Your under age 2 toddler needs essential fatty acids both for growth (adequate calories) and for development of his brain and nervous system. Many food sources of fat have cholesterol, which is a very important part of a baby's diet. Unfortunately, our culture has made cholesterol a bad word. Realize, though, that breast milk is over 50% fat (in the form of cholesterol), and breast fed babies are less likely to have elevated cholesterol levels as adults. Also, it is recommended that you not limit a child's fat intake until age 2 (This is for normal weight children. There are cases of toddler obesity in which these quidelines do not apply).
Since your child has exzema, you want to be cautious of foods that are potential allergens. Peanuts and peanut butter, eggs, dairy are common culprits. For this reason, almond butter-mentioned in an earlier answer, may be a very good option. Also, intake of omega 3 oils has been associated with reducing allergies. (I did not search out more on that topic, but it might be interesting to explore further)
In figuring out how much food your toddler needs, pediatricians usually advise 40 calories per inch of height. This should be a general guideline.
In addition to carbs and proteins, give your baby a variety of healthy fat-containing foods. Omega 3 foods include safflower oil, flax seed oil, walnuts (grind them up and sprinkle in his food), fish (esp. oily fish like salmon). Make sure any oil you buy is cold pressed, to preserve the health benefits of the omega-3; Some food ideas: add a teaspoon of flax seed oil and/or ground up walnuts to cooked cereal; saute veggies in canola or safflower oil; small bits of fish (make sure all bones are out), or poultry; smoothies with flax oil (especially since he likes yogurt). Lastly, Nordic Naturals makes a gummy bear type chew that is an EFA supplement. I have no idea how these taste. There might be other companies that also make a child-sized EFA supplement.
Good luck!
Source(s):
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-6-000317.htm
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/toddlernutrition.html

Asker's Rating:

Permalink | Report