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Toddler health

What does a serving size look like?

Worried that your toddler isn't eating enough? Use this guide to figure out how much they need every day and what a serving size actually looks like.

By Today's Parent
Photo: @dianalupu via Instagram Photo: @dianalupu via Instagram

Food is still a novelty for two- and three-year-olds. They’re figuring out what they like and what they really don’t. They’re exercising their will—and maybe driving you crazy. When they’re turning up their noses or pitching peas onto the floor, you just want to know: Have they eaten enough? Stay sane with this handy guide to a day’s worth of food—this is what a “serving” really looks like.

Photo: iStockphoto Photo: iStockphoto

• ½ cup fresh, frozen or canned • 1 cup leafy raw greens (Tip: Lettuce may be a tough sell, but one cup of raw spinach cooks down to nothing when sautéed) • 1 piece fruit

Photo: iStockphoto Photo: iStockphoto

• 1 slice bread
• ¾ cup hot cereal • ½ pita, tortilla or bagel • ½ cup cooked rice or pasta • 30 g cold cereal (check the label—puffy cereals have more volume, so 30 g could be ½ cup Shreddies or 1 cup Cheerios)

Photo: iStockphoto Photo: iStockphoto

• 1 cup milk or fortified soy beverage • ¾ cup yogurt • 1½ oz cheese (most string cheese products are about ½ a serving each)

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Photo: iStockphoto Photo: iStockphoto

• ½ cup cooked fish, shellfish, poultry or lean meat • ¾ cup cooked beans • 2 eggs • 2 tbsp nut butter

Read more: How to know if your kid has a food allergy or food intolerance Milk vs. water: What should your toddler be drinking? Is your kid getting enough vitamin D?

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