I have a secret when it comes to getting toddlers to eat healthy. It's not ground breaking, or earth shattering... no, I'm not promising a gooey desert at the end of the meal if they eat all their broccoli. I eat what I want them to eat. Even if I don't like it. I take a big bite of the offending food and say: "Wow, that sure is yummy. Too bad you're missing out on how tasty this is." Sometimes I'll even take their plate away and say something like: "Well, if you don't like it, I like it so much I can eat it all!" Nothing irks a toddler like taking their plate from them. It touches onto their "Mine," reflex and they'll generally eat something they normally wouldn't when they see you munching away on THEIR food.

Another great way to get some extra vitamins and minerals into your picky eaters is to finely chop vegetables and add them into more toddler friendly foods. For example, you can finely chop some mushrooms and add them into your meatloaf. (Gross, but effective. Even I, as an adult who detests mushrooms has done this on occasion. Guess what? I didn't taste them at all!) There are tons of toddler cookie recipes out there that expand on this idea, but I like the idea of trying it with all kinds of foods, the idea is to get your toddler to be open-minded, not a mini Cookie Monster.

Which brings me to my next tip on getting kids to eat healthy. Make it fun! Make things that are hand-sized, bite-sized, or incredibly messy. (It's a proven fact, the more messy a food is, the more your toddler will love it!) Whenever possible think of ways they can help you prepare what is being made... within reason, of course. Kids are much more willing to try something that they've had a hand in making, though.

Institute a "one-bite" rule. Say something like: "Okay, you think you don't like it, I'm not going to make you eat it, but I want you to try ONE BITE. It doesn't have to be a big one, but you must chew and you can't spit it out." It's amazing how many kids will give you a "sour-this-is-a-fate-worse-than-death" look until they swallow and smile and say: "More?" My daughter was the queen of not liking just about anything except pickles during her toddler years until I started using the "one-bite" rule. We both learned what she liked and what she didn't like because of this rule. It helps if you cheer-lead them through the process of trying new foods, and like I mentioned earlier, let them have a hand in helping to make it & give it a not-so-honest go yourself. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean they share the same tastes. Try not to let your likes and dislikes shine through too much, they deserve to try everything with an open mind.

Any time you make a breakfast, lunch or dinner try not only to look at the meal as a whole, but think of one or two ways you can make it healthier. Unless your toddler has a weight problem, you don't need to be counting calories for them. Sure, you don't want to load them up on fattening foods, but you should be more concerned about the over-all healthiness of a food, loading them up on empty-calories versus loading them up on a fatty, but still all-around healthy foods. Just because something has a lot of calories in it doesn't make it unhealthy, it just means it is something you'll want to only give them in moderation. And moderation, of course, is the key to any healthy life-style.

Below are some healthy ideas for toddler breakfasts. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your child should have a big, well rounded breakfast. The key to this is portion control. No, it's not a dieting suggestion, it's how you get the most nutrition into a meal without filling them up too much on one thing.

Let's say you want your child to eat pancakes, a yoghurt and fruit cup and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Here's what I've found to be the easiest way to accomplish this:

Make the pancakes silver-dollar sized. Make them as small as possible, two pancakes per child. Instead of using traditional butter and syrup use honey butter or peanut butter and make them into a "sandwich." This makes them more fun and not as high in sugar as the traditional way. Some fun add-ins you can mix into the batter are: fresh fruits, wheat germ, applesauce or finely grated vegetables. (Carrots have a sweet taste when added into pancake batter.)

(Warning: check with your pediatrician to make sure your child is old enough to eat honey, I'm not sure if they do it by weight or ages, but honey can be a botulism risk. I have heard the going age is after 12 months +, but it's always best to check with your family doctor on these things.)

You can make the pancake batter up the night before and store in a air-tight container to save on time in the mornings.

For the yogurt cups, take a cup of yogurt, (the standard sized little yogurt tubs,) dump it into a small serving dish and mix in anything that can stand over night... chopped grapes, blueberries, chunks of pineapple, slices of oranges... Greek yogurts are excellent for children, they're not as calorie conscious as the U.S. brands and they aren't loaded with as much sugar as the kid's variety. Let the kids pick out their fruits at the store, they might surprise you! Again, they'll be more likely to try something they've had a hand in picking out themselves.

Mind you, certain add-ins won't set well over night: Apples, bananas, and wheat germ should all be added when the dish is ready to be served. Make sure everything is chopped pretty finely to avoid choking. Also, while dried fruits are fantastic and convenient, they'll get super-hard when combined with something cold, so sprinkle on top, don't mix them in.

You'll only want to serve about 8-10 spoonfuls at a time, so only make up enough for about a cup per morning. Adding a little cinnamon apple sauce for extra flavor was a total winner with my daughter at that age, too. (Especially if you're using plain greek yogurt.)

As for the eggs, make only two eggs in a scramble, unless you're eating with your child. This is a fantastic opportunity to add in all kinds of finely grated vegetables. Grate some cheese over the top and serve them over a couple of fried tomato slices and you're good to go! (Chop it all together and make sure the cheese is really melted so they can't just eat around the fried tomatoes.)

Some tips for an easier breakfast making experience:

Have two pans for cooking and a roll of paper towels. Use a paper towel to wipe out your cooking pan whenever possible and you'll cut down on having to wash the pan more than one when making more than one hot breakfast dish. Sure, it won't work for everything, but it'll keep you from having to do the dishes until after breakfast is over.

Make up a batch of pancake batter after the kids have gone to sleep. Store it in the fridge in a tightly covered container. Now, whenever you want to make the kids pancakes, they're ready to go as soon as you've added your add-ins per pancake. (Dates, chunks of pineapple, wheat germ, blueberries...)

Make the yogurt cup first, then the pancakes, then the eggs. It will keep the food from getting cold if you make it in this order. Eggs cook more quickly, so chances are the pancakes will still be warm by the time you're finished making the eggs if you do it in this order.

Have vegetables or fruit pre-grated and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge whenever possible. It won't work for things like bananas or apples, but carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and cheeses store well grated as long as they are covered.

Sure, this only covers breakfast, but if you can cover one meal a day in a healthy way, you are doing a lot better than most families I know. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is the meal I wanted to focus most on. Through the rest of the day, try to limit snacking, (make snacks as fun and healthy as possible,) so that your toddler has an appetite for lunch and dinner. Some fun snack ideas are: Ants on a Log, dried or fresh fruits and vegetables, (don't forget a little veggie dip or peanut butter to make it more palatable to young ones,) pita and hummus, the list goes on. Don't neglect to try to serve something to your child because you think they won't like it. And do try to serve the same thing more than once. Toddlers are finicky and ever changing. What looks "eww." today may be tomorrow's new favorite food.