Getting kids to eat more healthy foods is usually a top concern among moms today. There are so manyunhealthy options available at the grocery store, at restaurants and eateries, and in the school cafeterias that it seems moms must work extra hard to make sure healthy foods don’t disappear from the menu. This becomes especially important when we take a look at some of the health problems facing young kids today that are increasingly being associated with poor diet such as juvenile diabetes, obesity, attention deficit disorders, and even plaque build-up in the arteries.

What can you do though when your kids just don’t prefer the healthier foods and vegetables in particular? Giving up and letting them eat whatever they want is not an option. It is time to get creative and here are some ideas.

The easiest way to overcome an aversion to vegetables is to hide them inside other foods so that your kids either do not know they are there or they don’t care. This subject has come under fire recently with the release of two recipe books that address this very issue. The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious are two books that provide instruction on creating vegetable purees and then inserting them within other foods so that kids still get the nutritional benefit of their vegetables while still enjoying the “taste” of their favorite foods. The purees can be used in making macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, and even brownies.

Some parents have denounced this method saying that sneaking the vegetables into the meal does not effectively teach kids the importance of eating healthfully. Other parents have decided the benefits circumvent this reasoning and do not see why healthy eating education cannot include teaching children to disguise the healthy foods they find unappealing inside the foods they do like, perhaps creating a life long habit.

For parents that do not have the time or desire to make vegetable purees it is also easy to add some leafy greens or flax seeds to a fruit smoothie for a fast and easy beverage or snack.

Invite Your Children to Participate in Meal Preparation. One of the best ways to ensure that kids are enthusiastic about their meal is have them participate in making it. When they help out with meal preparation and cooking they feel a great sense of accomplishment and that in itself makes the meal more appealing. Even younger kids can help out by measuring or mixing ingredients, finding recipes inside magazines or cookbooks, and setting the table. The excitement of making the food can only be surpassed by the excitement of actually trying it.

Try preparing the vegetables in different ways. A lot of times, it isn’t so much the vegetable that they are  disagreeing with, but the texture. Try raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery, and toss salad. You may also  want to think of steaming the vegetables. This is a very healthy way of cooking the vegetable. It will retain  nutrients and can also still have the crunch that kids find attractive too. Kids like their foods with color and  texture just as much as adults do.

Give Them Time

It can take many repeated exposures to vegetables at dinner time before kids feel comfortable trying them. The key is not to pressure them and make the dinner hour one of tension. Pressuring kids to eat their vegetables can work against our ultimate goal. Just keep serving vegetables and other healthy foods with each meal and let children get used to seeing them on their plates and their parents plates and often times they will come to accept them in time. Also, remember that children mimic the actions of their parents so the next time the salad is passed to you realize that a big “I LOVE salad” can go along way. So eat your veggies too!