29.03.2024

Child menu at 2 years old

Two-year-old children are gradually introduced to adult food, but it is too early to fully switch to the general table at this age. What nutritional features of a 2-year-old child should be remembered by parents, what foods are still too early for a baby to try and what is the best way to build a menu for a child of this age?

Diet

At the age of two, children’s meals are four times a day and include breakfast and lunch, as well as afternoon tea and dinner. More frequent meals have a bad effect on appetite, and rarer ones on digestion and well-being of the baby. Breaks between meals are 3.5-4 hours.

The principles of good nutrition
  1. The ratio of proteins and fats, as well as carbohydrates in the diet of a 2-year-old child should be 1: 1: 4 or 1: 1: 3.  Proteins are the main building material for the growth of the child’s body, therefore, their diet should include sources such as dairy products, poultry, meat products, egg dishes, fish. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the children’s body. The child receives them from cereals, fruits, sugar, bread, vegetables. Fats are also needed for the energy needs of the baby’s body.
  2. A two-year-old child receives an average of 1400-1500 kcal per day.  By caloric intake, meals should be distributed as follows: 25% of calories for breakfast, 30% of calories for lunch, 15% of calories for afternoon tea and 30% for dinner.
  3. It is important to ensure an adequate supply of macro- and micronutrients, especially those that are responsible for the condition of the bones.  The child will receive calcium from cottage cheese, milk, cheese, peas, dried apricots, cabbage, prunes, oatmeal and other products.
  4. Spices and salt in the dishes of the child should be in a minimum amount.
Many mothers do not stop breastfeeding children over 2 years old
2 year old baby needs
  • Dairy products  baby should eat about 600 g per day. Kefir is recommended in an amount of up to 200 ml per day.
  • In addition to the yolk, you can start to give boiled egg protein. The norm is half the boiled egg per day.
  • Cheese is  recommended to the baby only with a small fat content and in the amount of 20 g per week.
  • Cottage cheese is  recommended at 50 g per day. It can be mixed with fruits, sour cream, sugar. You can also cook puddings, cottage cheese pancakes, dumplings from cottage cheese.
  • Meat dishes  are prepared from low-fat veal, beef and pork. Also, children are given chicken. These dishes are recommended for use in the morning, as they are digested for a long time. A sufficient amount of meat per day for a 2-year-old child is considered 50-80 g. It is permissible to include lean boiled sausage and lean boiled ham in the child’s diet. Also, in two years, you can begin to offer the child a piece of stewed meat and liver pate.
  • Several times a week, a child replaces a meat dish with a fish one.  Boil the fish, stew it, and cutlets and meatballs are also made from it. A two-year-old baby can be given a piece of herring. For a week, a child should eat up to 175 g of fish.
  • The baby should consume vegetables  up to 250 g per day, but potatoes are advised to consume up to 150 g per day. Vegetable purees can be single-component or complex. A two-year-old child can be given cabbage, beets, carrots, onions, pumpkin, eggplant, tomatoes, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, bell peppers and other vegetables.
  • Fruits and berries are  recommended in an amount of about 150-200 g per day.
  • The diet can be  pasta, as well as flour dishes.
  • The norm of bread is  considered to be 100 g per day (wheat – about 70 g, rye – about 30 g).
  • The norm of confectionery  is 10 g per day, and sugar – up to 50 g per day.
  • In addition to cereals, the child can try  cereal casseroles, as well as children’s granola. The most useful are oatmeal, buckwheat and rice porridge, as well as millet and corn. It is already possible to introduce barley porridge into the diet of a two-year-old child.
  • In vegetable dishes should be added  vegetable oil  in an amount of up to 6 g per day.
  • Butter is  advised to consume up to 16 g per day.

What fluids to give?

Water for each kilogram of weight of a 2-year-old child requires 100 ml per day.  This daily amount of water includes any liquids that the child consumes (soups, stewed fruit, milk and others). If the weather is hot, the volume of fluid should be increased. On average, a two-year-old child is advised to drink 1,500 ml of water per day.

A two-year-old child can be given weak tea, rosehip infusion, compote, cocoa, milk, fruit and vegetable juices. Juice is recommended to drink in quantities of up to 150 ml per day.

