Sample Menu for a Two-Year-Old

By age two, your child should be eating three healthy meals a day, plus one or two snacks. He or she can eat the same food as the rest of the family. Do not fixate on amounts and do not make mealtimes a battle. Whenever possible, offer your child finger foods instead of soft ones that require a fork or spoon to eat. See the following sample menu ideas for a two-year-old.

 

Note: This menu is planned for a two-year-old child who weighs approximately 27 pounds (12.5 kg).

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (15 mL)

1 tablespoon = 1⁄2 ounce (15 mL)

1 ounce = 30 mL

1 cup = 8 ounces (240 mL)

 

Breakfast

  • ½ cup nonfat or low- fat milk
  • ½ cup iron- fortified cereal or 1 egg
  • 1⁄3 cup fruit (for example, banana, cantaloupe, or strawberries)
  • ½ slice whole wheat toast
  • ½ teaspoon margarine or butter or 1 teaspoon jelly

 

Snack

  • 4 crackers with cheese or hummus or ½ cup cut-up fruit or berries
  • ½ cup water

 

Lunch

  • ½ cup low- fat or nonfat milk
  • ½ sandwich—1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 ounce meat, slice of cheese, veggie (avocado, lettuce, or tomato)
  • 2–3 carrot sticks (cut up) or 2 tablespoons other dark- yellow or dark-green vegetable
  • ½ cup berries or 1 small (½ ounce) low-fat oatmeal cookie

 

Snack

  • ½ cup nonfat or low-fat milk
  • ½ apple (sliced), 3 prunes, 1⁄3 cup grapes (cut up), or ½ orange

 

Dinner

  • ½ cup nonfat or low-fat milk
  • 2 ounces meat
  • 1⁄3 cup pasta, rice, or potato
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable

Last Updated 12/21/2015

Source Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, 6th Edition (Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

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