Delicious and nutritious 15-day menu suggestions for 2-year-olds

Healthy eating helps your baby learn, play, grow and develop. Therefore, building a balanced and balanced eating menu is an important thing that parents need to pay attention to. The ILO will suggest menus for 2-year-olds in the following article.

Principles of developing a menu for a 2-year-old baby

What should be ensured on the menu for 2-year-olds? It can be said that at this stage, babies are developing quickly in terms of physical, language and thinking, so eating rich in nutrients is essential.

Here are some guidelines to look out for when you’re building a menu for your 2-year-old:

1. Build a diverse diet

Diversifying food groups is a way to build a balanced and adequate diet for children. Your baby’s meals should have all 4 groups: protein, fat, starch, vitamins and minerals, of which:

• Starch: 150 – 200g (rice, sweet potato, oats, corn…)

• Protein: 120 – 150g (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp…)

• Fat: 30 – 40g (olive oil, sesame oil, butter, peanuts …)

• Green vegetables and fruits: 150 – 200g (vegetables, spinach, pumpkin, spinach…)

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2. The menu for 2-year-olds needs enough meals

Feed your baby enough meals, absolutely do not cut down on any of his meals. At this age, it is best to build your baby 5-6 meals including 3 main meals and 2 snacks.

During the main meal, the 2-year-old needs to eat with family members to create a sense of joy and warmth. This is also a way to help your child eat better. Breakfast and afternoon snacks need to be alternated and kept away from the main meal. You can also give your baby extra milk 1 hour before going to bed to help him sleep better.

3. Feed your child a variety of foods

To stimulate the chewing and swallowing reflex and limit anorexia, parents need to encourage their children to eat a variety of foods, such as lumps, mashed, pureed, chopped, soft foods that can be portable…

Pay attention to increasing the amount of raw food for your baby with age. 2-year-olds can already eat whole grain rice like adults, so it is not necessary to force them to eat porridge or crushed rice.

4. Prepare rich dishes

You need to prepare dishes for your 2-year-old baby in a variety of ways, in many forms for them to eat well, such as boiling, steaming, frying, stir-frying, cooking porridge, rice, soup … Regularly changing meals will help your baby feel stimulated and eat more.

5. Limit foods that are harmful to your baby’s health

Limit the inclusion of unhealthy dishes in children’s menus such as carbonated soft drinks, bottled fruit juices, fried chicken, sausages … These foods are loved by many children, but they are not good for their health and development.

In addition to the above principles, parents also need to pay attention to eliminating foods that children are at risk of allergy from the diet.

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Menu suggestions for 2-year-olds

In order for babies to eat well and not fall into anorexia or fussiness, you need to focus on building a menu for your child. It doesn’t have to be expensive foods, the most important thing is to change meals often so that your baby doesn’t get bored.

1. Day 1 menu

• Breakfast: pork porridge

• Breakfast snack: fresh milk or formula

• Lunch: white rice, sweet and sour stir-fried squid, minced vegetable soup, sweet tangerine dessert

• Afternoon snack: soft cheese yogurt

• Dinner: pillow bread, chicken curry, boiled fruit, watermelon dessert

2. Menu for 2-year-olds of the Institute of Nutrition Day 2

• Breakfast: pork shrimp noodles

• Breakfast snack: nut milk

• Lunch: white rice, fried bacon, vegetables cooked with shrimp soup, grapefruit dessert

• Afternoon snack: fruit yogurt

• Dinner: white rice, beef stew potatoes, boiled okra, papaya dessert

3. Menu for 2-year-old baby day 3

• Breakfast: vegetable chicken porridge

• Breakfast snack: whey

• Lunch: stir-fried seafood, pilaf, banana dessert

• Afternoon snack: oatcake or rice cake

• Dinner: white rice, pan-fried salmon with orange sauce, sautéed cabbage, pink siamese dessert

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4. Day 4 menu

• Breakfast: eel vermicelli or eel porridge

• Breakfast snack: fresh milk or formula

• Lunch: white rice, fragrant tuna stock, pumpkin soup cooked with bones, dragon fruit dessert

• Afternoon snack: vegetable mashed potato cake

• Dinner: white rice, tofu in ketchup, boiled cauliflower, ripe mango dessert

5. Day 5 menu

• Breakfast: chicken noodle soup

• Breakfast snack: apples

• Lunch: white rice, vessel stock, minced meat broth, flan dessert

• Afternoon snack: glutinous yogurt

• Dinner: white rice, fish stock, boiled amaranth, seedless longan dessert

6. Day 6 menu

• Breakfast: pigeon porridge

• Breakfast snack: banana

• Lunch: meat or seafood pizza, orange dessert

• Afternoon snack: fresh milk

• Dinner: white rice, sweet and salty ram, sautéed kale, pear dessert

7. Menu for 2-year-old baby day 7

• Breakfast: fish noodles

• Breakfast snack: nut milk or formula

• Lunch: white rice, shrimp in sweet and sour sauce, minced squash soup, tangerine dessert

• Afternoon snack: dumplings

• Dinner: white rice, mackerel in ketchup, boiled spinach, sponge cake dessert

8. Day 8 menu

• Breakfast: omelet

• Breakfast snack: avocado smoothie

• Lunch: white rice, beef stock, boiled vegetables, apple dessert

• Afternoon snack: cereal cake

• Dinner: seafood pasta, vegetables and fruits, bananas

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9. Menu of the week for children 1-2 years old day 9

