Using the Food Pyramid to Feed Your Toddler

I am always asking myself if I'm feeding Élina to much or too little...

Here is a great little article with good advice and portions for how much to feed your toddler.

Grains: (example: 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal)

Vegetables: (example: 1/2 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables)

Fruits: (example: 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge, 3/4 cup of juice, 1/2 cup of canned fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit)

Milk or Dairy (Calcium): 2 servings a day (example: 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 2 ounces of cheese)

Meats (Protein): 2 servings (example: 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish, 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of meat)

Fats & Sweets: Limit calories from these as they are "empty"calories and often times of little nutritional value. We suggest making your own "sweets" in the form of carrot cookies, trail mixes, dips made from yogurt and fruits etc. The new Food Pyramid does include "fats", some in the form of oils - such as olive oil in cooking. The "fats" limit refers to food such as doughnuts, fried foods etc.

Daily suggested foods portions:

Grains: 3 ounces

Vegetables: 1 cup

Fruits: 1 cup

Milk (Calcium): 2 cups (16 oz)

Meats (Protein): 2 ounces

Hope this article helps you as much as it has helped me.