Home alone with my daughter the other day I tuned in to the Nate Berkus Show. It is actually an interesting program. Anyway, Nate had the actress Angie Harmon on and they were talking about getting kids to eat.

Here are some of their suggestions, which I found helpful, as well as a few more I recently read in a book about healthy eating. I have a real struggle with my toddler - he is a picky eater and somehow we have gotten off-track. My healthy approach has disintegrated into allowing him to eat what he wants just to avoid a tantrum. I need to check-in again and follow some of these tips.

- Make mini pizzas and use colourful veggies to make a pizza face

- Buy colourful and bright veggies, like purple cauliflower, that your kids haven't tried yet

- Cut food into fun shapes

And here is what a book I read offered as a solution to dinner-time wars:

- Place dinner in front of the child. You decide what they eat, he decides how much to eat. If he refuse to eat, clear the dishes away with everyone else's and wrap his portion up and put it in the fridge.

- An hour later when he asks for a snack, offer dinner again. 

- Try at every meal to include one item you know your kid will enjoy

The idea is that kids won't let themselves starve. I don't know, I worry my son might just try it. But I am up for it, I will give it a go. Other suggestions included,

-  Don't stress that your child isn't getting the nutrients he needs: even the most boring of menus like banana and peanut butter sandwiches at every meal offer a lot

- hiding veggies only works to a point, it doesn't encourage kids to try new foods

- Get kids involved in preparation

- Provide a plate of raw veggies as a before dinner snack - this is particularly useful for my son, who often wants to eat a half-hour before my husband gets home when we all sit down. Don't make a big deal out of it, just put it out. He will eat if he wants to. 

I feel inspired now to tackle my picky eater. I hope it works! There may be some tantrums in our immediate future, though.