Other tips for helping your child get the nutrients needed, include:

• Don't battle with your child over eating because more than likely you will lose. Although you can provide healthy choices, ultimately your child is the only one who can control what goes into her mouth.

• Don't worry if your child does not eat adequate proportions at each meal. His health doesn't depend on eating the right nutrients at one single meal, but instead depends on eating the right foods over a period of time.

• Avoid unusual main dishes that your child strongly dislikes. If it is a food that other members of your family particularly like, try making it as a side dish. Eventually, your child will probably try the dish, and may even like it.

If your child avoids some or most vegetables, replace them with fruits. Because fruits and vegetables are from the same food group, vegetables can be replaced entirely by fruits without compromising any nutritional value to your child.

Offer new foods to your child. Studies show that it often takes seeing others eat a particular food at least 10 times before they will even consider trying it themselves. It may take another 10 times trying the food before she will acquire a taste for it. By asking a child to taste new things, she may eventually learn that she likes it.

Including healthy snacks in your child's diet is important to his or her daily diet. Eating between meals can be healthy if your child makes the right snack choices. You can help your child choose snacks that are nutritious, taste great, and are easy to prepare.

Some ideas for snacks between meals include:

• Easy to grab snacks - apples, grapes, bananas, raisins, nuts, pretzels, pre-cleaned and cut carrots and celery sticks
• Easy to prepare snacks - mini-pizzas, blended fruit milkshakes, cheese and crackers, a bowl of cereal with milk and fresh fruit, frozen fresh fruit bars