When I started to wean Joshua, almost 6 years ago now, I said that I would never fuss or arrange his food for him. To be fair, I never needed to. He wolfed down whatever was served and still does. He loved his food from the first bite and he still does. Then, I had Daniel.

Feeding Daniel remains one of my greatest daily challenges. He was a nightmare to wean and he is still an incredibly fussy eater at the age of 4. Rightly or wrongly I jump thorough hoops to tempt him to eat, fussing with arranging his food constantly.

Any parent of a fussy eater will tell you, it is a massive worry and stress having a child that just won't eat. You wonder how they survive! The 'rule book' goes out of the window. I've chilled out a lot over the years, I do what works, I take one day at a time and I try to keep things fun.

My kids love it when I arrange their food in fun shapes on their plate. With Daniel I have taken it one step further - I am the voice of the food on his plate (which cries when he eats it because it's dark and scary in his mouth - but that's another story). He eats and I get a huge sense of peace & achievement. Everyone is a winner.

I was delighted to read this quote from Dr Frankie Phillips who is the Nutrition Advisor to Organix, “...parents can encourage a positive attitude to food by making mealtimes fun for their child and allowing them to play with and experiment with their food.”

I found it a great comfort and encouragement that an expert says that playing with food and fun mealtimes are positive experiences for kids. Maybe being the voice of Daniels food isn't so silly after all? Maybe being wrapped round Daniels little finger is actually a good thing?

I am really inspired by these cute little fun food plates from Organix. They all use different colours, textures and flavours of food and they look really inviting and tasty. I've shared all the recipes below if you want to know how they are made - they are so easy and really healthy too.

Kids love getting involved making up plates like this as much as they love eating them. For fussy eaters it's a control thing. I find that Daniel will always eat better if he has helped make his own dinner - especially if he (thinks that he) has chosen some of the ingredients.

For lots more advice on finger foods and recipes please visit www.organix.com and sign up to download your free copy of the Organix Little Book of Weaning at www.organix.com/littlebookofweaning which is packed with lots of great advice and inspiration for weaning little ones.

This is a sponsored post. All words and opinions are my own.

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