How varied is your LO's diet?

[BtotheG]

Yep, it's another worried food thread for the toddler forum.

I feel like dd (who's 14 months) has a fairly varied diet throughout the day, but day-to-day it doesn't really change much. I worry that she needs more variation.

Here's what she normally gets in a day:

Breakfast:

- 6 oz whole milk

- Banana

- Whole grain toast with butter

Lunch:

- 6 oz whole milk

- 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt, either plan or as a smoothie with some combination of banana, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, avocado

- Whole grain pita with either cream cheese, peanut butter, or hummus

- 1/2 cup of one of the following: asparagus, broccoli, sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, or avocado

Snack:

- Usually something like cheese and apple slices, more yogurt, another banana, etc.

Dinner:

- 6 oz whole milk

- Something like homemade pizza, or pasta & veggies, or brown rice with chicken & veggies, or some kind of black beans, chili, burritos, eggs, etc. 

She has water throughout the day. I had to wean her at 12 months due to my medical issues, so she no longer gets breastmilk.

That's pretty much it, day in and day out. Same breakfast every day. Basically the same lunch, with small variations. Is this varied enough? What else do your toddlers eat throughout the day?

[RaeDyCo]

**These are meals for my 3 1/2 year old but I have followed this since he was around 1 yr old and, for the most part, is just what I am eating also.

Breakfasts:

Cereal

Toast w/ hummus, butter or avocado

Oatmeal w/ cinnamon/brown sugar

Scrambled eggs, cheese on toast

Omelet with tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, ham

Pancakes (I make a huge batch and freeze, pop in toaster) w/ blueberries.  Sometimes I put peanut butter and sliced bananas on the pancakes

I always vary the fruit served - blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pears, peaches, plums, oranges -- anything to help keep the poop moving!  I don't do bananas more often than 2X per week.

Lunches and dinner (not much difference in our house)

Often leftovers from dinners

Meatballs with mashed potatoes, rice, sweet potato fries

Stir fries -- I just save a chicken breast, piece of steak from previous night meal and cook it up with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions in a simple stir fry sauce

Pasta w/ olive oil and garlic, parm cheese

Pasta w/ tomato sauce and other veggies, mozza cheese

Sandwiches

Soups -- DS1 loves veggie soup w/ noodles, lentil soups

Falafel

Shepards pie

Chili

Lasagna

Roast chicken

Pierogies

Salmon / fish sticks (homemade, not store bought)

Burgers (chicken, turkey, gr beef, lamb)

Stews

Veggies -- will vary based on what I get in my CSA box or have at home -- peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach (often add to sauces), sweet potato, squash

Snacks:

Fruit

Cheese slices (not everyday)

Crackers

Pita chips with hummus, salsa, guacamole

Cereal

Hardboiled eggs

Muffins

Veggies & dip

[Jayray]

I have worried about this before too, but the conclusion I've come to is that the majority of the people in the world eat almost the same food every single day.  And it works out for them (you know, for the most part).  What you're feeding your LO sounds varied enough and full of good nutritious foods.  I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

My DS more or less eats what we eat now (he's 18 mo.).  He probably does get more fruit than us and fewer veggies, though.  He's a bit more picky about veg now.  And lots more milk products.  He loves them.

[Courtney-Ostaff]

My kid eats what we eat, with some exceptions. I don't let her eat the junk food I eat, and I keep my eating of it mostly out of her sight.  I graze for lunch, and fix her a plate with a starch, a fruit, a veg, and a protein (usually cheese, but not always).  

Your child's diet sounds healthy. The variation at dinner is good -- helps keep from being picky.

[crunchy_mommy]

My DS eats what I eat & it tends to vary more week to week rather than day to day. For ex., DH might make a big batch of muffins, so we'll have those for breakfast every day for a week. The next week it might be cereal w/ coconut milk or dinner leftovers for breakfast. Our dinner leftovers almost always become breakfast or lunch for the next day or two. Dinner itself does tend to vary quite a bit each day though. If we shopped more consistently then we'd probably eat more of the same thing each day but we shop only once every other week or so & live out of the pantry (dried/canned/frozen goods) for a week or two and then mostly fresh stuff when we've just shopped. Wow I'm rambling. Anyway, I'm impressed with the amounts your LO eats, DS eats less than a tenth of that!!!

[BtotheG]

Thanks everyone!

