Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day, and with that comes pressure for parents and carers to get it right first thing in the morning. Toddlers have high energy and nutrient needs and so their breakfast should set their day off right, keeping their mood and energy up throughout the morning.
So, it’s important for toddlers to eat breakfast every day, but what they eat in the morning matters too. However, it can be difficult to work out which foods to feed a toddler, how often and how much of each food group to feed them to ensure they have a healthy and balanced diet.
The Infant & Toddler Forum has put together some practical tips, things to avoid and some recipes to make breakfast time that bit less stressful.
Breakfast tips for a balanced, healthy diet:
- Don’t try to cram in every nutrient – you should offer nutritious foods from a variety of food groups, but you don’t need to ensure a toddler eats every nutrient at breakfast. Consider dietary balance across multiple meals during the day or even week.
- Avoid sugary foods – There is no need to cut out all foods which contain sugar from toddlers’ diet, but some foods are so high in sugar that they should be limited to either once per day or per week. It’s best to limit cakes, biscuits and sweet spreads, such as jam or honey to one item per day at the most and try to avoid breakfast cereals with more than 5g of sugar per 100g.
- Try serving fruits – Fruit is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre which can contribute to a toddler’s healthy diet. Breakfast is a great opportunity to get some fruit in a toddler’s daily diet, and for them to learn that fruit and veg is a normal part of every meal.
- Include milks – Milk is a great source of calcium and iodine for toddlers. You can include with cereal or in a beaker or cup with breakfast. For plant-based diets, milk alternatives fortified with iodine and calcium are a good alternative!
- Variety is key – Try combining foods from different food groups and textures to give variety. For example, grains and cereals can be combined with fruit or seeds or toast can be cut into fun shapes and sizes to make it look more interesting. This variety helps toddlers enjoy their meals!
- Keep portion sizes in mind – Did you know that the majority of parents normally offer portions to pre-schoolers which are larger than the recommended size?
Meal planning doesn't have to be stressful
Menu planning and preparation for toddlers doesn’t have to be complicated with lots of ingredients - it can be easy, accessible, cheap and uncomplicated to prepare. Our Toddler Menu Planner is a simple, visual guide to get the balance right every day: which foods, how often and how much?
1) Boiled egg and toast fingers with grapesThis meal uses four ingredients to provide a balance of; a protein & iron rich food (egg), with an energy providing carbohydrate rich food (toast with butter/spread) and a portion of fruit (grapes). The vitamin C from the grapes will also support with iron absorption.
Remember to cut the toast into toddler-sized fingers, and chop your grapes in halves or quarters!
2) Porridge and blueberries with milk
This meal contains just three ingredients providing a simple and quick meal option, with a dairy source (milk), vitamin C and K (blueberries) and a great source of carbohydrate and fibre (porridge).
3) Toast with peanut butter and raspberries Another quick and easy option which provides a balance of protein and good fats (peanut butter) to help meet a toddler’s energy needs, starchy carbohydrate rich food (toast) and a good source of vitamin C (raspberries). You can swap out the peanut butter for your preferred alternative and change out the raspberries for a toddler’s preferred fruit!
Fussy eatersFeeding toddlers can be difficult, particularly fussy eaters! Try to have a handful of regular breakfasts that they see frequently so that they become used to the routine and are familiar with a wider range of foods, but always offer one of the foods you know they like. Fussy eating will usually resolve in time and is a normal part of development.