How to make a menu?
  • For breakfast, the child is given a main dish in an amount of 200 g and a drink in a volume of 100-150 ml, as well as bread with butter or cheese.
  • For lunch, it is useful for the child to eat a salad of fresh vegetables or another snack in an amount of 40 g and a first dish in a volume of 150 ml. Also, for lunch, the baby is given a meat or fish dish in an amount of 50-80 g and a side dish in an amount of 100 g. In addition, a drink is given for lunch, the volume of which will be 100 ml.
  • For an afternoon snack, the child is recommended milk or kefir in a volume of 150 ml, as well as cookies (15 g) or homemade cakes (45 g). In addition, it is worth giving fruit or berries for an afternoon snack.
  • For dinner, the child, as well as for breakfast, is given a main dish in an amount of 200 g and a drink in a volume of 150 ml.
Example menu for the week

A child of two years of age can eat for a week on approximately the following menu:

Day of the week Breakfast Dinner High tea Dinner
Monday Semolina porridge (200 g)

Tea with milk (100 ml)

Bread and Butter (30 g / 10 g)

Coleslaw with apple (40 g)

Borsch (150 ml)

Fish Steam Cutlet (60 g)

Boiled rice (100 g)

Apple juice (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Kefir (150 ml)

Cookies (15 g)

Fresh apple (50 g)

Potato Chops with Egg (200 g)

Rosehip infusion (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Tuesday Cheesecakes with sour cream (200 g)

Milk (150 ml)

Bread and Butter (30 g / 10 g)

Carrot Salad (40 g)

Soup with fish meatballs (150 ml)

Mashed potatoes (100 g)

Dried fruit compote (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Yogurt (150 ml)

Milk Cake (50 g)

Buckwheat porridge (150 g)

Liver pate (50 g)

Kissel (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Wednesday Omelet (80 g)

Cocoa with milk (150 ml)

Cheese Bread (30 g / 10 g)

Fresh Vegetable Salad (40 g)

Borsch (150 ml)

Vegetable puree (100 g)

Beef Meatballs (60 g)

Rosehip infusion (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Kefir (150 ml)

Baked Apples (60 g)

Cookies (15 g)

Rice casserole (200 g)

Tea with milk (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Thursday Oatmeal with apples (200 g)

Milk (100 ml)

Bread and Butter (30 g / 10 g)

Carrot and Apple Salad (40 g)

Pumpkin Puree Soup (150 ml)

Chicken Meatball (60 g)

Cauliflower puree (100 g)

Tomato juice (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Kefir Berry Smoothie (150 ml)

Cookies (15 g)

Steamed Vegetables (200 g)

Tea with honey (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Friday Curd casserole (200 g)

Cocoa with milk (100 ml)

Bread and Butter (30 g / 10 g)

Green peas with butter (40 g)

Homemade pickle (150 ml)

Buckwheat porridge (100 g)

Beef Stroganoff (50 g)

Stewed apples and pears (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Kissel (150 ml)

Homemade cracker (15 g)

Potato cutlets with turkey (200 g)

Kefir (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Saturday Rice milk porridge with dried apricots (200 g)

Tea with milk (150 ml)

Cheese Bread (30 g / 10 g)

Herring paste (40 g)

Beetroot soup (150 ml)

Corn porridge (100 g)

Braised rabbit (50 g)

Carrot and apple juice (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Milk (150 ml)

Cookies (15 g)

Potato and vegetable casserole (200 g)

Kefir (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

Sunday Milk Vermicelli (200 g)

Cocoa with milk (100 ml)

Bread and Butter (30 g / 10 g)

Beetroot Salad (40 g)

Beef Meatball Soup (150 ml)

Mashed potatoes and green peas (100 g)

Berries compote (100 ml)

Bread (50 g)

Kefir (150 ml)

Cookies (15 g)

Omelet (50 g)

Millet millet porridge (150 g)

Tea with milk (150 ml)

Bread (20 g)

What can not be included in the diet?

At the age of two children are not given:

  • Fried food.
  • Mayonnaise and ketchup.
  • Chocolate.
  • Dairy products with flavorings, thickeners, colorants and other additives.
  • Sausages and sausages.
  • Barley porridge.
  • Spread and margarine.
  • Duck and goose meat.
  • Smoked meats.
  • Pickled foods.
  • Mushrooms.
  • Salted fish and seafood.
  • Carbonated drinks.
  • Coffee.
What are the best ways to cook?

Food for a two-year-old child is boiled, baked, stewed, steamed. It’s too early for children of this age to try fried. At the same time, food is already crushed less often, and more often it is offered with a mashed fork and slices. Vegetables can be given both processed and raw.

Examples of healthy recipes
Beetroot Salad with Cucumber and Green Peas

Take 50 g of beets and 25 g of fresh cucumber and green peas. Boil peas and beets. Finely chop the cucumber, add the cooked peas and grated beets. Season 5 g of sunflower oil.

