The Ultimate Sample Menu for One Year Old Children
As a first time mom I often questioned if I was doing things the right way. Thoughts like “Is my child eating too much? Too little? Is she getting enough protein? How do I know if she is full?” often flooded my mind.
First, I learned there was more than one right way to do something. Especially when it comes to food! There are so many different nutritious foods you can feed your toddler.
In this post I share a sample menu for one year old babies. I found this was super helpful for me when I was first figuring out food with our oldest daughter.
You will also find a list of food ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Finally, at the end of this post are 3 tips to offering a balanced diet to your 1 year old baby.
Before we get to the good stuff, if you take away anything from this post please remember every child is different! It’s nice to get information from other moms, but it’s important not to let comparison get the best of you.
We have three children and each one has a different personality and preferences. It may take a bit of investigating and experimenting to see what works best for you and your family.
Don’t be afraid to try new things or say “this doesn’t work for our family and that’s okay.”
Here is a sample menu for one year old child:
Disclaimer: This sample menu for one year old is just a guideline. As always talk your pediatrician before making changes to your baby’s diet.
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Each of our children ate something different for breakfast at one year old. One baby loved scrambled eggs, the other Ezekial muffins and the last baby loved oatmeal.
Here are a few nutritious breakfast ideas:
Banana with nut butter
Ezekiel muffin with nut butter (cut into bite sized pieces)
Homemade oatmeal with applesauce and nut butter (we love this oatmeal)
Fruit cup with plain yogurt
Scrambled eggs with roasted potatoes
Apple pancakes (we love this recipe)
Lunch Food Ideas for One Year Old:
Avocado toast
Nut butter and jelly on multigrain bread
Soup (we love lentil soup or roasted vegetable soup)
Everyday Dal (our family loves this brand)
Bean salsa (sliced red peppers, black beans, corn, diced onion and lime juice)
Homemade blueberry muffin
Oven roasted sweet potato with unsalted butter and cinnamon
Dinner Options for a Toddler:
With our first baby we often made her a separate dinner, but with our third she eats whatever we eat at dinner! Either way here are some ideas.
Meatballs with roasted vegetables and marinara sauce
Rotisserie chicken with sliced green beans
Slices of egg casserole with roasted veggies
Black bean enchiladas (we love this recipe)
Fruit and yogurt parfait
Oven-baked salmon with a side of veggies
We usually try to offer a fruit and vegetable at dinner and lunch.
I know it’s too easy to get stuck in a snack rut and offer the same things over and over again. If you are looking for more food ideas here are some other healthy options.
More One Year Old Snack Ideas:
Sliced mango, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pear, raspberries (cut into small pieces)
Yogurt
One of our favorite pouches
Applesauce
Homemade creamy puffs
Smoothie (our favorite toddler green smoothie recipe)
Homemade oatmeal
Soft cooked veggies like carrots, green beans, peas
Banana mashed up with nut butter
1 scrambled egg
Guacamole or plain avocado
Refried beans with avocado on top
Again this is just a sample!
Hopefully it will give you some ideas and you can see what works best with your baby.
Offering a Balanced Diet
#1: Our kids enjoy 3 meals a day with a snack after nap (see our sample eat, play and sleep schedule below).
#2: We try our best to offer whole foods with limited amounts of sugar and processing. A while ago, our pediatrician suggested snacks be either a fruit or a vegetable.
If you came to our house, you’d often hear me saying this to our older kids when they ask for a snack before dinner. You can pick a fruit or a vegetable!
#3: Have you heard of eating the rainbow? Try rotating your vegetables (instead of eating sweet potatoes at every meal) and eat a variety of foods.
If you have specific questions about how much your child should be eating talk to your pediatrician.
Have a picky eater?
Be the example! Kids follow your lead. At one point all 3 of my kids enjoyed eating off my plate.
We don’t have any nut allergies in our family so we started slowly with the nut butters around 9 months. If you have a history of food allergies talk to your doctor before you try different foods.
Now I’d love to hear from you. What does your one year old typically eat for each meal? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
Also be sure to follow Inspired Motherhood on Instagram for more mom inspiration.
Read This Next:
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- Baby Oatmeal or Steel Cut Oats? Which Oatmeal is Best!
- Keep Baby Warm at Night! Dressing Your Kids for Cold Weather
Thanks for sharing your sample schedule and menu! I have 9.5 month old twins and they have been doing two meals of baby food with their bottles each day for a while now, and we are just now doing three meals a day in addition to their bottles and starting little finger foods. They usually have about 4 or 5 bottles (4-6 oz ea) per day. We are sippy cup training now too but I’m so afraid they are going to have trouble giving up their bottles as they are rather attached. I’m thinking we’ll be doing baby food, soft and mashed up foods for a while after they turn 1 year because they still don’t have any teeth yet!
As a new and young mother I find myself often questioning whether I am doing things right. Thank you for posting this, because it took me awhile to realize like you said “there is no right way!” Seeing this post was just another good reminder that every child is different and has different needs. My 9 month old is now just starting to finally eat more solids and is getting more teeth so this sample menu will be great for the future! Thanks again!
Thank you for this great post. I have 2 babies and it’s always been so tough to choose a nutritious and also suitable food according to the baby’s age. Your charts helps a lot, especially for new Mothers these are must-save charts.
Keep up the good Work!