1,2,3, Cook For Me

Toddlers at thirteen months need some freedom to experiment in order to assert their independence. For a toddler to master new skills, parents need to approve of his trials and errors in learning. The toddler should be allowed to work with the spoon and the food or use his fingers to try and feed himself. However, when he starts to throw the food or smear it on the chair or in his hair, it is time to take the food away.

Setting limits at this age is very important to a child's well being, and necessary in establishing good eating habits. However, I know that limits are not always easy to enforce, especially if you are anxious that your child is not eating enough. To painlessly set limits about eating issues, once a child has made it clear that he is not going to eat, remove the food and take him out of the high chair. Later, when he indicates that he is hungry, either offer him the food that was removed or give him a healthy snack. Remember that we are all vulnerable to manipulation, and children are remarkably astute at using this advantage. It is important to be consistent, without being authoritarian, inflexible, punitive, or angry. All children need limits, but limits given with love.

Breakfast: Scrambled Egg and Turkey Breakfast Link; serve with one Blueberry Muffin (recipe) or one-fourth of a store-bought muffin, extra blueberries, if available, and ½ cup whole milk, (or nursing).

Snack: ½ cup S-S-S-Smoothie. (See recipe below)

Lunch: ¼ cup White Bean Soup with Pasta (recipe), ¼ slice buttered whole-wheat bread, ½ cup whole milk, (or nursing)

Snack : Yogurt-Goatcheese Dip (recipe) with 2 pieces each of steamed or microwaved julienne carrot and green beans, a small cauliflower floret, ½ cup whole milk, (or nursing).

Dinner: 1 small Meatcake (recipe), 1 tablespoon Buttered Grated Carrots (recipe)
¼ cup cooked rice, ½ cup whole milk, (or nursing)


Makes 2 cups

½ cup ripe papaya, peeled, chopped, and seeded
½ banana
¼ cup plain yogurt
1 cup while grape juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
4 cracked ice cubes

Combine papaya, banana, yogurt, grape juice, lemon juice, frozen orange juice concentrate, and ice cubes in a blender, and blend on high for 1 minute.