• Breakfast: Hue beef noodle soup

• Breakfast snack: yogurt mixed with fruits

• Lunch: white rice, fried egg, crab soup, melon dessert

• Afternoon snack: tofu

• Dinner: lotus seed chicken porridge, seedless grape dessert

10. Day 10 menu

• Breakfast: steamed dumplings

• Breakfast snack: egg sponge cake scrub

• Lunch: white rice, gourd soup cooked with shrimp, steamed crab, breast milk dessert

• Afternoon snack: formula or nut milk

• Dinner: white rice, steamed egg rolls with cat mushrooms, fresh shrimp green cabbage soup, apple dessert

11. Menu for 2-year-old baby day 11

• Breakfast: broccoli seafood porridge

• Breakfast snack: papaya

• Lunch: lagu chicken served with bread, mangosteen dessert

• Afternoon snack: pancake

• Dinner: white rice, young tofu with salted eggs, fried beef bean sticks, watermelon dessert

12. Menu for 2-year-old baby day 12

• Breakfast: fish cake soup

• Breakfast snack: dragon fruit

• Lunch: white rice, pea ribs, shrimp soup, seedless grape dessert

• Afternoon snack: whey

• Dinner: white rice, salmon with garlic butter sauce, minced centella asiatica soup, dragon fruit dessert

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13. Day 13 menu

• Breakfast: chickpea porridge with pumpkin quail eggs

• Breakfast snack: soft yogurt pudding

• Lunch: rice, beef cooked with five flavors, sautéed cabbage with oyster sauce, orange dessert

• Afternoon snack: black bean tea

• Dinner: rice, braised ribs with turnips, dried shrimp gourd soup, pear dessert

14. Day 14 menu

• Breakfast: rolls

• Breakfast snack: aloe vera yogurt

• Lunch: white rice, quail egg stock, cowpeas stir-fried with sesame, green bean tea dessert

• Afternoon snack: pumpkin cheese flan

• Dinner: five-color soup cake cooked with shrimp and meat, dessert, fruit smoothie

15. Menu for 2-year-old baby day 15

• Breakfast: pumpkin crab soup

• Breakfast snack: peach-flavored panna cotta

• Lunch: chicken rice, red amaranth soup, dried shrimp, papaya dessert

• Afternoon snack: coconut milk green bean tea

• Dinner: tofu porridge, quail eggs, green amaranth, pink dessert

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Suggestions for delicious dishes for 2-year-olds

Above is a menu for 2-year-old children that is diverse, rich and easy to apply. In addition to applying the nutritional menu for your 2-year-old baby, you also need to pay attention to preparing food so that it is delicious and suitable for your child’s taste.

Here, the ILO tells parents how to prepare some dishes for 2-year-olds:

1. Tomato sauce meatballs on the menu for 2-year-olds

In dishes for 2-year-olds, meatballs in tomato sauce are popular with many children. This dish is served with hot rice, very good rice.

Material:

• 100g ground or chopped pork, 2 medium tomatoes, 15g shiitake mushrooms, 1/3 onion, 1 clove garlic

• Seasonings: salt, sugar, ketchup, oyster sauce, fish sauce, cooking oil …

How to do it:

• Shiitake mushrooms wash, soak in warm water for 15 minutes to bloom and then chop. Mix ground meat, shiitake mushrooms and spices and rinse into small bite-sized balls.

• Heat the pan. Add a little cooking oil and then fry the meatballs lightly to hunt the meat again, then pour the meat onto a plate.

• Tomatoes washed, minced finely then fragrant garlic and stir-fry tomatoes and onions. When the tomatoes are tender, pour in a little more water, season to taste (pay attention to lighter seasoning than adults).

• Next, add the lightly fried meat to this sauce, boil until the sauce is thick.

2. Pan-fried salmon

The menu for a 2-year-old baby is indispensable for fish dishes. In particular, salmon is one of the top nutritional superfoods for young children that parents should not ignore.

Material:

• 100g salmon, 30ml orange juice, 1/2 small piece unsalted butter, 15ml white wine, 1 clove garlic

• Seasonings: olive oil, salt, sugar, cornstarch or tapioca, fish sauce…

How to do it:

• Salmon washed with white wine to remove the fishy smell and then drain and slice with blotting paper to taste.

• Place the nonstick pan on the stovetop. Put the butter to melt, then pan-fry the sides of the fish to golden on 2 sides and remove to a plate.

• In the same pan, you add garlic to the fragrant filler and then pour orange juice to boil. Next, add the pan-fried salmon and spices and cook for 7-10 minutes. Finally, take some cornstarch mixed with water and pour it into a fish pot, cook until the sauce is thick again.

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3. Tofu with minced meat sauce

Sometimes swap meals for your child to stimulate their taste buds and help them eat better with tofu in minced meat sauce. This is an easy dish to make but loved by many children.

Material:

• 30g minced pork, 30g young tofu, 2 tomatoes, 1/3 bell pepper, 1/2 onion

• Seasonings: fish sauce, salt, sugar, cooking oil, ketchup …

How to do it:

• Young tofu washed and cut into bite-sized cubes; Seasoned pork to taste.

• Bell peppers, tomatoes and onions washed; Bell peppers and onions are diced, tomatoes chopped.

• Put 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan and bring to a boil. Then stir the minced meat to hunt again. Next, add tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and spices.

• Finally you add the young tofu. Use chopsticks to spread gently so that the beans soak up the sauce without crushing. Boil for another 3-5 minutes until the beans are cooked, then turn off the heat.

The ILO has just sent parents a menu for their 2-year-old as well as suggestions on how to prepare some delicious dishes. You apply to let your child have delicious and nutritious meals!