19 - 21 month old baby food chart and toddler meal plan based on APP guidelines. And a free meal planner printable.
Toddlers are special. Especially when it comes to food. Some days they eat nothing, other days they eat more than you. They'll say no to something one minute and it'll be their favorite food the next.
So with no plan to follow, sometimes it can feel like a never-ending minefield.
And that's where meal planning can really take the stress away.
Jump to:
- Why a food chart for 19 month old baby?
- How is this food chart / meal plan designed?
- 19 - 21 month old baby food chart
- Feeding tips
- 19-21 month old toddler meal plan sample
- Recipes for 19-21 month old meal plan
- Download free meal planner for toddlers
- Final Note
- More toddler meal plans
- More recipes for toddlers
Why a food chart for 19 month old baby?
Since toddlers flip back and forth between loving a certain food and refusing it entirely, meal plans can be tricky. On the one hand.
On the other hand, meal plans can be a great way to give toddlers a consistent feeding schedule where you can proactively mix familiar foods with new stuff. Stuff they love with stuff they don't.
So having a baby food chart you can follow to create meal plans prevents you from scrambling to find something (anything!) that your child will eat.
How is this food chart / meal plan designed?
The 19-21 months toddler meal plan is based on 5 daily meals – 3 main meals and 2 snacks which can really be served in any order.
It also assumes your toddler is no longer drinking breastmilk or formula (if not the case, consider a milk/formula feeding would replace a snack).
We have a 19 month old baby food chart to use to create your meal plan, and a meal plan created by us.
Click here to see all our other meal plans here.
19 - 21 month old baby food chart
Use this to improvise each day, or to plan some meals in advance. Quantities certainly don't need to be exact, but hopefully this provides a simple guideline to follow if you're unsure what your child needs.
Feeding tips
How much food any toddler needs is influenced by a number of different factors, including gender, age, weight, height, and physical activity.
For our meal plans / food charts, we have divided toddlers between 1 and 2 years old into 4 age groups and then taken the average energy and nutrient requirements for each one (as recommended by the FAO/WHO).
Note: Recommendations are actually roughly the same for children between 1 and 3 years old.
So since these are general recommendations, a few things that you should keep in mind:
- Some days your child will eat more than others – that's normal. They might want way more than you served one day and barely anything at all the next. Again: that's normal. Children naturally understand portion control and how to follow their bodies' cues. Unfortunately, we often un-learn that as we grow up.
- A hungry child should always be fed!
- You are in charge of what you serve, your child is in charge of what they eat. They might want more potatoes one day while ignoring the chicken on their plate. But the next day could be the opposite. Don't force them to finish something just because it's on their plate. They didn't put it there.
- You are in charge of monitoring your child's allergies and dietary requirements. These meal plans have not been customized for any specific child's allergies, dietary requirements, pre-existing nutrient deficiencies, or any other food-related requirements.
- Nothing can replace proper supervision of your child while they are eating. It should go without saying, but keep an eye on your kids while they eat. If you have any concerns for your child's health, you should seek advice without delay. And always follow safe food handling practices when preparing food.
19-21 month old toddler meal plan sample
Adapt the order of the meals to your family's eating habits if it doesn't fit for you already. However, try to keep a consistent schedule to provide your toddler with a sense of order to their day.
Lots of toddler breakdowns can be avoided by anticipating and serving them food before they get hangry!
Recipes for 19-21 month old meal plan
Download free meal planner for toddlers
Download, print and stick to your fridge this free PDF meal planner for toddlers.
Final Note
Both the baby food chart and meal plan are based on average recommendations per age per FAO/WHO/UNU Energy Requirements. But please adapt the quantities to your own child!
Hopefully this helps you to have an instinct for what kinds of foods to serve and in (approximately) what amounts. Ultimately we hope this makes life a little easier for you and your toddler!
To learn more about toddler nutrition and see toddler nutrition charts see the Daily Toddler Nutrition Chart, 3 toddler meal plans and schedule, Toddler 12-15 month old sample meal plan, Toddler 16-18 month old sample meal plan and the 2 year old food chart, food menu and meal ideas.
More toddler meal plans
More recipes for toddlers
See all toddler recipes
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