Many parents worry that their children aren’t getting the recommended amount of calcium in their diet.
If your child is anything like mine, he or she absolutely refuses to drink cows milk. In fact, ever since my son got off of formula at the age of one, It’s been a struggle to get him to consume milk. Unless of course, It’s chocolate or hidden nicely in a smoothie.
With that said, I needed to find alternative sources to ensure he was getting the recommended 700 mg/day. I turned to his pediatrician who always has the best advice. He printed out a list of foods that my son could have and still get the recommended daily amount.
Most toddlers are picky about taste and texture of food (at least mine is) so there were many foods on that list that my son simply refused to eat. I did some research of my own and slowly began to introduce various foods into his diet.
Calcium Rich Foods For Even The Pickiest Of Toddlers
Through trial and error (and lots of error believe me), I have come up with a list of high calcium foods for even the most pickiest of eaters.
- Calcium fortified cereals & breads– Perhaps the easiest way to get calcium in your picky toddlers diet. Cheerios happen to be his favorite so I make sure to have some ready on hand at all times.
- Oatmeal – My son eats oatmeal on a daily basis. We usually serve it with a little bit of sunbutter and some honey.
- Edamame – The mild flavor makes them a hit with my son. He also enjoys the process of pealing them.
- Almonds – I find that my son loves the sliced kind and will munch on them without realizing they are super healthy.
- White beans – I was super excited to learn that my son loved white beans. I cook them in a tomato based stew and serve it with white rice.
- Smoothies – I use cows milk or almond milk as the base and add bananas, peanut butter, a little bit of maple syrup (which also contains calcium). I have also snuck in various nuts and berries but I find that my son enjoys just plain banana and peanut butter.
- Grilled cheese sandwiches – Perhaps my sons most favorite food ever. I make sure to use organic American cheese slices. Since my son doesn’t like the taste of butter, I usually brush a mild flavored oil on either side of the bread before I grill it.
- Fruit flavored yogurt – Although my son doesn’t like cows milk, he loves flavored yogurt. The problem though is that many commercial fruit yogurts contain added sweeteners.
Happy Tot Whole Milk Yogurt
I did recently discover a yogurt called Happy Tot which contains zero added sweeteners and according to son, tastes “delicious, mom!”.
We purchased the pouches in the apple/blackberry flavor at our local Meijer store. I enjoy the pouch variety since I can easily throw it in our diaper bag/purse and not have to worry about packing a spoon to go with it.
We’ve quickly become obsessed with this brand for the following reasons:
- Is non GMO
- Contains probiotics for optimal digestion and gut health
- It’s whole milk yogurt with vitamin D for optimal calcium absorption and my son actually loves it despite his aversion to milk!
You can pick up this yogurt at any of the retail stores below:
- Meijer
- Safeway
- HEB
- Publix
What are some of your child’s favorite calcium-rich foods? list them below!