What’s on the Plate: Grains

Strive to have at least half of your grain offerings be Whole Grain

What is a whole grain?  It simply means that all three parts of the grain (grains are made of bran, germ, and endosperm) are intact and have not been refined. An example of whole grain is brown rice and the refined counterpart is white rice. One more example would be whole wheat bread vs. white bread. In looking for breads and flours, look for the ingredients that say WHOLE and NOT not necessarily multigrain because a multigrain option might have a few different types of grains, but they could all be refined. 

Why does it matter? Because whole grains have fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. When a grain is refined, it loses its fiber, iron and vitamins.  Sometimes, refined grains are enriched, which means the food companies add back vitamins and iron, BUT they will still be lacking fiber. 

Some of the more common types of grains are wheat, rice, cornmeal, barley, rye, oats, quinoa, etc.  Some examples of foods that contain grains are bread, rice, quinoa, pasta, oatmeal, grits, tortillas, breakfast cereals, etc.

Toddler Serving Size: Grains

A toddler's daily grain needs are about 2 to 4 ounces. We want at least half of that total to come from whole grain foods. What do 2 to 4 ounces look like? Grain portions can be tricky to measure without a scale so take advantage of provided packaging serving sizes and remember this rule:

 ¼ Rule. If you don’t want to calculate or weigh food portions, the general rule is Toddler Serving size = ¼ Adult serving

Nutritional institutions have come up with a long list of toddler serving sizes for various types of grains that equal about ½ ounce, contributing to a toddler’s 2 to 4 ounce daily total. Our chart below reflects the ½ ounce portion size so that means toddlers need 4 to 8 servings from the items on the list below. 

Younger toddlers should have closer to 2 ounces or 4 of the servings below and older toddlers closer to 4 ounces or 8 servings per day. You can choose to offer grains at each meal and snack or give a larger serving size at one meal and skip the grains during another meal or snack.

SUMMARY:

• 2-4 ounces of grains per day OR 4-8 servings from the chart below

• At least half of daily grains should be Whole Grains

• Age 12-18 months require less than age 18-36 months

¼ Rule. If you don’t want to calculate or weigh food portions, the general rule is Toddler Serving size = ¼ Adult serving

Snacks = mini-meals. Like meals, snacks should be nutritionally dense and include a variety of foods.

Snack serving = ½ toddler serving sizes.

Do offer 3 meals plus 2-3 snacks but limit to no more than 3 snacks per day

If possible offer each item at each meal and in ½ portions at each snack

• Serve with milk or water

• 1 protein 

• 1 carb 

• 1 fat source if the protein is lean

• 1 vegetable or 1 fruit