What to Expect the Toddler Years (173 page)
Read What to Expect the Toddler Years Online
Authors: Heidi Murkoff
The best foods remember where they came from.
The days when we ate what we (or our neighbors) grew are gone for most of us. Busy parents can barely manage to remember to buy bread, never mind find the time to bake it. Yet even in these modern times, the closer we stick to the natural food chain, the better; foods that remember their “roots” are much more likely to have retained the nutrients they had when they were harvested. That’s not to say that we must grow our own grain and mill our own flour, but that we should buy bread, rolls, and cereals that are made with whole grains rather than their refined counterparts, which have been robbed of so many of their original nutrients. Nor must we grow our own produce, but we should select fruits and vegetables that are fresh (or fresh-frozen) rather than highly processed, canned, or over-cooked. And we needn’t plant fruit trees in our backyards, but we should limit fruit that’s been cooked (losing vitamins and fiber) or even juiced (losing much or all of its fiber).
THE FROSTING ON THE FLAKES
When it comes to commercial children’s television, parents often have as much to fear from the commercials as from the programming itself. For it is through these commercials that many impressionable young minds get their first “taste” of sugar-coated cereal—a taste that usually sends them down the cereal aisle of the supermarket clamoring for the brands they saw advertised on TV.
But even those parents who try to limit their toddler’s viewing to commercial-free television or to shows with responsible sponsors may find that trip down the cereal aisle a harrowing one. After all, the nutritious, low-sugar cereals rarely catch a toddler’s attention—their low-key packaging inevitably pales beside the razzle dazzle of sugar-coated-cereal boxes, designed to draw young eyes like so many flies to honey.
Most of these “kids’” brands have anywhere from 3 to 7 teaspoons of sugar per serving, with many also containing a laboratory-list of questionable artificial colors and flavors. So, for the sake of your toddler’s health, steel yourself against the pleas for sugar-crunchies-cocoa-chunkies and honey-coated-crispies and lay down the breakfast table law: No sugary cereals allowed. Scan nutrition labels carefully (preferably on a market trip sans toddler, since label-reading takes time and concentration), and select brands that are made from whole grains and contain little or no added sugar. The Carbohydrate Information list on the side panel of the box should specify no more than 1 or 2 grams of sucrose and other sugars per serving. The exception: Cereals containing unsweetened dried fruit are okay to use, even though they contain considerably more grams of sugar; such fruits raise the sugar content of cereals dramatically but naturally. (But be sure that these cereals don’t also list other sugars, like sugar, corn syrup, fructose, and so on, as ingredients.) And don’t be taken in by health-food brands that banner their boxes with “naturally sweetened” but list honey (which is no more healthful than sugar) among their major ingredients.
Remember, it isn’t just what’s
lost
in the processing of foods (vitamins, minerals, and fiber) that poses a threat to growing children—it’s what’s
gained
in the processing (salt, sugar, chemical additives; see page 534), too.
So, when shopping for or feeding your toddler, choose foods that can remember where they came from—opt for unrefined over refined, and fresh over processed. And do as little processing in your home kitchen as possible: avoid overcooking, long periods of storage, and exposing foods unnecessarily to air, water, or heat, which all rob food of its nutrients.
Healthful eating should be a family affair.
A double dining table standard (doughnuts for you, cereal and milk for your toddler) isn’t fair and rarely works. The Toddler Diet stands the best odds of succeeding when the whole family lives by its principles. If everyone eats whole-wheat bread and unsweetened cereal, everyone opts for nutritious snacks, limits sugar intake, avoids processed foods, then eating right will become a way of family life to your toddler instead of seeming like a “special diet” foisted on him or her alone. And, of course, your toddler’s not the only one who stands to benefit when good eating becomes a family affair.
Bad habits can sabotage a good diet.
Subversive elements are everywhere—they beckon from supermarket shelves with their seductive packaging, they call out from the television screen with enticing commercials. And as your toddler begins getting out a little more—attending play dates at homes where junk food is the snack of choice, sitting next to kids at preschool whose lunch boxes flaunt white-bread sandwiches, chocolate cookies, and sugar-sweetened fruit punch, and in general seeing how the other half eats—the lure of these subversive elements will be tougher and tougher to ignore. But staying true to The Toddler Diet at home will make it easier for your toddler to stay true to it (at least most of the time) outside the home.
For now, junk food represents the biggest threat to your toddler’s diet. Down the line, there will be others. Avoid sabotaging your own diet with tobacco, drugs, and excesses of alcohol and caffeine, and your toddler will grow up not only with healthy eating habits, but healthy lifestyle habits as well—thanks to your example.
