iVillagers from the Kids & Food message board help a worried mum sort out her toddler's diet

The problem
My two-year-old son is hard to feed - in fact won't eat anything but junk food. I buy as healthily as I can but he won't eat it! He likes some healthy things. He loves bananas, and once ate grapes for a whole hour but after that he wouldn't touch them, and he won't eat any other fruit. He loves cheese on toast, sausages, coco pops (full of sugar) fruit corner yogurt (again full of sugar). He does love chicken and homemade lasagne, but I can't make it every day. I can cook him dinner but what about lunch? I feel that sandwiches aren't good every day, are they? I want to make something that is healthy but quick. I can cook but I am not natural at it. So, I need ideas.
livingfree_always

Member solutions
How about bangers and mash? Or you could make pizza faces, using bases with your own toppings (that way you can choose just how healthy they are). Shepherd's pie/cottage pies are other ideas - try sneaking small, diced vegetables into them.
cl-ivelouise

Don't worry if your child doesn't eat anything until the afternoon. No child has ever voluntarily starved itself. Going for a few hours without eating is not going to hurt him.

Provide nutritious meals (as you seem to try to do!). If he doesn't eat it (or at least try a tiny amount of what is offered) then say fine... take it away and offer nothing except water until the next nutritious meal - repeat, repeat, repeat. When he does try new things or finishes his meal give loads of praise, and let him choose his pudding or a special treat - but not too much junk.
lisacp1980

My cousin has three fussy children under seven and she finds that if she just puts things on their plate, for example, adds a slice of tomato to a slice of cheese on toast eventually they'll try it and eat it without fuss.

A strange thing one of my friends told me is that her mum used to mash up bran flakes and things and call it chocolate pudding - she'd happily eat it! Some people also recommend dying vegetables unusual colours, but I personally think that's a waste of time. Does he have a favourite book character that you could make up a story about? You know, Postman Pat loves potatoes, you do too sort of thing.
alison1523

All three of my kids went through this and I know it's very worrying. Make dinnertime fun for them by making faces out of their food - they love eating the eyes, then the nose etc. Then when they do eat, really praise them. Don't try to force them, because not only will they get stressed, so will you and you'll be back to square one.
jbroseann1

I make fruit smoothies: put a banana, strawberries and ten ice cubes into a blender. Whizz and pour into a cup (using straws makes it more fun). This gives them two of their daily fruit portions.

My two girls eat porridge for breakfast. I put honey in as a sweetener, or for a treat I put a little chocolate sauce in; the sort you put on ice cream. Porridge is a very substantial breakfast, and there's no added sugar, it's also very cheap. Also try banana splits with ice cream and fruit salad. If you make your own ice cream it limits the sugar. Cream is a dairy product, don't forget, so lots of calcium. You can also add fruit to the ice cream, which adds lots of goodness.
ivykaty44

My children are eight and four and love making pizzas. We use mini pittas, sun-dried tomato sauce, ham, mushroom, sweetcorn, spring onion, pineapple and cheese.

Cut the pitta in half, add sauce and the toppings of your child's choice, add cheese on top, put under the grill until the cheese has melted. Serve with homemade wedges and salad.

When they were smaller we used bread (using a teddy bear shape cutter). If your son helps to make his own dinner he may eat a little. No promises but it may be worth a try.
charj6