I always used to laugh when my sister would comment on her kids and give them tags such as, "that's our sassy one," or "that's our good eater." I get it now. Our boys are nearly 4 and 2.5--one will eat almost anything I put in front of him, and the other one usually protests if a tried-and-true item is missing from his plate or likewise if I attempt to expose him to some new-to-him healthy food. This same child has to take probiotics for a fussy stomach, so I am always urging him to eat healthy. Sometimes my urging works, and sometimes he protests louder.
The smoothie idea is a great one. I've also taken to allowing them to eat separately if they want because I've found that while eating like a family is a valuable thing, sometimes you just want them to eat unhindered by another. Our little one especially will decide he suddenly doesn't like something just because his older brother won't eat it. Yes, it's frustrating.
My saving grace has been that they usually will eat a good breakfast, and then there's that peer pressure thing. They both go to daycare. The montessori school where they go serves a square meal at lunchtime. So if they won't always eat what I would prefer at dinner time, at least I know they had a good breakfast and lunch.

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