NTRODUCING THE TODDLER DIET DAILY DOZEN
Feeding a toddler can be tricky enough without turning food preparation into a laboratory procedure. That’s why The Toddler Diet Daily Dozen lists dietary requirements not in milligrams, micrograms, and international units of necessary nutrients, but in servings of everyday foods. Small servings, for small appetites. If even these small servings are too much for your toddler to handle, or if your toddler’s a grazer who prefers a bite of this and a nibble of that to a full serving of anything, mix and match partial servings to reach the quotas. And remember, too, that many foods can do double nutritional duty (that scant half cup of broccoli meets not only a green leafy vegetable requirement but nearly two vitamin C food requirements, and about a third of a serving of calcium).
VARIETY IS MORE THAN THE SPICE OF LIFE
One- and two-year-olds aren’t generally known for their daring at the dinner table (unless you count standing up in the high chair). For many toddlers, dietary variety might mean switching off between peanut butter sandwiches cut into triangles and peanut butter sandwiches cut into squares.
Still, a truly varied diet not only offers the best odds of good nutrition, but minimizes potential exposure to food hazards (both natural and of human fabrication). It also helps keep mealtime monotony from setting in. And introducing variety early on
may
help to expand a toddler’s dietary repertoire—or at least increase the possibility that, at some later date, the repertoire will expand.
You can try switching between hot and cold cereals, wheat flakes and oat circles. Top cereals with bananas one day, strawberries the next. Spread sandwich fillings on pita, bagels, or sliced bread; serve Cheddar cheese cubes, string cheese sticks, or Swiss cheese slices; hamburgers, chicken nuggets, or fish sticks. Vary the juice you send for preschool snack: orange (for vitamin C), apricot (for beta-carotene), mango and papaya (for both), apple and pear (for additional variety).
Measuring servings precisely isn’t necessary (the vitamin and mineral police won’t serve you with a summons if that serving of tomato juice is 2 ounces scant of ½ cup), but it may help to weigh and measure foods until you’ve learned to accurately eyeball an ounce of cheese, 1½ tablespoons of peanut butter, ¼ cup of mango cubes. Using measuring spoons and cups for dishing out foods for your toddler will also help you gauge how much you’re serving without a lot of extra effort.
The following “Daily Dozen” requirements should be your dietary goal for your toddler, but don’t force, bribe, cajole, or otherwise pressure your child to meet it. As long as you present the Daily Dozen daily and rarely offer empty calorie foods that are not recommended, your toddler is likely to come pretty close to getting the necessary nutrition over the span of several days.
Calories—an average of 900 to 1,700.
No need to pull out your abacus or calculator. To determine whether your toddler’s getting too many, too few, or just the right number of calories, simply keep track of his or her weight at checkup times. If it’s staying on approximately the same curve (see page 862 or 863)—allowing for a jump or dip as a thin toddler fills out or a chubby one slims down, caloric intake is on target. Just how much food your toddler will need to keep gaining at the right rate depends on his or her present size, metabolism, and level of activity. The larger number of calories in the range above, for example, would be appropriate for a very tall, active three-year-old who weighs about 37 pounds; the smaller number for a small and fairly sedentary one-year-old who weighs 19 pounds. But too few calories also can seriously compromise a toddler’s physical and intellectual growth and development (see page 513). And too many calories over the next several years could set a child up for a lifetime of weight problems (see page 510).
Protein—four toddler servings
(totaling about 25 grams). One toddler serving equals any of the following: ¾ cup milk;
¼ cup nonfat dry milk; ½ cup yogurt; 3 tablespoons cottage cheese; ¾ ounce hard cheese; 1 whole egg or 2 egg
whites; ¾ to 1 ounce fish, poultry, or meat; 2 ounces tofu; 1½ tablespoons peanut butter; 1 ounce high-protein pasta or 2 ounces whole-wheat pasta; 1 toddler vegetarian or dairy protein combination (see pages 525 and 526).
Calcium foods—four toddler servings.
One toddler serving equals any of the following:
2
/
3
cup milk;
1
/
3
cup milk enriched with
1
/
8
cup nonfat dry milk; ½ cup calcium-added milk; ½ cup yogurt; about ¾ to 1 ounce low-fat hard cheese; 1
1
/
3
ounces full-fat cheese; 4 ounces calcium-fortified orange juice. (Children under two should mostly consume full-fat dairy products; toddlers older than two should switch to mostly low-fat—1% fat, not non-fat—products. A very low-fat diet is not appropriate for any child.)
