My toddler refuses to eat

Seriously, he hates food.  I'm lucky if I can get him to eat more than a bite or two, and that is if I'm feeding him his favorites.  If it isn't fruit, rice, or pasta, it automatically gets thrown onto the ground.  According to all of the baby experts, when a toddler nears the 18 month mark, they start going though the independent stage where they want to do everything themselves.  I understand that he wants to be in control, that he wants to be a big boy and feed himself.  That's why I only make him things that he can pick up and feed himself.  He has no problem using a spoon or fork, but doesn't want to.

He'll eat a cracker if he gets to run around too.

His Daddy says to not give him milk, and he'll eat when he's hungry. Daddy works all day though and doesn't realize that the little guy only gets milk when he first wakes up, at naptime, and then before bed.  So that can't be enough to keep him from being hungry, I wouldn't think.  

So for right now I'm sneaking multi-vitamin drops into his milk at night to make sure he's getting enough nutrients, and wracking my brain trying to think of ways to get him to eat.

Do you have a picky non-eating toddler?  I would love to get some comments to know I'm not alone!  What are some methods that you have tried?