Apple and Prune Salad

Wash and peel the apple (70 g), grate on a coarse grater. Peel prunes (30 g) and soak briefly, then finely chop. Combine the grated apple and chopped prunes, add a teaspoon of sugar or honey.

Soup with fish meatballs and potatoes

Take 300 ml of fish broth, bring to a boil, put potatoes (50 g), carrots (15 g), onions (10 g) and parsley root (5 g) cut into small cubes into it. Cook until vegetables are cooked, then put the meatballs from the fish fillet in the soup. For them, take 60 g of fillet, half a chicken egg, 10 g of crumb of white bread and 20 ml of milk. Wait for the meatballs to pop up. Season the soup with fresh dill (3 g).

Steamed meatloaf with omelet

Prepare a cutlet mass of 100 g of meat, a quarter of a chicken egg, 30 ml of milk and 20 g of white bread. Mix the ingredients well and lay on cheesecloth soaked in cool water. You should get a layer of stuffing with a thickness of about 1.5 centimeters. Separately, prepare a steam omelet from one egg and 25 ml of milk. Put the omelet on minced meat, carefully connect the edges of the gauze to make a roll. Steam for about 30 minutes.

Millet porridge with pumpkin

Take 150 ml of milk or water, bring to a boil, add peeled and diced pumpkin (100 g) and leave to cook for 7-10 minutes. At this time, rinse several times in hot water with 30 g of millet groats. Pour it into water or milk with pumpkin, add a spoonful of sugar and cook for about 1 hour over low heat. Serve with butter.

Steam Curd Pudding with Raisins

In two servings, take 200 g of cottage cheese, grind it through a sieve, add 20 g of washed raisins. Rub the yolk of the chicken egg with 20 ml of milk and 16 g of sugar. Combine the crushed yolk with the curd mass, add 10 g of butter (you need to melt it first) and 4 teaspoons of semolina. Last enter whipped egg whites. Put the resulting mass in oiled tins. Steam for 30-40 minutes.

Possible problems

At the age of two, the child seeks independence. At this time, many babies begin to manifest a developmental crisis, which affects the nutrition sector.

What if the child does not eat the foods he needs?

Many parents worry that the child does not eat enough, in their opinion, is diverse. At the age of two, babies can eat the same dish for several days, and this is the norm. You do not need to worry if the child eats at least one product from such groups: dairy products, meat, vegetables, cereals and fruits.  For example, if the baby’s menu contains bananas, potatoes, chicken, bread and kefir, his food can be called diverse.

If the child completely refuses food, it is not necessary to insist and force. Offer your baby food at certain times (according to the established diet), avoid snacks and make sure that the food is at the right temperature and structure. The best tactic would be to constantly offer food, but the lack of access to easily digestible sweets and other foods that a child can eat between meals. When a child is hungry, he will eat what you give him.

How to understand that a lack of appetite is a symptom of a disease?

In most cases, poor appetite is not associated with diseases, but with the presence of frequent snacks and the lack of a meal regimen. Another difficulty can be caused by an excessively large portion. Seeing a large amount of food, a discouraged child will hasten to refuse food altogether. It is best to give the child food in small quantities, and when he eats everything, offer an additive.

However, a deterioration in appetite is indeed a sign of a disease, for example, digestive tract diseases or any acute infections. The idea that poor appetite is associated with the disease can be suggested by the presence of other symptoms – fever, nausea, weight loss, changes in stool, and others.

Overeating

It is important to teach a child the basics of proper nutrition from early childhood, because obesity is a very common problem in adults.  Parents should teach the baby to healthy food. There is no need to be mistaken and rejoice if the two-year-old eats large portions and has long switched to the general table. This can undermine children’s health and cause problems in the future.

Try to instill in your child healthy eating habits. It is best if the child will eat at the table with other family members.

Never use food as an incentive or promise your child something for an empty plate.

Advice
  • Try to give your child less baking, shortcrust pastries, pies, pastries and similar foods. They have a high calorie content and low content of useful nutrients. The sweets that can be given to a two-year-old baby include pastille, jam, honey, cookies, jam, waffles, jam, marmalade, marshmallows.
  • If you give your child cottage cheese, not intended for baby food, it should always undergo heat treatment.
  • Since porridge for a 2-year-old child is advised to cook semi-viscous, the fluids should be taken 4 times more than cereals. You can cook porridge both in water and in fruit or vegetable broth and in milk.
  • Do not let your child eat on the go, as this is dangerous.
  • If your child is still drinking from a bottle, at the age of two it is worth abandoning it. For kids who have not yet mastered the usual cup, buy a special (training).

Vitamins for a child from 2 years old are given by many parents.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *