Helpful Tips for Parents

• Serve new foods alongside accepted foods. A new food appearing next to something the child loves reduces threat and increases willingness to try.

• Breakfast is the most reliably linked meal to cognitive performance in school-age children. Prioritize a protein- and fiber-rich breakfast every morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

My preschooler will only eat 5–6 foods. Is this concerning?

Accepting fewer than 20 foods is considered selective eating that may warrant attention from a feeding therapist. If a child eats 5–6 foods, is not growing appropriately, has intense anxiety around mealtimes or new foods, or has textures they physically gag on (not just dislike), evaluation by a feeding specialist or occupational therapist is appropriate. For children who eat 10–15 varied foods across food groups without significant distress, continued exposure without pressure is the recommended approach.

Related reading: See also our cooking projects guide and our smoothie recipes guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🧪 Science Literacy — Understanding where food comes from, how cooking changes its properties, and what nutrients do in the body connects food experiences to biology, chemistry, and the broader scientific understanding of the natural world.
• 🥦 Healthy Food Knowledge — Learning about different foods, food groups, and what nutrients do in the body builds the food literacy that supports a lifetime of informed, health-conscious eating choices.
• 🍽️ Independence & Life Skills — Learning to serve themselves, pour a drink, or prepare a simple snack builds practical independence and the self-care capability that kindergarteners need to manage their own nutrition during the school day.
• 💬 Vocabulary Expansion — Nutrition activities introduce rich vocabulary — nutrients, protein, fiber, harvest, ferment, season — expanding language range in a domain that connects directly to science, social studies, and health literacy.

You can use the Food Guide Pyramid as a framework to shape what and how much your preschooler eats each day. Following this meal plan will help your preschooler meet their nutrient needs and maintain optimal health. The recommended daily amounts from each food group are given as a range and can be used with children ages 2-5. If your child is closer to 5, larger, or more active, use the higher end of the range. Younger, smaller and less active kids can use the lower end of the range.

Fruits

Fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit are all good choices. Fruit juice counts, too, but use only occasionally to meet your preschooler's fruit quota. Fruit doesn't have as many of the goodies as whole fruit.

Recommended Daily Amount for Preschoolers: 1-1.5 cups

1 cup =

1 small apple or ½ large apple

1 large banana

about 8 large strawberries

about 32 grapes

1 cup fruit pieces

1 cup of 100% fruit juice

½ cup dried fruit

2 snack cups of store-bought applesauce

Vegetables

Choose from a variety of vegetables and include dark green, orange, starchy and other vegetables. Fresh, frozen, canned and dried vegetables are good choices. Vegetable juice also counts but watch out - sodium levels can be very high. Beans and peas can be used toward the vegetable recommendation as well.

Recommended Daily Amount for Preschoolers: 1 – 2 cups

1 cup =

1 cup raw or cooked vegetable pieces such as broccoli, carrots, corn, potatoes and spinach

1 cup vegetable juice such as tomato juice or mixed vegetable juice

2 cups of raw leafy vegetables such as raw lettuce and spinach

1 cup cooked beans, whole or mashed, such as black beans, soybeans, kidney beans, split peas, etc.

1 cup tofu (in ½" cubes)

1 large tomato

2 medium carrots

Grains

At least half of all grains should be whole grains – whole wheat breads, oatmeal, whole cornmeal, bulgur, brown rice. Refined grains lose some nutrient value during processing so replace the white bread, white rice, and white flour with whole-grain versions when possible. Also, remember that most tortillas, pitas, bagels, crackers, pretzels, and pasta are made with refined grains.

Recommended Daily Amount: 3-5 oz equivalents

1 oz =

****

1 cup ready-to-eat cereal

½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal

1 slice of bread

¼ of a fresh bagel from a bagel store

5 whole wheat crackers

7 square or round crackers

1 pancake

1 tortilla (corn or small flour)

note: Many breads you find on store shelves are a bit larger - one slice is about 1 ½ oz - but "sandwich" bread is closer to 1 oz per slice.

Meat and Beans

Choose lean meats such as chicken, turkey, fish, and lower fat cuts of beef, pork and other meats. There a great alternatives to meat as well. Choose beans, peas, eggs, nuts and seeds to meet the same nutrient requirements as meat.

Recommended Daily Amount for Preschoolers: 2-5 oz

1 oz =

****

1 oz of lean meat, poultry or fish

1 regular slice of sandwich meat - turkey, roast beef, etc.

1 egg

1 Tbsp peanut butter

¼ cup cooked beans (black beans, kidney beans, white beans, etc)

½ oz nuts or seeds

¼ cup of tofu

¼ cup roasted soybeans

2 Tbsp hummus

Milk

Milk and products made from milk such as yogurt and cheese. Choose low-fat or non-fat options when possible. Limit the sweetened milk products such as some yogurts, yogurt smoothies, and flavored milk to keep added sugars low. If your preschooler does not drink milk, they can meet their calcium requirements with calcium-fortified soy and rice beverages and calcium-fortified orange juice. But remember that other nutrients found in milk may not be present in these foods.

Recommended Daily Amount for Preschoolers: 2-3 cups

1 cup =

****

1 cup milk

1 regular container yogurt (8 fl oz)

1 ½ oz natural cheese

2 oz processed cheese

1/3 cup shredded cheese

2 cups cottage cheese

1 ½ cups ice cream

Oils

Oils can be used in cooking foods or from other sources such as margarine spreads, mayonnaise, and some salad dressings.

Allowance: 3-5 teaspoons per day

Discretionary Calories

If your preschooler has met the daily food recommendations using low-fat and low-added sugar options, then there are "extra" calories left for foods for pure enjoyment. Discretionary calories can be used to eat a few higher-calorie foods within the food groups such as regular cheese, sausage, sweetened cereals, and sweetened yogurt or ice cream. Or you can use these calories for the occasional empty calorie treat such as candy, fruit punch or soda.

Allowance: About 170 calories per day

170 calories is about -

½ cup of regular ice cream

12 oz fruit drink or soda

1 ½ servings of fruit snacks

Source:

U.S. Department of Agriculture. www.MyPyramid.gov

I'm Kati Chevaux, the Nutrition writer at PreschoolRock.com. Let's talk about how to how to help our preschoolers eat well and develop life-long healthy eating habits. Contact me with your preschool nutrition questions and healthy eating ideas.