Research shows that the most successful way of getting children to try new foods is to offer them to them in tiny amounts so chop things up small, add small amounts to the side of their plates and serve small portions in little dishes. Don't give up on the first or second attempt either as research also shows that you may need to offer it 8 - 10 times too before it is accepted.

Too Hungry to Wait Till Supper?

If your children are too hungry to wait for supper give them their dessert first in the form of slices of apple, grapes, blueberries or a slice of melon.This will stave of hunger pangs and help them to reach their 5 a day target.

Lack of Iron

A lack of iron is the most common nutritional deficiency found in the diets of young children and this can have a negative affect on academic performance. Boost your child's intake of iron by including plenty of fortified cereals, wholemeal bread, pulses and red meat in his/her diet along with foods high in vitamin C such as citrus fruits and berries as these help to ensure that any iron taken in has a greater chance of being properly absorbed.

Want Your Children to Eat more Fruit and Veg? Try these ingenious magnetic 5-a-day food record charts from the Great Little Trading Company - www.gltc.co.uk

Can't get your child to eat vegetables?

Try roasting a selection of peppers, tomatoes, carrots, celery, courgettes, sweet potato, onions and garlic then add a tin or two or chopped tomatoes and blend the whole lot together. Then serve as a sauce over pasta, rice, couscous, fish or meat or as a soup with hot buttered toast or warm chunks of garlic bread. Ladle excess amounts into sterile jam jars or Tupperware containers and store for 2 - 3 days in the fridge or, if you want to keep them for longer, pop them in the freezer.

Different Tastes andTextures

If your toddler often rejects meals that incorporate a number of different tastes and textures such as lasagne or fish pie try serving the same ingredients separately instead. Very often, this simple change in presentation will see the plate emptied in seconds and your child asking for more.

Nibble Night

If your children refuse to eat anything but the same old foods dedicate one night a week or month to becoming ‛nibble night'.

Choose a selection of sweet and savoury foods and drinks (ideally 6 - 8 different things such as olives, dips, crackers, cold meats, salmon, prawns, unusual fruits such as Sharon fruits, lychees etc, various nuts, cottage cheese, chicken satay sticks, sushi, fresh bread dipped in good quality olive oil and so on). Offer various drinks to try such as smoothies, tomato juice, various fruit juices or diluted cordials too.

Some may be totally new to your child, others may be old favourites. Lay them out buffet style on the table then get the whole family to sit around and try out the different tastes. Talk to your children about which foods they like, don't like, where the foods come from, which countries they originate from, why they might be good (or bad) for you. Praise them for ‛trying' a food even if they don't actually eat it and explain to them the importance of eating a whole variety of different foods in order to grow fit and strong.

5-a-Day

Tinned and frozen fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 a day too so sneak an extra serving of fruit into your family's diet by blending a tin of peaches (tinned in fruit juice not syrup) with a little good quality ice-cream and a banana to make a delicious smoothie or roll out some ready-made puff pastry, top with tinned apricot halves, sprinkle over a little dark brown sugar and bake in a moderate oven for 15 - 20 minutes to make a fabulous tart in minutes!

Lunch Boxes

Get your kids off to a roaring start this term with these fantastic, old fashioned, dinosaur, tin lunchboxes priced just £7.00 from the famous potter Emma Bridgewater www.emmabridgewater.co.uk

Fussy Suppertimes

Don't get into a fight about eating supper. If your children don't want it simply remove it from the table but don't offer dessert. If possible, keep it and let them know that if they want it later you will re-heat it for them. If it's not re-heatable and your children do get hungry later make it clear that choices to fill up are limited to fruit or a healthy snack. You'll be amazed how quickly they catch on to the fact that skipping the main meal in order to get to the desert quicker simply doesn't work and the whole family will enjoy much happier, less stressful mealtimes.

Broadening Your Child's Palette

There's nothing more disheartening than spending ages in the kitchen cooking up a new supper for your children only to hear a chorus of ‛yuk, I don't like that' when you put it on the table. Consequently, as parents it can be easier all round to stick to serving up the same old foods - ones that you know will result in happy kids and full tummies. This however, can result in children growing up with a very limited palette and you becoming bored out your mind cooking the same old meals night after night.

One way to encourage your children to try a wide range of different textures and tastes is to allocate one night a week (Friday or Saturday night works well) to being ‛Family Feast Night'. Each week lay out 5 - 6 different types of foods buffet style, (foods can include everything from good old fashioned favourites that you know they'll like such as such as crisps, peanuts, slices of ham, salami, garlic bread and a pot of melted chocolate to dip a variety of different fruits in through to the more daring and varied such as fresh anchovies, olives, chicken satay sticks, prawns, fajitas, cherry tomatoes, falafels, different types of cheeses, hummus with raw vegetable crudit√©s, jelly, crispy seaweed and so on).

Then, invite the whole family to sit down around the table with a drink, try the foods and chat about them - which ones they like, don't like, which foods taste good when eaten with something else i.e. cheese with pineapple, peanuts with sliced apple etc, which ones you like, which ones you don't like. Above all, make it a fun time. Praise your children heavily when they try something new and let them know it's o.k. to say they don't like something - as long as they have tried it first! If however, they come across something they do like chat to them about ways you can include the food in their meals throughout the week i.e. if they like chicken satay or cherry tomatoes ask them if they'd like it putting in their lunchbox this week, if they like the smoked trout or salmon add it to pasta and serve it as a mid week supper and so on.

You'll be amazed how after just a few family feast nights your children are suddenly eating a whole range of foods you (and they) never dreamed they would!!

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