Toddler Food List

WHOLESOME BABY FOOD

About this time, in addition to having a smaller appetite than formerly, your baby's food likes may become unpredictable. A food that's a favorite one week may be rejected the following week. And he may go all out for a certain food for days at a time, never seeming to get enough of it and not wanting much else. Then when his craving for that particular food has been satisfied, he'll lose interest in it for a while.

He may go from one such food binge to another. And in the meantime, you're worrying, because all the books say he should be eating a balanced diet and you're sure he's not.

Dr. Clara M. Davis took children so young they could just finger-feed themselves and set several dishes of wholesome foods before them. After a few tentative tastes, the babies frequently selected one food, ate the entire serving, and signified they wanted more of it—ignoring the other foods on their tray. At every meal, they were permitted to eat as much to they wanted of any one food.

But over her period of observation, Doctor Davis found, that the children's preferences included all the elements needed. And, what's more, they gained and developed as will as children eating so-called "balanced" meals.

It's your job to put a variety of wholesome foods (no sweets) before your child at each meal. If a certain meat, fruit, or vegetable that he craves at the time is included in the meal, that's probably all he'll eat, but, as his food likes change he'll gradually take a little of another food, until he completely switches to another favorite.

If he loses weight or fails to gain over a reasonable period of time, it's a case for your doctor. Nagging or threatening in order to get him to eat a little bit or the same amount of everything won't help. You'll create feeding problems that will last for years.

THE MAJOR FOOD GROUPS

A balanced diet of the four major food groups—proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals—is important for your child's health and a strong body.

Protein foods (lean meat, skim milk, eggs, cottage the cheese) are body builders. Their primary purpose is to build new body cells and tissues, or rebuild and repair worn-out injured tissue. Nature converts any moderate excess protein intake to carbohydrates. There is, however, no way the body can make up for too little protein.

Fats (cream, whole milk, fatty meats, nuts—as in peanut butter, butter, cooking oils, and shortening) store up energy in young bodies. This stored-up energy is drawn upon during periods of illness or extreme hunger. An excess of fats in diet leads to overweight.

Carbohydrates (breads, sugar, cake, crackers, cereals, vet tables, milk—a small percent) are energy foods. They are the body as gasoline is to an engine. If eaten in excess, car hydrates are converted to fat and stored.

TODDLER FOOD LIST

So far, the range of foods been rather limited, and confined mostly to foods that the majority of children naturally seem to like.
 

But now the range of food you can offer widens out. Here's the list of foods you can give your youngster after he's 1 year old. It will probably he some time, though, before he develops a taste for strong-flavored foods such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and cauliflower.

Suitable foods for a 1-year- to 18-month-old child:

Dairy products and eggs
 

Milk	Eggs
Cream	Cottage cheese
Butter	Cream cheese
Buttermilk

Vegetables - chopped or mashed
 
 

Carrots	Lima beans
String beans	Squash
Green peas	Beets
Tomatoes	Parsnips
Asparagus	Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower	Broccoli
Stewed celery	Swiss chard
Cabbage	Lettuce
Turnips	Onions
Spinach	Sweet potatoes

Meats—ground, chopped, or diced

 

Hamburger	Liver (chicken, calf, beef, or pig)
Chicken	Fish—white, nonoily, all bones removed
Turkey	Any of the meats and soups commercially prepared for babies
Lamb chop	Soft luncheon meats
Roast pork	Skinned hot dogs
Crisp bacon
Beef broth
Roast beef
Roast lamb
Meat loaf (if lightly seasoned)

All meats should be lean and well-cooked.

Fruits
 

Orange juice	Stewed peaches
Grapefruit juice	Stewed pears
Orange (sliced)	Stewed apricots
Ripe apple (peeled, chunks)	Stewed plums
Applesauce	Stewed prunes
Baked apple	Cooked raisins (seedless)
Ripe banana	Baked banana

Stewed fruits should be mashed, the skins chopped particles, all stones removed.
 

Cereals
 

All cooked, canned, or specially prepared infants' varieties
 

Miscellaneous
 

White potatoes	Sponge cake
Macaroni	Jelly
spaghetti	Custard
Whole-wheat bread	Rennet custard
Whole-wheat muffins	Rennet custard dessert
Corn bread	Unflavored gelatin
Crackers	Cornstarch pudding
Graham crackers	Tapioca pudding
Zwieback	Rice pudding
Arrowroot cookies	Prune whip
Plain cookies

It looks as though he's practically grown up, doesn't it? This list doesn't mean that you must start now, this minute, giving your youngster all the foods mentioned. But sometime during the next 6 to 12 months, give him a chance to taste and to like each one.
 

HOW TO COOK VEGETABLES FOR SMALL CHILDREN

Vegetables are often the least-liked foods. The following cooking hints have proved helpful to mothers of small children.
 

Little ones don't like strong tastes, and they do like crispness and color. They require only about half as much sugar or salt as adults, and should not have spices or strong seasonings. To have your youngster like the new vegetable you're cooking, use half as much salt as for your own taste and just enough water to keep the vegetable from burning. Cook it fast, and just long enough to be tender and yet to retain some crispness. Make sure your saucepan is tightly covered.
 

Many youngsters like certain vegetables raw better than cooked. After your child gets to be about 2 years old, you can cater liberally to this fancy. At present, however, there's danger of his choking on food chunks.

Back to 12 month old baby