snacks with these components in mind:
Nutrition NOTES: I have to throw this in somewhere and right here seems like a good spot.
FOOD GROUPS: Fruit, Vegetable, Protein, Dairy, Whole Grains
3 MEALS DAILY: So at each MEAL, I try to always include 3-4 food groups:
You might like: 50+ Toddler Meal Ideas I’ve rounded-up!
2 SNACKS DAILY: For each SNACK, I always try to include 1-2 food groups:
You might like: 25 Toddler Snack Ideas
While I think there is a time and place to consider portion sizes [i.e. when they are offered a piece of cake at a birthday party], I’m not one for sitting and measuring out their food. Or do I necessarily keep track of things like, “today Joey must have 5 servings of fruit and vegetables.” I try to keep my nutrition notes shown above in mind with every meal and snack, and I also rely on their little tummies to tell themselves and ME when enough is enough. Easier said than done when presented with that piece of cake… but that’s why I’m not baking everyday!
If you’d like more info about exact portion sizes for toddlers and small children, I’d suggest this resource from HealthyChildren.org. Or visit ChooseMyPlate.gov to see how much the whole family should be eating. And for a list of my favorite foods to prep each weekly, check out this post on the healthiest foods to prep ahead!
Breakfast: 7:30-8:30am
It’s smoothie time! These boys love smoothies! Ted and the crew make a smoothie every morning before Ted goes to work (usually with spinach, avocado, fruit, milk, or yogurt). I usually sit back with a cup of coffee and watch their bonding over smoothies— NOT! I’m racing around folding laundry, showering before Dad leaves, or making them part 2 of their breakfast. Along with a smoothie, I’ll offer them a whole grain option, such as an oatmeal breakfast cookie, a piece of peanut butter toast, or a simple blender pancake topped with peanut butter or Greek yogurt. This ensures they are getting a good mix of fruit, vegetables, protein, and whole grains to start their day! Check out my recipe index for more of our toddler-favorite breakfast recipes.
Mid-Morning Snack: 9:30-10:30am
I think Joey and Anthony could live happily off of whole cow’s milk and all other dairy products. We are a Midwestern family after all! Their morning snack usually includes some type of dairy product— milk, cottage cheese, or yogurt. Mix that with a bite or two of Mom’s apple, a homemade muffin, or granola bar, and that holds them over until lunch. If we are out and about, then I’m sure to pack fruit and veggie squeeze packs, homemade trail mix, beef jerky, or more granola bars! Sometimes I’ll also have their leftover smoothie from breakfast as their mid-morning snack.
Lunch: 11:30-12:00pm
Lunch is usually “everything but the kitchen sink” for my guys. As much as I like to plan ahead, we are either on the go or running in the front door around lunchtime. They always have some type of fruit (clementines and watermelon are hit on the list right now) served with fresh or roasted veggies [I roast the veggies on the weekend to use all week]. Veggies of choice lately are red bell peppers. Yep. That’s it. Red bell peppers. OH and over-cooked broccoli. They chow that…. Along with the fruit and veggie, we have grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, lunchmeat quesadillas, or anything between two slices of bread with cheese. You catch the theme here, right?! They’ve also been loving Applegate beef hot dogs and Al Fresco Chicken Sausages.
The afternoon snack is less messy [meaning Mom doesn’t want to clean a yogurt mess]. So we’ll do string cheese with Wheat Thins, trail mix, dried cereal with dried fruit, half a peanut butter sandwich, etc. etc. I rounded up a list of my favorite toddler’s snack for my friend Lindsay over on her blog last year. There’s not much changing in toddler food preferences… so the snack list lives on at the Serbinski’s!
Dinner: 5:30-6:30pm
Dinner. Oh dinner. The dreaded mealtime with toddlers. I’ve drawn a hard line with this one and the whole family eats what Mom cooks. So that means they are FORCED fed dinner. NOT. They are just given what Mom and Dad eat—> here’s a look at our favorite dinner recipes. If there’s a toddler protest [which has been known to happen multiple times a week] I make sure I always have something they like on the table— and some nights that’s rolls. I also offer ONE thing that’s not on the table as a backup. And I try to make it as bland as possible… like plain cottage cheese! No bells and whistles there. But it’s nutritious and a good backup!
So there you have it. As you can see, our day revolves around food. Heck, I could write a whole post on what my toddler eats in a day so that only means one thing: toddlers are food obsessed! While a lot depends on what’s in season, my toddlers mood and appetite [not they don’t eat as much when growth isn’t as fast or they are sick/teething], I’d say this is a pretty decent snapshot of what the Serbinski toddlers enjoy day in and day out! Now who wants to help me with dishes?! Speaking of dishes, our favorite plates from Re-Play Recycled can be found and purchased here [affiliate link]
Great ideas Katie! I love the pictures, especially the ones with little hands.?
Thanks Katie! I have a 18-month-old and it’s good to know what other mom’s feed their little ones. Any idea how to tell when your little one is ready for raw veggies instead of cooked? Mine can eat small pieces of raw cucumber, but other than that, I’m a little scared to give him something that may be a choking hazard. Any thoughts?
