Q. My son is 15 months old and has become a poor and picky eater lately. I am concerned that he seems to have only a small repertoire of foods he will eat and is not interested in eating in general. Please help.

A. This behaviour is not uncommon at this age. However, the first thing you want to ask yourself is whether your child is losing weight or falling off his growth chart. Your son’s doctor can tell you this. If this is not the case, then you probably don’t need to be overly concerned, for several reasons.

First, kids at this age require fewer calories than they did in their first year of life. Consider the tremendous growth that occurs from birth to a year, compared to the period from one to two years of age. A decrease in appetite and food intake is quite normal.

This also coincides with a time when babies start to move, crawl, walk and explore. The world is far too exciting for them to want to spend a lot of time sitting at the table.

The fact that your child likes a small number of foods is also common. Kids at this age love repetition – the same book, same video, song, toy, caregiver, routine, etc.

Here are a few things to consider: make a list of the foods your child does reliably eat, and highlight which are healthy foods. As long as there are some healthy choices on that list, then don’t fret about offering these foods over and over again. If the child doesn’t mind, don’t let it stress you out either. Also, consider how much, and what, your baby is drinking. Many kids at this stage are over-consuming liquid calories and then are not hungry for food.

At this age, only 16 ounces of milk per day are required to meet calcium requirements, and most babies are on whole milk for fat, which is fine. But remember that it’s filling, so try not to offer milk before a meal, but rather afterward or at bedtime, so that it doesn’t affect appetite.

You also want to evaluate if your child is grazing all day. If he is eating small amounts of food throughout the day, he may not have a chance to actually ever get hungry. So try to have planned meals and snacks with space in between.

Q. I have read about how healthy nuts are, but I wonder which ones are best and how much to eat?

A. Nuts are a nutrition powerhouse, particularly almonds and walnuts. They are very heart healthy and a good source of fibre and protein They also happen to be a portable, nonperishable snack, making them easy to pack in a  purse, desk, briefcase or car.

This is a case, however, where more isn’t necessarily better. Nuts are high in fat, and even though it is heart-healthy fat, this makes them high in calories – about 15 to 20 almonds or walnut halves per day is the recommended amount.

Nuts make a filling snack and are packed with protein for energy. They are great plain or in cereal, yogurt, salads and baked goods. If you are not already making nuts a part of your daily diet, I suggest you start.

Q. I am a woman trying to lose weight and wondering how much fat I can eat in a day, and how much oil.

A. Typically for a woman to lose weight, she should consume about 40 grams of fat per day at the most.

I am glad you also asked about oil, because this is a place that a a lot of hidden fat comes from. One tablespoon of oil, any oil, contains 14 grams of fat, and that’s a a lot. Some oils are good fat, heart healthy – omega 3 and 6, for instance – but they are still 100 per cent fat and contain that 14 grams. It’s really easy to add 1 or 2 or more tablespoons to a salad or a sautee pan to make an egg, or to vegetables. So you should avoid being heavy handed with the oil.

Lisa Weinberg is a registered dietitian/nutritionist in Toronto, in private practice and at the Genesis Professional Group. If you have any nutrition questions, please send them to The CJN.