Hellobee

This is such an awesome little chart! I especially love having all of the conversions in one place.

My lo is 12 months and eats SUPER small volumes. I’m lucky to get more than 2 ounces total in him. It’s like 5 spoonfuls of yogurt, 2 strips of PB toast, 8 peas, 2 bites of shredded chicken. But we’re trying!

@Mrs Green Grass: Thanks!

LL is almost 11 months, and he eats even less than that! Keep in mind these amounts are for a 2 year old…so it is going to take a while before they get to where they want/need that much to eat I am more interested in the balance! And having the equivalents handy is great. I had no idea 2 cups of cottage cheese is equal to one cup of dairy. Seriously? Who knew?

I’ve been looking for something like this, thank you!

THANK YOU! for some reason, serving size has been freaking me out as DD turned 1. my ped recommended that you try to get proper nutrition over the week, rather than worry about it being well-rounded daily! that really helped me worry less if some days she isn’t getting enough protein, etc.

This is great! We don’t do dairy with her MSPI so that’s limiting sometimes.

I’d add something as far as healthy fats – nut butters, avacado, veggies roasted in olive oil, coconut…all yummy!

Anyone know if something like this exists for under 1 year olds amd up to toddler? My LO is 8 months and tiny (5th % for weight) but eats solids (pureed for now) in pretty sizeable amounts and I think could even take more but I haven’t found any guidelines for her age.

love this chart! Wish I had such a concise overview in our early toddler days…

@birdofafeather: I’ve read research showing that if toddlers are given free access to each food group and not limited/forced one way or the other, looking at their intake over an entire week shows a balanced diet I try to remember that when LO only eats beef for dinner, or only eats pears the next day!

Oh thank you, thank you, thank you for this! I have been freaking out about what D is eating, worrying that I’m not giving him enough or that he’s not getting well-rounded meals. This will really help to ease my anxiety. Perfect timing!

@birdofafeather: I JUST read that today, and that also helped ease my mind a little. Phew!

@Mrs. Lion: darn! LO loves cottage cheese! There are plenty of meals that are only a few bites of anything…we should compare notes. (LO is 12 months.)

Great chart. I love how you condensed it in to one sheet.

Luckily both my kids have been eaters. But there are definitely days when it’s lots of fruit or lots of cheese. As a couple people mentioned – don’t stress too much – consider their intake over a week.

@anna: Don’t worry. My son was between 3% and 10% his whole first year. At 3.5 he’s in 90% for height and weight. And even at 3% he was eating more food than anyone in his daycare – just metabolized it well I guess.

My fear some days is that I let my kids eat too much. My 18 month old asks for food from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed. If she sees food – she wants it.

My LO is just over fifteen months and it’s really only since Christmas that Miss A has started eating any great quantity of solids. She eats a wide variety of table foods but always been a real booby baby and is still feeding 6-10 times a day.

I read somewhere that it’s our job as parents to provide the food but it’s up to our LO’s to decide how much they need to eat which I thought was a neat and sensible way to think of it!

Another thought for those that are extended bf’ing, Kellymom recommends a ratio of 75% breastmilk to 25% solids at twelve months, 50:50 at eighteen months and 25:75 at two years.

I love this! Thank you so much for the great chart and reference tool. I have a big eater but only foods she likes…. veggies are a HUGE challenge but she will eat fruit and grains all day long if I let her!!!

@Kemma: Those ratios are interesting..less solids than I would have guessed!

We don’t follow anything like this. I just go with what she will eat. I want to just provide food and let her eat what she will, and I know she won’t starve herself long term, but she only gained 3 oz in 3 months at her last appointment. The doctor said it was ok because she had started walking and what not..but I just don’t want a repeat of that.

@Mrs. Lion: Do you know what nutrition they are supposed to be getting out of the “dairy” aspect of this? Xander’s allergic to dairy and I’m just wondering if the same amount of milk alternatives will meet the “dairy” needs or if I need to incorporate other items as well?

@Adira: Calcium and Vitamin D are the big ones, and would need to be supplemented elsewhere. It also is high in protein and fat, which are both important for babies but could easily be increased in other food groups.

I did a quick google search and found this article about finding calcium and vitamin D from other sources http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-nutrition/calcium-for-toddlers.aspx

Just an FYI – I have done a lot of reading about this and have heard really bad (scary even) stuff about soy. It is estrogenic and lots of experts are concerned that it messes with the endocrine system, especially in very young kids. It is also a very heavily sprayed crop. Coconut milk is a better option and is fortified with vitamin d and calcium (although you would have to compare amounts…I am not sure that it contains as much as cows milk). http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-nutrition/calcium-for-toddlers.aspx

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, and as with anything there are two sides to any debate…This is just what I have found in my own reading. Definitely check with your pediatrician and do your own research!

@Mrs. Lion: Thank you for that!! I wasn’t sure how much the protein was a big concern or not because I’ve found that most milk alternatives really don’t have nearly as much protein at WCM! As for calcium and vitamin D, I was planning on giving Xander hemp milk, which seems to have similar amounts of both, so I think I should be all set there. I’ll need to make sure I up his protein in other areas though, for sure!

@Adira: I have heard good stuff about hemp too I think you could probably just increase the protein food group a bit by comparing the amount of protein in the recommended dairy and incorporating that much extra. I wonder if the USDA has recommendations for people with dairy intolerance/allergies. I will see what I can find

@Mrs. Lion: I was just checking this out and WCM has 8g of protein and hemp has 2g. So if the amount of dairy needed is two servings, Xander will be missing about 12g of protein daily, which is actually less than half an ounce! Now I feel less freaked out.

@Adira: Yay! That is totally doable.

@Mrs. Lion: Thank you for your help!! And I LOVE your cheat sheet! This is going to be a life-saver for me!

I totaled the amounts and we’re looking at

Dairy – 16oz
Veg – 8oz
Fruit – 8oz
Protein – 2oz
Grain – 3oz

Is that right? Seems low on the protein and grains.

Also, does this include the nap/bedtime milk?

The amounts you have listed are correct. I am not a doctor, but I got the amounts from the USDA recommendations listed on this website. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/downloads/1000cals.pdf As far as I know it includes all food they eat during the day, starting at age 2.