Have You Got An Underweight Toddler? Guest post by Kim Corrigan-Oliver

Today it is my pleasure to welcome back Kim of Mothering with Mindfulness. She was here last month with a great post about getting your kids into the kitchen. Now she's back at my request with a post about underweight toddlers and how to pack good fats into their meals. This post was very poignant for me as Sofia is in the 1% group for weight and has been since she started to walk. So take it away Kim!

Have You Got An Underweight Toddler? Don’t Panic.

As a nutritionist, I often get panicked emails and calls from moms in regards to weight and their toddlers, to be more precise underweight toddlers. Many a mom has returned from a regular visit with the doctor in a state of panic because they have been told their toddler is underweight. My first response to these moms is to tell them to relax and take a breath, and then I get to the questions. What exactly did the doctor say? Is the doctor concerned or just letting you know that your toddler is a little underweight? What would the doctor like you to do, if anything? Is your toddler happy, healthy and like most toddlers you know? Most of the time the answers to these questions gives me a lot of insight – for the most part the doctor has just mentioned that their toddler is slightly underweight, the doctor is not overly concerned, but would like to keep an eye on it, the doctor did not offer any suggestions on what to do and their toddler is happy and healthy like most other toddlers. By this time most moms have calmed down a little bit and then I offer them a few suggestions to help ease their worries; I know they will be awake in bed thinking about it, and to maybe add a few pounds to their rambunctious toddlers.

Here are my suggestions:

Toddlers are on the go all the time, did I need to tell you that? They don’t always like to stop and eat, it gets in the way of playing, running around and having fun. To combat this problem serve them mini meals all day long, healthy finger foods they can nibble on for a moment and then get back at whatever they were doing. I know this won’t do much for your plans to sit down to a family meal every night together, but this is not something you will do forever, just a short time to get a few pounds on your toddler and then you can refocus on the family meal and having everyone at the table together.
Start your toddler’s day with a healthy and tasty smoothie. Smoothies are a great way to get a ton of nutrition and healthy calories into your little one. See below for two yummy recipes and then try creating your own, have fun and experiment with different combinations.

Good healthy fats. We all need fats, yes you read that right, we need fats. The fats from nuts, seeds, eggs, olive oil, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, hemp seeds and avocados. How you get these fats into your toddler – add flaxseed oil to their smoothies, sprinkle chia seeds or hemp seeds on their food, mash avocados or cut it up in chunks, add nut butters to their smoothies and serve nut butter on rice crackers for snacks. That is just a few simple easy ways to get some healthy fats into your toddler. A little note here if there is a history of nut allergy in your immediate family you may want to hold of introducing nuts until a later age. And of course you will not be feeding your toddler whole nuts; I grind nuts and sprinkle on other foods for Reece, works like a charm. See below for a few other suggestions.

And here are a few things I don’t suggest:

Try not to force feed your toddler; this is no fun for you or him. Food should not be a battle, relax and let your toddler enjoy the experience of eating, it will be better for both of you.
Many times I hear of moms adding foods to their toddler’s diet they normally wouldn’t add because they think it will help to add weight. I don’t consider these items food, but they include ice cream, cookies, cakes, chips, high sugar cereals, candies, chocolate, processed foods, juice, etc. I encourage moms to stick with their healthy eating plan for their toddler, and to stay away from using “food stuffs” to add weight. There are many issues here including getting calories and fat with little to no nutritional value, development of a taste for processed foods, and development of taste for sugary foods, not to mention the consequences of your toddler’s health and well being as they age if they favour these foods over healthier options. So stick with the nutrient dense foods that will have a positive effect on both their health and weight.

Avoid the premade nutritional drinks. I really could not believe my ears when I heard one mom telling another mom she was giving her toddler Ensure to help her gain some weight. Have you looked at the ingredient list of Ensure? The first four ingredients are water, sugar, corn syrup and maltodextrin. And the remainder, all 38 of them, are not appropriate for our growing toddlers. Smoothies are a far better way to help your toddler put on a few pounds.
If you are a mom of an underweight toddler, I am sure you are still a little worried, we are moms after all and that is what we do, but I do hope you can take a few of the tips I have provided and feel confident helping your toddler gain a few extra pounds. And please keep in mind; we are all different shapes and sizes, even in toddlerhood. So if your toddler is happy, healthy, eating a wide variety of foods and meeting all her milestones, there is most likely nothing to worry about.

***Please note there are circumstances where an underweight toddler is a cause for concern, and you will need to seek medical care, these suggestions are meant for those that are slightly underweight and in good health.

A few recipes for you:

Smoothie #1
¼ cup blueberries
5 strawberries
Banana
Handful of spinach
1tsp hemp seed oil
Liquid – could be milk (cow, goat, almond, pumpkin seed or rice), water or herbal tea, as needed to desired consistency.

Blend all ingredients in blender and enjoy!


Banana Special
1 banana
Nut butter of your choice
Chia seeds, hemp seeds or ground nuts


Slice banana lengthwise, spread nut butter on each half, sprinkle with chia seeds and cut into bite size pieces.


Avocado and Banana Mash
¼ avocado
½ banana
Dash of cinnamon

Mash avocado and banana together, add cinnamon, mix well and serve.

If you would like more great advice or recipe from Kim visit Your Green Baby.