Daily needs

Grains

Children need 4 serves of grains a day. It may sound like a lot, but some cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and some pasta, rice or noodles with dinner is enough to fuel growing, energetic kids.

Vegetables

Vegetables come in so many colours and flavours and it may take a while to find out which ones your child enjoys the most. At this age they should be having 2-3 serves a day, starting with pureed or mashed veggies.

Dairy

A glass of full fat milk or a tub of yoghurt and 1 slice of cheese covers the 1 to 1½ serves of dairy a day your child needs.

Fruit

At this age, kids only need about half a serve of fruit each day. This could be anything from a kiwi fruit, apricot, plum or half a banana. Experiment with different fruits to find out which ones your child likes.

Protein

Kids only need a single serve of protein each day and it doesn’t have to be meat. Baked beans, eggs, fish and tofu are all excellent sources of protein.

Milk can be started at 12 months. Full fat dairy milk is better at this age to provide growing bodies extra energy. They no longer need baby formula but can continue breastfeeding for as long as you and they want.

What is a serve?

The size of a serve will depend on the type of food. Here are some examples:

• Fruit — 1 cup diced fruit or 1 medium apple or banana
• Vegetables — 1/2 cup cooked veggies or 1 cup salad greens
• Grains — 1/2 cup cooked rice or 1 slice bread
• Protein — 80g cooked chicken or 2 eggs
• Dairy — 1 cup milk or 2 slices cheese

Snacks

One year olds are not used to regular meal times, so they will probably want food when they are hungry. Try a piece of cheese, a banana or a slice of bread with peanut butter.