Table 3.

General intake guidelines (normal weight): 5 to 18 years. From 5 to 18 years of age, the recommendations for children in all food categories increase in volume as the children grow and develop. There is a continued emphasis on the inclusion of non-starchy vegetables; desserts, sweets, and other added-sugar foods are best avoided [1,2].

	12–23 months	2–3 years	3–4 years
Milk and Milk Products	2 cups/day (whole milk or milk products)	2–2.5 cups/day	2.5–3 cups/day
Serving: 1 cup of milk or cheese, 1½ oz of natural cheese, 1/3 cup shredded cheese
Meat and Other Protein Foods	1½ oz/day	2 oz/day	2–3 oz/day
Serving: (1 oz equivalent) ​= ​1 oz beef, poultry, fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tbsp peanut butter∗, ½ oz of nuts∗ ∗peanut butter and nuts may be a choking hazard under the age of three
Breads, Cereal, and Starches	2 oz/day	2 oz/day	2–3 oz/day
1 oz = 1 slice whole grain bread, ½ cup cooked cereal, rice, pasta or 1 cup dry cereal
Fruits	1 cup/day	1 cup/day	1–1½ cups/day
Serving: 1 cup of fruit or ½ cup dried fruit; NO JUICE
Vegetables (non-starchy vegetables to include sources of vitamin C and A)	3/4 cup/day	1 cup/day	1–1½ cups/day
Serving: (1 cup equivalent) = 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables; 2 cups of raw leafy green greens
Fats and Oil	Do not limit∗ ∗Low-fat products are not recommended under the age of 2	3 teaspoons	3–4 teaspoons/day
Miscellaneous desserts, sweets, soft drinks, candy, jams, jelly	None	none	None