New toddler meal planner launches to help tackle childhood obesity

The Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) – an expert-led, not for profit organisation specialising in early years nutrition and development has launched a new resource designed to support parents and practitioners simplify planning meals for toddlers.

The new toddler meal planner will also encourage healthy eating and nutrition at a crucial point as childhood obesity increases across the country.

Excess weight in childhood can lead to a number of health problems and often negatively affects children’s self-esteem. Furthermore, children who are classified as obese are far more likely to continue living with obesity as adults which then increases their risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The new resource also aims to support and empower the 39% of parents who don’t feel confident about what to feed their toddler.
Specially developed to meet the nutrient needs of rapidly growing children (1-4 year olds) and packed with useful info and helpful tools, the digital resource includes:
  • 67 tasty and nutritious toddler recipes developed by a Paediatric Dietitian.
  • A 14-day meal planner featuring easy toddler meal ideas and healthy toddler snacks.
  • Photos of the recommended toddler portion size for each recipe and snack ideas for children.
  • Guidance on how to combine a variety of meals and snacks to ensure that your toddler receives a balanced diet every day.
  • Tips and tricks on saving money on groceries, ordering and shopping for food.

Samantha, who used the resource to help plan meals for her one year old daughter Amber said:

‘The Toddler Menu Planner is a brilliant resource. I am always trying to introduce my daughter Amber to new tastes and textures, but that, combined with making sure she gets a good balance of all the food groups each day, and in the right portion sizes, is not easy! It can also be challenging to think of different meal ideas that I can batch cook and freeze and the Toddler Menu Planner was great for giving me inspiration, saving me time and simplifying the meal planning process.

‘I think the resource will really help parents as it puts everything you need to know in one package which you can easily refer back to for reminders. The recipes are really easy to follow and there is a good mix of easy to prepare meals, as well as more advanced ones for when you have a little more time.’

The Toddler Menu Planner resource is supported by a number of leading early years organisations, including: London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), Early Years Alliance (EYA), and Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY).

 

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date with all our events, awards and publications.

Information you provide us with will be kept private at all times, and will be used for communication and research purpose only.