Encouraging Your Toddler to Eat Healthy Foods

This post is sponsored by Happy Family Brands but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Feeding toddlers can be intimidating. Finding food that is easy for them to gum down, especially if they have little to no teeth is challenging. Yet alone, attempting to offer your toddler healthy options when most of the time they seem to refuse them. Let’s face it, toddlers are complicated little people to feed. There are so many different rules about cutting things just right, offering the perfect amounts, and staying away from all of those allergy concerning foods. It’s a lot to keep up with! Then throw in a picky toddler into the mix and things just got really complicated. Having three kids I have faced my fair share of feeding struggles with my toddlers and have had plenty of times where I just felt at a loss. How do I get a picky toddler to eat healthy and try new things?

I asked the Happy Mama Mentors over at Happy Family for some tips to get through these challenging seasons with toddlers, and they had some of the best advice! They helped me remember that this is normal behavior for toddlers, and they gave practical tips to get through it! Happy Family’s team of experts, the Happy Mama Mentors, are all registered dietitians, lactation specialists and are certified in infant and maternal nutrition. Plus, they are all moms! They get what we are going through and it makes them the perfect mentors!

How to encourage your toddler to eat healthy foods:

Offer different foods.

Your toddler will never try new foods if you aren’t offering new foods! Don’t be afraid to add new things into your toddler’s diet and if they don’t eat it the first time, offer it again. The Happy Mama Mentors reminded me the importance of offering different foods, but when offering a new food, also give them something you know they’ll eat! Don’t be afraid to put a couple options on their plate and let them explore with the different foods. They may not eat it all, and that’s okay! I love what Rachel at Happy Mama Mentors said, “Parents provide, children decide.” It’s okay to do it that way! Offering different foods is a great way to encourage your toddler to eat healthy.

Offer a balanced diet.

Try and stick with a whole grain, protein, and fruit and veggie at every meal. This offers a balanced diet to your toddler and gives them the opportunity to try different foods and textures. Maybe you want to introduce a new veggie, so offer a protein you know they’ll eat! When preparing my toddlers meals, I always think about something in each food group to offer them and it helps give them a complete meal, in turn helping my toddler to eat healthy.

Make Eating Fun.

Think of different ways to offer your picky toddler foods. Cut them into different size, cook the broccoli one day, offer it raw the next, even offer it in a fun plate or muffin tin! Sometimes if the presentation looks different, they’ll be willing to give it a second try! Happy Family’s Happy Tot organic pouches are a fun way to take eating on the go and present healthy foods in a different way. My toddler may not gobble up spinach if I put it on his plate, but if it’s offered in a pouch it will be gone in seconds! Or make eating fun with Happy Tot Super Smart Cookies, perfect for little hands!

Don’t Give Up.

Keep offering your toddler new foods, if they didn’t like it the first, second, or even third time, they might actually like it the fourth time! There have been plenty of times that something I was so sure my child wouldn’t eat, they actually tried and enjoyed! Even after multiple tries! Keep trying and they’ll be sure to catch on!

There isn’t much negotiating with a toddler. Sometimes you can feel like you’re doing everything you can to get your toddler to eat healthy foods, but it just isn’t working. I’ve been there. I’ve felt discouraged by other toddlers who seem to be eating a well balanced diet and finishing everything in front of them. If that’s not your child, don’t worry. You keep trying. You keep offering your baby the best. Find healthy options you know they love and go with it. Meal time won’t always be a struggle, and soon your negotiating skills will actually work. Just don’t get down on yourself when you didn’t live up to those expectations of the perfect well rounded healthy toddler foods. They’ll get there. You’re doing a good job mama.