At 1 year old, your child should be eating 3 meals plus 2-3 snacks a day, with around 4 dairy portions (whole milk preferred), 2 protein portions, 3 portions each of fruit and vegetables, and 4-6 grain portions. The guidance below is general — always check with your health visitor or GP for advice tailored to your child.
The guidelines discussed in the article below are general guidelines for what to feed your 1-year-old. Speak to your health care provider for advice specific to your child.
In this article we are going to be discussing
- How much should you feed your 1-year-old
- Dairy recommendations
- Protein recommendations
- Fruit and vegetable recommendations
- Grain/ starchy food recommendations
- Preventing choking
- Preventing tooth decay
How much should my 1-year-old be eating?
A very important question. You should aim to feed your toddler 3 meals a day, with 2-3 healthy snacks spaced throughout the day. If your child does not eat all the food in a meal, if the food is able to be safely saved, you can see if they will at this food later.
Help! My child is a picky eater.
Do not panic, we have so many tips and tricks for this, read our article here for some great ideas on how to get your toddler eating a wider range of foods!
Breaking it down into the different food groups
See our section on choking to ensure that you are not giving your 1-year-old something that could put them at risk. This section is not comprehensive, and you should always follow your health care provider's advice.
Dairy
4 portions daily
1 portion = ½ a cup of whole milk, ½ a cup of yoghurt, 1 slice of cheese.
- Breastmilk does not count as a dairy product. You can continue to breastfeed on demand and still use these guidelines.
- It is recommended that from the ages of 12-24 months toddlers only drink whole milk. Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk (1% or fat free milk) do not the fat needed during this important time of growth.
- It is also possible to give you child unsweetened fortified milk alternatives such as soya milk, almond and oat milk. Children should not be given rice milk until they are 5 years old due to the level of arsenic.
- Full fat cheese and yoghurt are also recommended until 24 months. Children should avoid cheeses made from unpasteurized milk due to risk of food borne illness.
Protein
2 portions daily
1 portion= 1 cooked egg, ¼ cup of cooked beans, 30g/1 oz. of meat or 30g/1 oz. of fish
- Beans, fish, eggs, meat and pulses are very good sources of protein and iron. Both iron and protein are essential for growth and development.
- To understand more about the heavy metals in fish and the specific fish recommendations read our article here.
A side note on iron- if your child does not eat meat and fish it is possible to obtain enough iron from fortified breakfast cereals, dark green vegetables, beans, and lentils. Read our article on iron to understand more about how important it is and some good sources to include in your diet!
Fruits and vegetables
3 portions of fruit daily
1 portion= ¼ to ½ chopped, cooked, or canned fruit, ½ a cup of 100% fruit juice.
3 portions of vegetables daily
1 portion= ¼ to ½ cup cooked, chopped vegetables, ½ a cup of 100% vegetable juice.
- When buying canned product select those in natural fruit juice or water with no added sugar or salt.
- The best way to consume all the necessary vitamins and minerals is to feed your 1-year-old the rainbow. Fruits and vegetables are packed with different vitamins and minerals, eating a range will help you achieve the maximum health benefit.
- Dried fruit should be more of a treat and should be given during mealtimes to protect your child’s teeth.
Grains
4-6 portions a day
1 portion= 1 slice of bread, ½ cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta, ¾ of a cup of ready-to-eat cereal, 3 whole-grain crackers, 1 small bread roll.
- Starchy foods provide energy, nutrients, and some fiber.
- Although normally we recommended wholegrain options, those under 2 should not eat whole grain products. This higher fibre content can mean that the child may become full before they have eaten enough food to provide them with the calories and nutrients they need. After the age of two wholegrain products can be gradually introduced.
A note on salt- you should not add any salt to your child’s food. Too much salt can alter your child’s tastebuds and cause them to prefer saltier foods. Good nutrition habits are formed when the child is younger, having a preference for saltier foods can lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure as they get older.
Preventing choking
- Toddlers should never be left unattended whilst eating, they should also always be sitting in an upright position.
- Try an explain to your toddler that they should take small bites and chew food thoroughly.
- Only soft fruit and cooked (soft) vegetables should be given to a child under 2 years of age. These should be cut into small pieces, tough skins, seeds and pits should be removed. Round fruits and vegetable should be cut into halves or quarters.
- Any meat should be boneless and cut into appropriate sizes. The meat should be completely cooked and be soft and easy to chew.
- Nut butters, ice, marshmallows, sticky foods, raw vegetables, raisins, meat with bones, chewing gum or hard sweets, popcorn or other crunchy foods should not be given to your 1-year-old.
Preventing tooth decay in your 1-year-old
- You should wean your child off a baby bottle by 14 months. This is to protect their teeth and prevent damage to their teeth (baby bottle tooth decay). You should aim for your child to be drinking out of a small cup with a spill proof top.
- The only drink toddlers should have access to always is water. Milk and any fruit juice should be given in one sitting and then removed. This is to prevent the teeth being regularly coated with sugar.
- Once toddlers have a tooth through you should should brush any teeth twice a day with toothpaste suitable for 1-year-old.
- Pacifiers/ dummies should never be dipped in sugar or honey.
- Most dentists will accept children after they turn one.
Conclusion
Knowing what to feed your one-year-old can be a challenge. Hopefully, this information has cleared things up a little. It may not be possible to meet all recommendations every day, or one day may be filled with more sweet treats than others. This is normal, the aim is for a healthy, balanced, and safe diet. With the food, you feed your toddler on a regular basis being based on healthy choices.