Giving your child a nutritious, tasty diet needn’t be hard with these tips – and the earlier you start the better it is…

All parents worry about what their children are eating. However, by teaching your toddler good eating habits now, you will be giving him the best chance of staying healthy into adulthood.

There are four main food groups your child should be eating, plus the occasional fifth.

Starchy Carbohydrates, Wholemeal bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and wholegrain cereals
These foods can really boost energy levels. Try making mini minestrone with tiny chunks of carrot and courgette, vegetable stock and very small pasta shapes, and finish with a scattering of tasty grated cheese. Kids love noodles or eating long pasta – try tossing egg noodles or spaghetti with a little cooked chicken breast, finely chopped red pepper and sweetcorn.

Fruit and Vegetables
It’s really important to get the kids interested in as many fruit and vegetables as you can at an early age and to get them eating five a day. Try and offer five small servings a day and make sure they get a good variety – different fruit and vegetables contain different vitamins and nutrients. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and avocado are rich in vitamins and iron, strawberries and tomatoes are rich in lycopene and antioxidants. Bananas, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes and citrus fruits are all high in betacarotene and are good sources of vitamin C. If you can’t get them to eat chunks of veggies try disguising them by blitzing them into smooth pasta sauces – make with a combination of tomatoes, carrots, leeks, and courgettes. Chunks of crunchy vegetables such as cucumber, carrot sticks, peppers and celery are good served with a creamy dip of hummus or avocado for dunking. One small apple, one small banana, a slice of melon, one kiwi or a glass of fresh fruit juice all measure up to one serving. As for vegetables approximately two dessertspoons equal one serving. Potatoes do not count as one of your five a day as they belong to the starchy group.

Milk and Dairy
This group of products is a good source of protein and calcium and is essential for the development of strong bones and teeth. Scrambled egg or boiled dippy eggs are good served with sesame bread sticks or marmite toasted fingers. Smoothies are a good way of making a calcium enriched drink.

Lean red meat, chicken, and fish
These are all good sources of protein, needed for healthy growth and maintenance of healthy cells. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines are a good source of essential omega-3 oils. Make mini salmon fish cakes with mashed potato and flaked, canned or cooked salmon (make sure you remove all bones).

Fatty and sugary foods
These foods should be offered in moderation as a source of energy. Try serving mini pots of chocolate sauce with a choice of sliced fruit for dunking. Milkshakes made with ice cream and soft fruits are a good treat now and then.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE YORKSHIRE PUDDING
A great way to get your kids to eat fruit without kicking up a fuss – this yummy Yorkshire pud is pretty healthy and absolutely delicious, too
Serves 4

• 115g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 300ml milk
• 325g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 115g blackberries
• Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• 2tbsp vegetable oil plus 25g unsalted butter

1. Sift the plain flour, caster sugar and the salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the egg and a little milk. With a hand whisk, gradually draw in the dry ingredients to make a smooth paste, then gradually fold in the remaining milk to make a batter, allow to rest for at least half an hour, ideally for a couple of hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine the apples, blackberries and remaining sugar with the grated lemon rind and allow to macerate for half an hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/ Gas mark 6. Take a pie dish, pop in the vegetable oil, swirl until the dish is coated and pop in the oven for around minutes to preheat.
4. Remove the dish from the oven, pop in the unsalted butter which will melt instantly, tip in the fruit, then pour over the stirred batter. Return immediately to the oven and bake for a further 30 minutes. Serve the pudding with hot custard.

Antony’s tip: The world’s your oyster on the fruit front with this recipe – try fresh or tinned peaches, pears, nectarines or pineapple.

