"Boys have willies," Chloe informed her uncle last night in La Trattoria. Whilst I choked on my pasta and the lovely husband's beer shot up his nose, she then proceeded to give everyone in the restaurant a more detailed summary. Loudly. It's true that in just two short years we have already inflicted a number of embarrassments on our lively little toddler dressing her up as a lobster being a highlight but we weren't expecting retaliation so soon.

As Chloe's uncle looked on in stunned silence and as the lovely husband regained his composure behind his napkin, I steered the conversation back to which colour crayon she should use for the fish on her placemat. Choosing distraction as my best weapon we then spent a few minutes discussing fish colours. At just two-and-a-half, I'm not sure she would grasp the concept of appropriate conversation topics although quite clearly she has already mastered anatomy.

So it seems there are pros and cons to your toddler being a little chatterbox. Pros include her singing a full set of nursery rhymes down the phone to her granny and rewarding all those early sleepless nights with a heartfelt "I love you". Cons include the willy conversation and expressing her opinion in no uncertain terms. The word "no" seems to be cropping up an awful lot recently and there are also a lot of requests for chocolate these days.

Although I say it myself, I did a fabulous job of pretending that sugar didn't exist for the first year of Chloe's life. Then along came her first birthday, the inevitable cake and her realisation that her taste buds had two extremes. And whilst I have seen her reject cookies for broccoli and be more excited about chick peas than ice cream, I'm not sure how much longer this phase will last. The other day she caught me with a bar of Green & Blacks and, confident that she would hate it (dark chocolate can be so bitter after all), I let her try it. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was doing this at 7 p.m. as I then had to try and manhandle a sugar-rushing, caffeinated toddler into bed. Not easy.

Having said that, an early appreciation of chocolate is not necessarily such a bad thing. Certainly I feel better about giving her a few dark chocolate chips than I would about a fluorescent-coloured gummy bear. The trick so far has been to weave chocolate in-between the healthy things, so she's getting plenty of the good stuff too. And if your child is like ours, then you can use the appeal of chocolate to your advantage.

So whilst I certainly don't endorse chocolate on a daily basis, here are some suggestions for incorporating it sensibly into your family's diet. I've given you the recipe for chocolate strawberries before, but as it goes down so well and as strawberries are so delicious right now, I thought I'd give you a reminder!

Ideas for chocolate-loving kids:

1. Fruit kebabs with chocolate sauce

Fruit kebabs are super easy. Try and make local/seasonal choices and in the case of berries, choose organic where possible. Kiwi-strawberry, banana-blueberry and watermelon-grape are all popular in our house. Just drizzle with a little chocolate sauce and serve!

2. Chocolate chip granola bars

It's easy to liven up homemade granola bars with a few chocolate chips and you'll feel even better about it if you have already hidden a secret, healthy ingredient. Look up the granola bar recipe with hidden pumpkin seeds from last week online, or e-mail me if you missed it.

3. Fruit fondue with yoghurt and chocolate dips

Chop up a variety of fruit and then let your kids dip away. As the fruit is the only way to eat the dip, you'll be amazed at how much fruit they eat. Watch out though for the toddler who just sticks their hands straight in the dip.

4. Chocolate covered strawberries

Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and quercetin, both great for boosting the immune system… but kids aren't really interested in that kind of logic. They are interested in how delicious this is though, so work with what you've got.

Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Serves at least 6!

Ingredients:

3 100g bars of dark chocolate (I love Lindt 70 percent or Lindt bittersweet chocolate)

1 large punnet of strawberries

1 tsp butter or dairy-free margarine

Equipment:

1 non-stick pan

1 large or 2 small baking sheets

Waxed baking parchment

1. Melt the butter/dairy free margarine over a very low heat in a non-stick pan

2. Break up the chocolate into single pieces and add to the pan, allowing them to melt very gently (this takes about five minutes)

3. Meanwhile rinse the strawberries and blot with kitchen towel to remove excess water. Cover a large baking sheet with waxed baking parchment.

4. When the chocolate is melted, take off the heat and tip the pan a little to one side so that it creates a pool of melted chocolate.

5. Dip each strawberry so that it is half covered in chocolate and place immediately on the waxed paper.

6. If you have any remaining chocolate, stir in a handful of raisins till they are covered. Then place these on the baking tray using a teaspoon. Don't worry if they are not all separated, they break apart easily when they are set.

7. Place in the fridge. The chocolate will have set in half an hour and they peel off the sheet really easily.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. She can be contacted at nourishbda@gmail.com.