outline for toddler/preschool nutrition?

[Cullens_Girl]

My 2 y.o. I would probably lump into the preschool category because he's the size of a 3-4 year old... but I digress.

I need a good basic outline so I can make up a checklist for my kids to be sure they're getting the right amounts of food. My 5 y.o. doesn't eat enough and my 2 y.o. eats too much of the wrong stuff. I looked up the the current USDA food pyramid and it doesn't seem like enough??

Both my kids are very active but have very different appetites and metabolisms so I know that I'll have to modify the lists based on their needs, but I need a good starting point.

Thanks!

[crimsonclover]

Have you looked at wholesometoddlerfood.com? They have nutritional guidelines on there.

I don't know what the food pyramid says, but the nutritional pamphlet (for 18mo-3yo) I got from my insurance co says:
veggies - 3-5 servings per day (a serving is 1/8 cup - 1/4 cup)
fruit - 2-4 (1/8-1/4 cup fresh, 1/8 cup dried)
dairy - 4-6 (1/2 cup milk or yogurt, 3/4 ounce of cheese)
protein - 4-6 (1/2-1 egg, 1-2T peanut butter, 1/4 cooked tofu, 1 oz meat, poultry or fish, 1/4-1/2 cup cooked beans or lentils)
grains - 6-11 (1/2 slice of bread, 1/4 cup cooked rice or pasta, 1/4 cup dry cereal)

HTH!

[Becken]

This helped me a lot.

And here you can do all kinds of different searches to see what foods are most nutritious, etc.