"My crew won't even try something if they don't like the looks of it," says Kay Matthews of Seattle. Her solution has been to introduce her three kids, all under age six, to vegetables stuffed in pocket pita sandwiches.
She tries a new vegetable each month and, if they eat it in the sandwich, she serves it later on their dinner plates.
"If my kids balk I just tell them they loved it in their sandwich, and they go for it," Matthews says. "At least they're trying something new."
Encouraging kids to sample strange vegetables in a familiar form is one of the keys to her success, Matthews says. For example, she suggests serving broccoli on pizza, a food most kids love.
"Asking kids to accept something like broccoli all by itself won't work," she says. "But broccoli on pizza--that's almost guaranteed."
A good idea, says Luce. And if that doesn't work, don't be discouraged. You can always try another strategy:
