You read about diet and health. You scrutinise food labels. You prepare healthy meals at home. But does flavour go out the window when you're counting grams of fat? It doesn't have to, and shouldn't. Enjoyment plays an important role in getting children, as well as adults, to stick with a healthy diet

For most of us, enjoyment is the most important reason for eating. Good health does not mean deprivation. One can find great pleasure in eating flavoursome, appealing foods presented in an inviting atmosphere. A savvy cook knows that the appearance and presentation of food is just as important as flavour. Fortunately, that doesn't have to add much, if any, time to your meal preparation.

The two main categories in making food appealing are the food itself and the atmosphere in which the food is served and eaten.

FOOD It hardly takes a statistician to point out what studies show: flavour tops nutrition as the number-one reason we buy one food over another. Flavour is really several sensations blended together: taste, smell and touch (temperature and texture). With even one sensation diminished, the flavour is changed entirely.

Variety for the senses is the best way to enhance flavour.

Start with taste. To keep your taste buds perked up, don't duplicate flavours in a meal.
Too similar: Orange-glazed chicken with sweet potatoes
Better: Sage- and garlic-roasted chicken with sweet potatoes
Similarly, don't serve the same food twice. If you have cheese and biscuits after dinner, avoid cheese at dinner. Serving a variety of foods ensures a variety of nutrients, one of the main messages of the food pyramid.

Vary colour. A meal with a colourful palette has lots more appeal than a bland one. Children especially like colourful foods.
Bland: Grilled sole, cauliflower and mashed potatoes
Better: Sole with lemon, roasted red new potatoes and steamed broccoli

Vary texture. Don't have it all crunchy, or all mushy.
Too similar: Creamed soup, soft dinner rolls and a dish of apple sauce
Better: Creamed soup, a crisp salad and crusty bread

Vary temperature. Except, perhaps on a sultry summer day when only cool, crisp salad and an iced drink will do, vary the temperature of the foods you serve. Hot mashed potatoes and roast turkey with gravy goes well with some cool, crisp carrot and celery sticks.

Vary shape.
Too similar: String beans, chips and sausages
Better: Sausages, mash and baby peas

• Tiny marshmallows go well in hot chocolate
• A spicy cinnamon stick makes an aromatic straw for sipping warm cider
• Raisins cooked into a pancake in the shape of a happy face cheers up a Monday morning breakfast plate
• Garnishes such as a piece of curly parsley or a wedge of lemon, make good food more inviting

Another way to make good food more inviting is to create a pleasant setting to serve it in. Don't save'ambiance' for guests. If your children see you cook and serve with care for family meals, they will come to know it as a normal and important part of life, not just a chore to get through. From a health perspective, it is as important as their annual check-up.

Ideas for a cheery table:

• Place a candle or two on the table, or maybe an art creation your child has made
• It takes only a minute or two to pick a flower from the garden for the table, or have the kids find a few wildflowers
• A fruit bowl loaded with the season's colourful citrus fruits is cheery and healthy
• A wicker basket lined with a fabric and filled with tonight's bread rolls can also serve as a centrepiece
• Soft music can help slow the pace of a meal. And be sure to stay away from unpleasant or unsettling topics of conversation
• For a fun change, try eating a meal away from the dining room or kitchen. Picnics offer a great opportunity for improvisation. What appetite isn't perked up by some fresh air? Use a picnic table often in the summer, if you have one. In the winter, have a picnic in the living room on an old quilt or blanket. A candle-lit table in front of the fireplace will make more than your stomach happy