COTTAGE PIE IN A BAKED POTATO
Simple to prepare and quick to cook, this delicious meal will fill hungry tummies, keep kids warm in winter and it’s full of nutrients, too

Serves 4

• 4 large jacket potatoes washed
• 75g unsalted butter
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 75g Boursin Herb and Garlic Cheese
• 450g Mainstay mince

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6. Push a metal skewer through the centre of each potato, this reduces the cooking time and allows the steam to escape. Pop them into an oven on a rack rather than a baking dish and bake for about 1 hour or until the potatoes feel soft when squeezed.
2. Remove a shallow lid from the top of each potato, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash with the butter, salt and pepper and Boursin. Fill the cavities ¾ full with the mince mix and pipe or spoon the potato back on top. Fluff up with a fork. Return to the oven and bake until the potato is golden and the mince is hot – this should take about 20 minutes. Serve with a green vegetable or a well-dressed leafy salad.

Antony’s tip: The same idea can be applied to a delicious fish pie mix.

Let them eat greens
Sneaky ways to get your kids munching on veg

• Try roasting vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and potatoes and toss in a little olive oil and runny honey for a quick sticky glaze.
• For baked potatoes with a difference try baking sweet potatoes and filling with chilli. Or for sweet potato chips, cut sweet potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and bake in a moderate oven until softened and golden.
• Finely shred spring greens or cabbage and stir-fry with a little sesame oil and sesame seeds.
• Make home-made beef burgers and add a little finely grated carrot and courgette to the mixture. Not only does this add to their five a day but also keeps the burgers deliciously moist.
• Add a selection of chopped peppers, sweetcorn and tomatoes to pizzas.
• Soups are a brilliant way of disguising many a vegetable – blend sweet butternut squash and red lentils for a creamy, tasty soup.
• Add another vegetable when cooking mashed potatoes – try broccoli and potato mash or root vegetable mash, parsnip, carrot and potato. Delicious served with sausages.
• For quick special fried rice – stir fry some chopped carrots, spring onions, broccoli florets, peas and sliced
  baby corn, toss in cooked rice and stir fry until heated through. Season with a little soy sauce.
• Chunky pasta sauces or blended pasta sauces can disguise even more veggies or try a tasty pasta and vegetable bake.
• Pack a lot of finely chopped veggies such as carrot, mushroom and petit pois into bolognaise or shepherds pie.
• Cut up strips of carrot, pepper and cucumber and serve with a yummy dip.
• Encourage your children to pick out the vegetables they like in the supermarket.
• Let the kids help you prepare and cook nutritious meals – children love getting involved in the kitchen and they’re more likely to eat what they’ve helped to make.
• Start a vegetable garden so your kids can grow their own produce – they’ll really enjoy eating the carrots and tomatoes they saw start out as seeds!

Three ways to teach good habits
Start them young and they’ll stay healthy for life

Offer non-edible rewards
Try to avoid using sweet foods as a reward for finishing savouries. To your toddler, this simply says, ‘here’s something nice after eating those nasty greens’ – and is likely to make sweet foods seem even more attractive to him. Reward him instead with a trip to the park or playground, or allow him to watch one of his favourite videos.

Keep snacks healthy
Limit between-meal snacks – they fill up your toddler, making him less likely to eat well at meal times. If he does have a small snack, try healthy options rather than biscuits, sweets or crisps. For example, a drink of milk and a small cracker with a slice of cheese; a plain yoghurt with a banana sliced into it; a slice of toast with yeast extract, cheese or a slice of ham; some crackers, breadsticks or rice cakes with cheese; or a simple piece of fruit. Drinks can also be tummy-fillers, so make sure that he doesn’t have a drink just before meal times.

Look out for hidden sugar
There’s no denying that it can be hard to completely avoid giving your toddler sweet foods and drinks. Many supposedly healthy foods, such as breakfast cereals, contain lots of sugar, and fruit squashes often have a high sugar content. Try giving your toddler cereals that aren’t sugar-coated and avoid squashes, offering water, milk or diluted fruit juices instead. If your toddler isn’t given the opportunity to get used to the taste of sugar, he’s less likely to crave it as he grows up.

AWT says… ‘We have only just scratched the surface with tackling child obesity, you can’t expect to change the minds and ways of generations overnight. However, change begins with parents teaching their kids good nutrition habits.’

Photographs: fresh food images, getty images