RaeDyCo  - some good ideas there for additional things to feed my dd.

Crunchymommy: Yeah, dd eats quite a bit. She is.....busy. Very, very busy. She seems to burn a lot of calories throughout the day. She's pretty thin (consistently 15th percentile for weight) which is part of what adds to my worry. 

DD does eat what we eat for dinner. But DH and I do not eat breakfast (bad, I know) and we are not really morning people, so it's a struggle to think of what to give her for breakfast. Also, DH is a rather picky eater, so we don't have the most expansive food repertoire (but he's getting better about trying new things). Plus, I WOH three days a week, so I'm always looking for good foods to give her "on the go."

But Jayray, you have a good point that has helped put my mind at ease. Throughout most of the world, and in most points in time, people did not have access to huge varieties of food, and everyone does just fine.

Anyway, thanks for sharing what your lo's eat and helping to reassure me that I'm not malnurishing my child.

[CookAMH]

We're probably not good examples because others above are more varied than we are. For months, 19mo DS has had scrambled cheese eggs (pastured) for breakfast and raw milk. I think he got tired of the eggs though, so for the last two weeks, he's had stove-cooked oatmeal which he loves. I've been having him feed himself with a spoon lately and thick oatmeal is good for that. I put an egg in it when it's almost done to get the egg in him, and I sweeten with honey or stevia, with cinnamon, salt and a little yogurt.  The main other breakfast which is sometimes his lunch is a piece of toast (usually sprouted or sourdough bread) with pastured butter then a melted slice of cheddar on it. He likes that.

I need to vary it up though because like a normal person, he gets tired of the same thing after a while.

Lunches;

black olives, until we found out they give him stool/rash issues but he LOVES them

avocado

yogurt

above toast w/ cheese

leftovers (ie sausage he dips in ketchup, soup, chicken)

apples dipped in peanut butter

pieces of cheese dipped in peanut butter

crackers or chips dipped in hummus

bits of goat cheese

cheese biscuit (homemade)

smoked salmon

The option of dipping results in him eating some things he might not otherwise, but is what is offered that day for a meal. He loves dipping in peanut butter, ketchup, sour cream, anything really.

Dinner:

what we eat except he just doesn't eat the veggies :(

raw milk, unless he hasn't much water that day

snacks:

yogurt

crackers he can carry around (kinda like ritz bits but a natural brand)

apple piece he can carry around

kefir with a little OJ

[Bebe's Mom]

My DD is fifteen months and she usually eats two or three scrambled eggs in the morning. Sometimes she also eats a waffle, I give her some OJ diluted with water. every other week or so, DH makes extra pancakes on the weekend and she eats those for breakfast or snacks during the week. Usually right out of the fridge with no toppings. (he makes them from scratch and they are really good) For lunch, I usually give her mac and cheese, or some turkey lunchmeat and cheese slices or leftovers from last night's dinner...For dinner, she eats whatever we are eating. For snacks, she loves TJ's cereal bars-fig is her fave, with apple coming in second..I also give her store brand fig newtons from Safeway, they have them in whole wheat. other snacks include cheese slices, Everything crackers from TJ's, or what ever I have lying around that I think she will eat and is not too bad for her.

She generally gets mostly water to drink, but I occasionally give her whole milk in addition to the OJ she has for breakfast. I don't really like to give her juice, but I drink it and when she sees me, she demands it too. My husband doesn't seem to like giving her milk, but he won't tell me why.

I really like the olive idea, I think I will try that.

She also nurses about 5-6 times during the day and around 2 times a night, she she is getting about half of her nutrition from BM.

She hates-tomatoes, raw fruit, mushrooms, yogurt, ham, cooked carrots. Whole wheat pasta. Green beans.

she loves - seafood such as shrimp, fish, crab. Potatoes. sauteed red pepper. meatballs in red sauce. Pancakes. Fig bars. Raisin toast. Cheese. Peas. Chocolate. ice cream.

My husband does most of the cooking and he does it from scratch, so we don't eat lots of preservatives and chemical laden stuff. Therefore, I feel ok about what she eats most of the time. I try to keep it as balanced as possible, but occasionally she eats chocolate, ice cream and cookies...I feel like if I eat it, I can't deny her the right to eat it too..But I do limit it, and I do most of my ice cream eating after she goes to bed. Speaking of which....