In my year of being a "mom" (nanny) I've found that the easiest way to help kids eat healthy is to give them a wide variety of snacks, and sometimes you just have to trick them into eating healthy. I also find that not having the treats around the house helps. The family I nanny for has only a few things you could consider junk food... Graham crackers, and skinny popcorn on a weekly basis.
I like to make boring lunches fun by providing finger foods, and a lot of small servings of different foods. I also avoid asking the kids what they want to eat, since the answer will always be macaroni and cheese. So instead of arguing I've found it's easier just to serve up some finger foods and hope for the best.
I also sometimes "trick" the girls by giving them healthy foods like yogurt and fruit disguised as treats. Freeze gogurt or buy frozen Greek yogurt bars...and you've got healthy ice cream! And have the kids mix and match their favorite fruits with milk and yogurt for a colorful smoothie. If they made if they will usually eat it.
I also firmly believe in the classics like ants on a log...I mean what kid could resist a snack with a name like that. P.S if you're out of raisins just be creative...the little one had Rice Krispy ants today and was totally content.
