High Calorie Diets for Toddlers

Getting your toddler to eat a high calorie diet can be a daunting task. At this age, children do not want to be submissive and will refuse to eat on a regular basis. Thus, it is important to feed them high calorie foods whenever possible to boost their daily calorie consumption. This will give them the energy to fuel their desire to explore.

Overall Diet

Have a structured daily schedule. This can be accomplished by predetermining what foods you will feed your toddler at a specific time throughout the day. Your overall approach to maintaining a high calorie diet should include high fat content foods, while trying to avoid low fat foods or liquids such as juice and water. Fats are calorie dense and essential to the developing brain. Thus, they should be a point of focus when developing a structured diet for a toddler.

Liquids

Try to limit the amount of water and juice you give your child each day. These low calorie liquids will fill up your toddler and she will not be hungry for a long time. If you do choose to give your child these liquids, try to limit juice consumption around four to six ounces per day. Water should only be used to quench thirst between meals.

Cheese

Cheese is a high fat and high calorie food. Adding cheese to vegetables, pasta, rice or sauces will help boost your toddler's daily calorie consumption. You can also try giving your toddler cheese snacks, such as strong cheese or cheese and crackers, throughout the day.

Eggs

Eggs are high in protein while still being high in calories. In addition, eggs can be added to a variety of meals to supplement your toddler's diet. One meal idea is to make scrambled eggs with butter, cheese and ketchup. Or, you can just add hardboiled eggs to salads, sandwiches or casseroles.

Starches

Starches include bread, waffles, pancakes, croissants and donuts. All of these foods have high calorie contents and can be a meal by themselves. Mini bagels with cream cheese, pasta with butter, french fries and tatter tots are all ideas to increase starch and calorie consumption for your toddler. In addition, most foods that contain starches are relatively inexpensive.

Fruits and Vegetables

Sometimes it can be hard to make your toddler eat fruits and vegetables. But, besides containing vital nutrients, fruits and vegetables are essential to a toddler's diet. By adding different spreads or butter you can make the fruits and vegetables taste better for your toddler while still increasing the amount of calories. Some meal ideas include fried zucchini, pan fried potatoes and cucumbers with ranch or sour cream.

Supplements

Supplements can be very beneficial when trying to increase your toddler's calorie consumption. In most cases, supplements can be used as meal replacements or snacks. But, remember to only use supplements occasionally and not let it be the primary source of calories.