Important nutrients for toddlers

 Almost all healthy toddlers get enough
 protein, fat and carbohydrate.
 The nutrients
 most likely to be low in toddler’s diets are
 calcium and iron.

 Getting enough calcium
 Good sources of calcium include milk,
 yogurt, cheese and milk-based desserts
 such as creamy rice and custard. 

 Getting enough iron
 Good sources of iron include:

 Red meat such as beef, veal, lamb

Legumes such as kidney beans, chick peas, lentils
Breakfast cereals that have iron added (check the labels)
Wholegrain breads and cereals

Some toddlers don’t like eating meat as they find it hard to chew. Offer minced meat or well cooked soft meat, (like casseroles), so they get used to chewing.
Eating foods rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits and vegetables, increases the amount of iron that is absorbed from plant foods like bread, rice, pasta, noodles and legumes. So aim to offer your toddler a vitamin C rich food or drink at every meal.

Vitamins
Some toddlers eat very few vegetables. Fortunately, most like some fruit. Fruit and vegetables contain similar vitamins and minerals. So if your toddler eats some fruit, don’t worry if they don’t eat vegetables. Just keep offering vegetables when you eat them. They may prefer them raw, puréed in soups, with their favorite dip, finely grated and added to minced meat.