It was my son’s admission that he’d eaten chicken nuggets for lunch every day at school last week that got me thinking about ways to get healthier food onto his plate without the constant battle.

Nutrition is a question that worries every parent I know. How do we ensure our picky kids are eating enough? Are they getting the balanced diet they need? And what if, heaven forbid, they go on a boycott of all foods colored green?

We reached out to parents and nutritionists for tips on getting those notoriously picky eaters to do just that: eat.

photo: tonya staab

• Give them a say in planning the meals. Susan Miller, mom to three boys, got her kids involved in creating the family’s weekly menu. Each child would contribute something to the menu that they wanted to eat. “Once they had a little more ownership of the process, they fought me less and were more willing to taste things.” Jill Berry recommends taking the kids along for grocery shopping. “I had good success getting my little kids to eat veggies by letting them choose a veggie from the supermarket. My son loved to weigh the food we purchased on the scales in the produce aisle.”

• Get them cooking. It’s not surprising that kids love to cook. After all, what is cooking if not a fun science experiment where they mix ingredients to see what results? “The more hands on they are with the preparation of the food, the more interested they are in eating their own creations,” says author Leanne Ely. “I call it hands-on nutrition.” Mom Shannon Duffy agrees and adds that not only does cooking encourage kids to eat better but also teaches them valuable skills. “At the age of 7, my son was already measuring ingredients and helping make meals.”

• Engage their imaginations. Give their food a special name, call it something fun. Much of what kids like or dislike is really just how its presented to them. “Feeding my kids was often little more than a name game,” says Toni Garcia Carpenter. “When it came to breakfast, I found the word porridge to be a useful tool. After all, the Three Bears liked it. More importantly, the term porridge could be applied to any hot cereal. So we had oatmeal porridge, cream of wheat porridge, and of course, grit porridge.”

• Serve meals in courses. Break meals up into smaller courses and start with what you want them to eat most. When her kids were little, Ruth Grau began their meals with a fruit or veggie course. When they finished their fruit or veggies, they would have a meat/protein course, followed by an optional carbohydrate course. The result? “My kids now eat everything and love veggies!” says Ruth.

• Prepare foods in new ways. Maybe your child doesn’t dislike broccoli as much as she claims; maybe she just didn’t like the way it was cooked last Tuesday night. Think about texture, spices, even shapes, and add some variety to the way you cook. Registered dietician, Kati Mora, recommends “preparing the foods your kids don’t like in new ways to see if maybe they just don’t like the brand, prep method, or just aren’t in the mood for it on one particular night.”