Protein is essential for your child’s diet, as we’re sure you’re aware. Iron, zinc, Omega-3, and vitamins B and D can all be found in protein-rich foods and help your body to function. However, knowing how to include it into their everyday routine is another story. Therefore, it’s time to dig deeper and explore some great protein food sources for your preschool child that you can include in their weekly diet. With a little guidance, ensuring your child has enough protein will become one of the easiest parts of planning their nutritionally balanced diet - just wait and see!

But firstly, it’s important to know why you should spread out your child’s protein intake and what the benefits of this are:

Why should I spread out my child’s protein intake?

In general, it’s a good idea to spread out your child’s protein intake evenly during the day to boost protein’s benefits within their body. Spreading your child’s protein intake throughout the whole day, starting at breakfast, allows your child to benefit from the energy and nutrients protein-rich foods povide, keeping them active and energised throughout all of their day’s activities.

But how should I spread out my child’s protein intake?

Although there are many different ways you can spread out a healthy amount of protein over your child’s daily meals, here’s an example to paint a general picture of what this could look like on an average day:

Breakfast: A little protein for breakfast. Replace some carbohydrate foods at breakfast with protein foods: a carton of yoghurt, peanut butter on toast, or a handful of nuts with their cereal.

Snacks: Snack smartly with options like hummus, peanuts, a protein bar, or string cheese as a quick snack.

Lunch: More protein for lunch within a chicken soup, tuna salad, or a peanut butter sandwich.

Supper: At dinnertime, the biggest portion of protein is within a piece of meat, poultry, or fish.

Now let’s explore the different protein-rich foods you can choose from, so you can think about how you are spreading your child’s protein intake over the course of a day/week.

Sources of Animal-Based Protein Choices:

Chicken breast, skinless, meat only, grilled - 3 ounces, 128 calories, 26 grams

Lean beef, sirloin, broiled, 0-inch trim - 3 ounces, 160 calories, 26 grams

Pork, loin, roasted - 3 ounces, 147 calories, 23 grams

Ground beef - 90 per cent, 3 ounces, 184 calories, 22 grams

Salmon, sockeye, baked - 3 ounces, 184 calories, 23 grams

Tuna, canned in water, drained - 3 ounces, 109 calories, 20 grams

Whey protein powder - 1 ounce, 103 calories, 17 grams

Cottage cheese, low-fat - 12 a cup, 81 calories, 14 grams

Greek yoghurt, nonfat, vanilla - 5.3 ounces, 117 calories, 13 grams

Milk, low-fat - 8 ounces, 102 calories, 8 grams

Cheese, cheddar - 1 ounce, 115 calories, 6 grams

Sources of Plant-Based Protein Choices:

Tempeh - ½ a cup, 160 calories, 17 grams

Soy nuts, dry roasted - ¼ of a cup, 104 calories, 10 grams

Soybeans (edamame) - ½ a cup, 94 calories, 9 grams

Tofu, regular, with calcium sulfate - ½ of a cup, 88 calories, 9 grams

Lentils, cooked - ½ a cup, 113 calories, 9 grams

Kidney beans, canned drained - ½ a cup, 108 calories, 8 grams

Peanut butter, smooth, reduced fat - 2 tablespoons, 187 calories, 9 grams

Soymilk, all flavours - 1 cup, 80 calories, 7 grams

Hummus, commercial - ⅓ of a cup, 136 calories, 6 grams

Almonds - 1 ounce, 23 nuts, 170 calories, 6 grams

Sunflower seeds, roasted - 1 ounce, 165 calories, 5 grams

Pumpkin seeds, roasted - 1 ounce, 126 calories, 5 grams

Quinoa, cooked, ½ a cup - 111 calories, 4 grams

Walnuts - 1 ounce, 14 halves, 185 calories, 4 grams

Miso - 2 tablespoons, 67 calories, 4 grams

Natto - 2 tablespoons, 46 calories, 4 grams

Cowpeas (black-eyed) peas, cooked - ½ a cup, 80 calories, 3 grams

Bulgur, cooked, ½ a cup - 75 calories, 3 grams

Pecans - 1 ounce, 19 halves, 196 calories, 3 grams

Rice, white, long-grain, cooked - ½ a cup, 105 calories, 2 grams

Corn, yellow, cooked - ½ a cup, 72 calories, 2 grams

Almond milk, unsweetened - 1 cup, 39 calories, 2 grams

Now that we’ve looked at these different types of protein sources, let’s explore some quick and easy ideas for boosting your child’s protein intake:

How do I quickly boost my child’s protein intake?

Finally, here are some easy tips to boost your child’s protein intake if you want some quick solutions for increasing their intake:

Sprinkle chopped seeds or nuts over breakfast cereal, ice cream, oatmeal, fruit, yoghurt or waffles.

Spoon cottage cheese, soy or greek yoghurt over a cereal, baked potato, or some fruit.

Whisk an egg or egg whites into chicken soup.

Serve hummus as a raw veggie dip.

Mix leftover chopped meat, poultry, or fish into vegetable soup or pasta sauce.

Top Tip: A protein supplement is generally not needed if your child is healthy and has a good amount of protein-rich meals and snacks.

What are some protein food sources for my preschooler?

Protein is an essential nutrient for your preschooler's growth and development.