Ask the Cook Jorj Morgan has 25 years of entertaining including owning and cooking for my catering company. She is the author of At Home In The Kitchen. Picky eaters Sharron writes, "I am the mother of a 10, 5 and almost 2 year old. While the 10 year old is a fairly good eater, the other two are not. My five year old limits herself to bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, and grilled cheese from the corner diner. The 2 year old is better as long as you only serve her Wheaties for breakfast, yogurt for lunch and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Because of my husband's work schedule, we are not a family who can sit down together for even one meal. How do I introduce new food to all three children, drop my role as short order cook and still have the time and energy to have a fabulous meal with my husband later that night?" Answer: When you stop to think about it, we eat the types of foods that we choose at breakfast, lunch and dinner purely because of habit and the traditions of society. What ax would fall if we ate scrambled eggs at dinnertime and grilled chicken breast for breakfast? The better idea is that we maintain a well-balanced diet over the course of the day to optimize our body's ability to work to it's full potential. In the case of a toddler, the body's job is simply to grow stronger every day. Basically, babies and toddlers will eat until they are full. When they are hungry they will begin to eat again. As long as you have good nutritional choices available for your child, she will eat to quench her hunger. Try to avoid getting into the "clean your plate before you get dessert" routine. You could be setting yourself up for some larger food issues down the road. With that said, it is important to introduce new foods to your children to help develop their palates and maintain good nutrition. Here are a couple ideas that may work for you: Be consistent. If you introduce broccoli at one meal, and she turns up her nose, wait a few days and offer it again. Eventually, she may give it a try. Introduce new food in small portions. A large amount of any food on her plate can be intimidating to a toddler. There are some foods that your child will just not like. She may develop a taste for them later on, but don't make dinner time a battlefield. More importantly, don't make yourself crazy. If your child hates radishes, the fact that you spent 15 minutes carving that radish into a rose isn't go to make her like radishes any more. The food pyramid combines fruits and vegetables into one category and encourages several servings a day. If your little one has a sweet tooth, don't hesitate to serve fruit at meal times in lieu of veggies. Get sneaky. Add small amounts of new foods to the existing favorites. A few pieces of cooked, diced chicken breast stirred into the macaroni and cheese might go down unnoticed! As to your newest career as a short order cook - STOP! It may be time to reevaluate. Regardless of likes and dislikes, if you are doing the cooking, then it is time to teach your children to appreciate your efforts. You and your three cherubs can and should sit around the kitchen table for dinner. Maybe Dad could try to call in - just to say hi! The meal that you prepare is the meal that everyone is served. If someone chooses not to eat that meal, then allow him or her to take a trip to the healthy snack shelf in your refrigerator where she can choose between cut up veggies or fruit slices. Pretty soon, even the most finicky eater will want to munch on what everyone else is eating. To insure a happy mealtime think of your meal preparation in the layers that are created with each additional ingredient. You can stop that layering at any point and serve that portion of the meal. Then you can add on to the remaining pieces to create as intricate a dish as you desire. For example, a grilled chicken breast is easily diced and added to the baby's macaroni and cheese supper. Add some grilled veggies and offer sliced chicken and veggies alongside your 5-year-old's grilled cheese sandwich. With a side dish of buttered noodles, your 10-year old has a complete meal. When hubby arrives home, the left over chicken breasts are warmed in a white wine and lemon butter sauce. The veggies and pasta are warmed together and seasoned with a dash of red pepper flakes. He opens the wine while you toss the salad and you both enjoy a simple supper together. More feasting challenges: • Add sneaky veggies into his favorite dishes • Adding excitement to a school lunch • Fast meals to impress your in-laws • Quick appetizers • Making lumpless gravy • Grilling summer vegetables For simple meal solutions, check out Jorj's new cookbook "At Home In The Kitchen" or visit her Web site at www.Jorj.com. Share your mealtime solutions with other BlueSuitMoms by sending an email to Jorj at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Jorj Morgan is the Director of Lifestyle Content for BlueSuitMom.com.