Thanks for providing information on what child-sized portions really are! If you imagine eating a hamburger the size of your dinner plate, it puts things in better perspective. We had a picky eater in our house; very, very picky. We invented "Un-Meals," and came up with the following ideas to distract our child from the fact that she was in fact, eating!

1. Animal Night - No kidding. No cutlery. Parents have to guess what animal the child is portraying by how it eats. The messier, the better.
2. Itsy-Bitsy Night - All food on the serving plates is cut into minuscule pieces. You can only have, and eat ONE of, each Itsy-Bitsy at a time -- one pea, one carrot coin, one piece of meat, or one French fry. Then you start again. Fun to try and make Mom and Dad frantic, and hustle to keep up with you. Parents of course, ham it up.
3. Slurping Day - Only on THIS day, and no other, may you slurp your soup. Pick your weapons of choice, bowl, spoon, whatever. Recognition handed out for Loudest, Longest, Fastest, etc. Mom and Dad make a big deal out of trying to win Most Dignified Slurp.
4. Kids Night Off - Mom and Dad have to feed the kids like babies. (Mine are five and six years old.) Great fun bossing parents around and demanding more/less ketchup.
5. Color Night - The food has to be all the same color. Graham Kerr would faint -- kids love it. (For example, white foods can include fish, potatoes, white corn, bread ...) If you give the kids the day to think about the color, you'll be amazed at what foods they come up with!
6. Picnic On the Bed - Self explanatory. If you need to, put the shower curtain down under whatever tablecloth you use.