Half of a calcium serving equals: 3 ounces tofu (coagulated with calcium; check the label);
2
/
3
scant cup cooked broccoli; ½ cup cooked kale or turnip greens; 1
1
/
3
ounces canned salmon (mashed with the bones); 1 ounce sardines (mashed with bones).
Vitamin C foods—two or more toddler servings (increase to four or more when your toddler has a cold or flu).
One toddler serving equals any of the following: ½ small orange or ¼ medium grapefruit; ¼ cup fresh straw berries;
1
/
8
small cantaloupe or
1
/
12
small honeydew; ¼ cup fresh or frozen reconstituted orange juice; ¼ large guava or ¼ cup papaya;
1
/
3
large mango or ½ large plantain; ¼ cup broccoli or Brussels sprouts; ½ cup cooked kale or other leafy greens; ½ cup medium green or
1
/
6
medium red bell pepper; 1 small tomato, skinned; ¾ cup tomato juice or ½ cup sauce; ½ cup vegetable juice.
Green leafy and yellow vegetables and yellow fruits—two or more toddler servings.
One toddler serving equals any of the following: 1 medium fresh apricot or 2 small dried halves; a sliver of cantaloupe, or about ½ cup cubed;
1
/
8
large mango; 1 medium nectarine, peeled; ½ large yellow (not white) peach, peeled; ½ medium plantain; 6 asparagus spears; scant ½ cup cooked broccoli; ¾ cup peas; 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cooked greens; ¼ small carrot; ½ tablespoon unsweetened pumpkin purée; 2 tablespoons cooked mashed winter squash; 1 tablespoon cooked orange sweet potato; 1 small tomato; scant ½ cup cooked tomatoes or purée; ¾ cup vegetable juice; ¼ large red bell pepper.
Consuming large amounts of foods rich in beta-carotene can tint the skin yellow. Don’t worry, it’s just a sign you’re overdoing a good thing. But check with your doctor if your child’s skin seems to be yellow for no reason.
Other fruits and vegetables—one to two or more toddler servings.
One toddler serving equals any of the following: ½ apple, pear, white peach, or large banana; ¼ cup applesauce;
1
/
3
cup cherries, berries, or grapes; 1 large fig; 2 dates; 3 dried peach halves; 1 dried pear half; ½ slice fresh or canned pineapple; 2 table spoons raisins, currants, or dried apple rings; 2 or 3 asparagus spears; ¼ medium avocado;
3
/
8
cup green beans; ½ cup beets, eggplant, or diced turnip; ¼ cup sliced mushrooms, yellow summer squash, or zucchini; 5 okra pods;
1
/
3
cup green peas; ½ small ear of corn. (Cut corn kernels in half by slicing each row lengthwise, and peel tough-skinned fruit before serving to your toddler.)
Whole grains and other concentrated complex carbohydrates—six or more toddler servings.
One toddler serving equals any of the following: 1 tablespoon wheat germ; ½ slice whole-grain bread; ½ small (1 ounce) whole-wheat pita; ¼ whole-grain bagel or English muffin; 1 toddler serving The Toddler Diet muffin (see page 832) or other baked goods; 2 to 3 whole-wheat crackers or breadsticks (about 40 calories); ¼ cup brown or wild rice; ½ serving (see nutrition label for serving size) whole-grain breakfast cereal, unsweetened or fruit-sweetened; ½ ounce whole-wheat or high-protein pasta; ¼ cup cooked lentils, chick-peas, pinto, kidney, navy, or other beans (cooked until soft and mashed or split for a young toddler to prevent choking).
FAT SENSE
Try to vary the sources of fat in your toddler’s diet. Though some of it should come from animal sources (whole milk, cheese, meat), especially in the second year, more of it should come from vegetable oils (especially in the third year and beyond). The best oils are those that are highly monounsaturated, such as olive and canola; next best are oils high in polyunsaturates, such as soy, safflower, corn, sunflower. Fair ones are margarines high in polyunsaturates, cottonseed, and peanut oils. For toddlers who have passed their second birthday, strictly limit to no more than 10% of calories: coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils, trans fats like hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats or shortening, chicken or other poultry fat, beef or pork fat (suet or lard), and butter.
Thanks to nutrition labeling, you will be able to determine the type and number of grams of fat per serving in virtually all packaged foods you purchase. Since a toddler fat serving is about 7 grams, you can easily calculate how any item fits into your child’s fat allowance. Keep in mind that small amounts of fat in many nonfatty foods (low-fat cottage cheese, banana, beans, for example) will probably combine to make a full toddler serving each day.