Never give up!

Kids can show very definite likes and dislikes but keep offering different foods over time - even if they have been rejected once upon a time.

Ask them to try!

If they are suspicious about eating a new food then ask them to try ‘just one bite’ and don’t force the issue.

Avoid making meals a battleground!

If your kid refuses to eat then just take the food away until the next meal.

Get them to cook!

Involve your kids in food preparation. Help them to choose nutritious dishes to prepare e.g. fruit salad and help them understand how you actually do it e.g. show them how to prepare a fresh pineapple. They are likely to feel pretty proud of what they produce and may just eat a few healthy ingredients along the way.

Buy a new cookbook!

Buy one for you and another for the kids to give you all a few new ideas for healthy meals and snacks.

Change the name of the dish!

Certain foods are rejected simply because they conjure up a healthy image. Rename a traditional healthy dish to make it appear trendy and attractive. Add visual appeal and lots of colour by serving garnished with vegetables in different shapes and sizes.

Be creative!

Your kids may reject a food in one form but not in another. You can easily hide a food in a new dish e.g. hide milk in cheesy pasta, vegetables in casserole.

Make food look lively!

Food can sometimes look pretty boring on its own so use garnishes of salad items to make it more attractive and encourage your kids to eat. Remember ‘you eat with your eyes’ and a few cucumber slices, chopped lettuce leaves, bunches of cress or slice of lemon can make all the difference.

Sneak in foods to traditional dishes.

... grate carrots into bolognese sauce, add pureed vegetables into tomato soup and add pumpkin and carrots into cakemix. Get inventive – what can you add to your kid’s favourite dish?

Sometimes the best option is the easiest.

So go on, cheat. By which we mean, give the kids a garden full of fruit and veg without them really knowing. So instead of giving them a boring piece of fruit, zap up bananas, strawberries, blueberries, carrots and pretty much anything else into delicious, nutritious smoothies.

I also recommend putting healthy snacks...

... like dried fruit or tangerines in places where you'd normally keep biscuits or cakes. That way, hungry kids in a rush might shovel in a handful of whatever they come across first. If that's a few sweet dried apricots, they'll have gobbled up one portion of their daily five in the blink of an eye.

Kids love sweets -

- that's half the problem, of course - so use it to your advantage. Choose fruits that are sweet-sized and sweet tasting, like grapes and strawberries. If your kids just won't eat fruit on its own, mix it into their favourite jelly or chop it into cereal.

Peer pressure to eat ‘trendy’ foods is strong so let your kids eat them from time to time but ensure that most of the food they eat is wholesome and nutritious as much as you can. Discuss it with your kids and share your concerns