Is your 12-18 month old getting enough calories???

Recently I have noticed that my 1 year old son always seems to want to eat everything.  Whenever I go into the kitchen he follows and needs to try everything I eat too.  I was worried that I was not feeding him enough so I had to double check the appropriate portion sizes for a 12 month old which I put in a nice neat table below.  Turns out that I am most likely feeding him enough (and I’m still breast feeding 4-5 times/day).  I just think he likes food!!! I know I provided the portion sizes guide in a previous post but I used a different format.  So you can use whichever one suite your needs.  I also found that it was easier to understand how much I was giving my son based on a sample menu. 

Portion Guide:

Below is a Guide for 12-18 month olds which provides about 1000 calories/day:

The best way to break up this chart is to feed your 12-18 month old 3 meals/day and 2 snacks/day

Nutrient Type	Examples
Protein (3 oz)	Beans, Fish (wild salmon, talpia),
Calcium (500 mg)	Cheese (1 oz = 200-300mg), Milk(1/2 cup=138mg), yogurt(1/2 cup = 137),
Vegetables (3/4 cup)	Carrots, squash, broccoli, green beans
Fruit (1 cup)	Banana, prunes, apple, orange, mango
Whole Grains (1/2 cup total)	Cereal, whole wheat bread (1/4 slice=1/4 cup), 3 crackers (3 small = ¼ cup)
Healthy Fats (3 tsp)	Avocado, olives, olive oil, sunflower oil

Sample Meal:

Breakfast: 1 - 2 tbsp pureed fruit; 1/4 cup Cheerios; 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

Snack: 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese; 4 wheat crackers (no trans fats); 1/2 cup whole milk or breast milk

Lunch: 1.5 ounce roasted chicken minced; 2 tbsp of brown rice and 3-4 tbsp of mixed vegetables and 1/2 tsp olive oil; 1/2 cup whole milk or breast milk; small jar of prunes

Snack: 1/2 slice whole wheat toast with 1 Tbl of hummus; 4 ounces of frozen mango chunks defrosted; 1/2 cup whole Keifer milk

Dinner: 1 Tbsp serving of olives; rinse well & chop; 1 1/2 ounce chicken thigh minced; 1 to 2 tbsp mashed sweet potato mixed with 1 tbsp of whole milk yogurt; 1 to 2 tbsp of chopped green beans; 1/2 cup whole milk or breast milk 

Quick Snack Options:

I like to offer my son a variety of quick and easy to make snack options every day so it doesn’t have to constantly eat the same snacks over and over again.  Some suggestions are

- Full fat greek yogurt with fruit bits or pureed fruit mixed in

- Full fat cottage cheese with fruit or veggie bits

- Cheese sticks

- Pita and hummus

- Tortilla’s and guacamole

- Greek grape leaves

- Hardboiled egg

- Organic wheat or barley teething biscuits

- Wheat crackers and almond/peanut butter