Great question Tina! Honestly, I found that strips of raw veg work better than little chunks. The boys can easily pick up and bite off a piece. We have yet to do raw carrot but things that are easier to chew like cucumber bell peppers and tomatoes we’ve done raw— and my oldest got the hang of it around 2. Little bro just chews and spits out lol. The rest of the veg I either cook until soft or mushy…. As delicious as that sounds 😉
Hi Katie! Thanks so much for all ideas AND great pics!! I’m def a visual gal n the pics r so great to see how the whole meal comes together. My daughter is 13 months n is just now really getting into eating and trying all solid foods. So I just love all the different meal ideas to keep our menu from getting too “routine ” n also making sure I’m introducing new foods all the time for her. Do you give a smoothie to your youngest as his whole meal? And do you ever use pumpkin (purée) in the smoothies or with cottage cheese? My daughters dr recommended it n she looooves it with cottage cheese and it’s another fruit wit so many great nutrients for them! Jus thought I’d share 😉 thanks again!!
I love the pumpkin purée suggestion Ali!!! Such a genius way to get more nutrients and canned pumpkin is such a pantry staple. When the little guy eats a smoothie it’s usually that and maybe a few bites of toast. Some days he will eat a whole piece! His appetite changes daily lol. I just try to follow his cues… And end up eating leftovers. Anything else you’d find helpful I can chat about on here?!
I LOVE these ideas. Also makes me feel better about the amount of dairy options (usually yogurt and cheese) I offer my toddler. Fellow Midwest family here! I had no idea you could get Chobani in pouches like that. Mind sharing where you found them?
Hi Mandy!! I actually received them from Chobani to try but I know you can find them at Meijer or Kroger— I’d also check the Chobani website I think they have a store locator!! Thanks for the note 🙂
I’ve seen the Chobani yogurt pouches at Walmart! They come in “big kid” and “younger kid” sizes and have a picture of a cartoon character on the front that my 2-year old son always notices!
I love the size options too!
Just stumbled across your blog. Love love love! I can certainly appreciate your perspective on nutrition being an RD (like myself) rather than some of these other people who think they are “experts”. Ha- we know better than that! I’m always up for new ideas for my tot, so thanks for sharing!
I love your blog/site…found on pintrest…refer to it alot. I have 17 mo twins! ! They can’t chew alot right now. But love getting new ideas for things to try with them. I also like that you are a dietician. . I was once upon a time.
Great article Katie! My son is almost 16 months (14.5 adjusted) and loves to eat! We are still working on pacing when eating or he would for example, put a handful of baby goldfish in his mouth at once! When does it “get better” when it comes to him pacing? Also, same goes with biting off a piece of food. Except for Mum-Mums, he tries to shove the entire piece in. I go back to one small piece at a time on his plate (btw, Re-Play plates & bowls are awesome! Saw you liked them too). Thanks for any advice!
Hi! This is a fun article! I’m constantly obsessed with what my two year old is eating and I never feel like she eats enough. She takes a bite of each thing then is done. This evening she didn’t want anything on her plate for dinner so I made her a smoothie which she had a few sips of. I don’t want to force feed her or bribe her to eat but sometimes I feel like she’s barely had anything! It’s nice to see the yummy food you make and gave me some ideas to try. Thanks!
I absolutely love your post. It’s practical, humorous, and so true. I have two-year old twin daughters and constantly worry about what and how much I feed them. Your post was very encouraging. I have also found that my family & I make healthier choices (and stay a little bit more sane) when I prep the fruits & veggies ahead of time. So worth it.
Hi Amy!! Thank you for sharing! I just take comfort in knowing I’m not alone in feeding these crazy kids. Hope you keep finding things you like here!
A couple of other things: when my daughters went through a phase of eating almost nothing I started cutting their favorite cheese toast, apples, and turkey slices with different shape cookie cutters. It piqued their interest again and they gobbled it up. Also discovered they love soup and splashing garbanzo beans (dinosaurs) and quinoa spiral pasta (lions) in the soup. Messy but if they’ll eat it it’s worth it.
That’s an awesome idea!! Thanks Amy! The boys would devour the dinosaur reference ?
Where did you get those plates 🙂
They are from a brand called RePlay Recycled!
Thank you!!
WOW! Isn’t it amazing how we still get out to get errands done and do the whole mom thing at the same time? I need to prep more. These healthy options are great for my kiddos!
We rock most days don’t we?!?
Hi I enjoyed your post very much & it was extremely helpful. I have a question I hope you can help me with, my sister and my 13 month old niece are vegetarians. My niece is a great eater not picky, loves cheese, most vegetables, and fruits, I was wondering if it’s too early to offer her a smoothie? She is drinking from a sippy cup now, and from time to time still using a bottle. So my question for you is if first A: would yogurt be to soon to introduce to her system without causing diarrhea? And B: within moderation and given her age is it good to start giving her? I want to Thank You so very much for taking the time to read my questions, its most appreciated!