All it took was one Life of Dad user to ask for help on dealing with a picky-eating toddler, and our community came out in droves to offer tips, tricks and words of encouragement. While there’s always that one parent who’s like, “I dunno man, my kid had loved quinoa, kale and sushi since she was 9 months old! Guess I’m lucky or something” (yeah, lucky or full of it!)

99.9% of all dads will eventually do battle with a picky eater. That’s why we’ve compiled the best advice from our Life of Dad community, including a lot of brilliant ideas from our mom friends.

If you’re not able to get your toddler to try something new after reading through these ideas, you might be stuck serving pb&j sandwiches for a few more years:

Jessica Coggins makes the case for sticks and dips: “In general, if it’s on a stick, has a dip, or is rolled into a circle they love it. We do veggies and dips like hummus or guacamole. Meat cubes on little sticks. And sushi rolls of about anything.”

Getting your toddler involved in the decision making process in the kitchen works for Eryn Hanckel who gives her son “two or three options of meal and let him pick and help me make it — healthy pizzas, stir fry, home made chicken strips or nuggets etc.” By getting the kids engaged, the food is “not so foreign and yucky [because] they know what’s in it and how it’s made.”

Have you ever made Jungle salad? Vivienne M. Hanlan admits that “it’s just a salad with dinosaur chicken nuggets” but notes the clever name of the meal gets her kids to forget it’s a salad.

Little bellies can be easily filled up with liquid which may have them turning their nose up at your homemade meal. Nathania De La Cruz’s pediatrician recommends “no more than 8 oz of milk only in the morning so they don’t fill up on it and sit child at table with you turn off TV and give them the same food you eat. If they won’t eat let them sit with you until you are finished. When they get hungry again offer the same food from before don’t give into other requests!” It’s not harsh, we promise because “they don’t starve themselves and eventually they will get so hungry they won’t care what is put in front of them they will eat! Also, no snacks after 3pm and no junk food that will keep them from wanting regularly healthy meals!”

Along the same lines as having kids help in the food prep process, Sarah Walstad Zappala thinks you should “take them shopping with you (stop groaning) and give them their own list.” This next bit is really brilliant, “using crayons have your kids pick out 3 red items, 3 yellow, etc. Then hit the produce dept. Apple’s, strawberries and tomatoes, carrots, mandarins and peppers, cucumber, beans and Brussels sprouts. Challenge them to find something new. While steamed veggies might seem healthier…Give them a dip, or roast the veggies.”

If you can’t beat ‘em, blend ‘em. Wait, not the kids, the veggies and fruit!

Robert Simonini is having success with smoothies. He “mixes vegetables and grains with fruits, yogurts and protein rich stuff and gets all kinds of nutrient rich foods into my son this way.” Robert also shares his son’s favorite breakfast recipe: a smoothie with “strawberries, banana, blueberries, spinach, yogurt, and oatmeal.”

It’s not that she’s advocating you be a short order cook, but Kimberly Dee’s idea of making the “vegetable differently for each person, so that they can enjoy it” is pretty great because maybe “one likes green beans with lemon & salt, another plain, lightly steamed, the other butter, onion & vinegar…easy to change a few things, without cooking different things for each person.” Lastly, she notes that “even cutting fruit differently or omitting breading or sauce for someone makes a difference.”

Homemade spaghetti sauce can be crammed with lots of veggies ‘secretly’. Jason Davis suggests “grated carrots, celery cropped fine, chopped spinach and more will disappear into the sauce.”

If nothing else is working, start with what they already love says Chris Hopfensperger: “Just about every kid like that boxed Mac and cheese. Kick up the nutrition and keep it familiar by adding cauliflower puree and a small handful of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I keep veggie purees in the freezer in ice cube trays. Added nutrition without the kiddo knowing! — I’d add that cauliflower can be ‘sneaked’ into mashed potatoes very easily too!”

Is your kid a good eater? Please share your secrets with our Life of Dad community and together we can end picky eating forever! 😉

*Flickr photo by David Goehring, shared under Creative Commons license.