We all laugh at the commercials that show kids hiding vegetables but the truth is as parents we really do want our kids to eat the veggies and not hide them. Vegetables help prevent diseases, and add fiber to our diet and much needed vitamins.

Depending on the age of your child, he/she should eat between 2 to 4 servings of vegetables everyday. If you are finding it difficult to get the vegetables into your child’s mouth here are some fun ways of offering them to the kids.

Create fun vegetables that will seem as if they are enjoying playtime instead of eating vegetables and watch the kids gobble up the insects and monsters…. I mean vegetables!

Make Ants on a Log by spreading natural peanut butter on the top of cut celery sticks and then put raisins on top of the peanut butter as the ants.

Make a mini vegetable pizza and put on veggies such as artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, olives and mushrooms and tell the kids it is the brain of a monster!

Some vegetables are just plain fun to eat like cherry, grape, or plum tomatoes because of their size. Serve these and watch the little ones gobble up, “the little ones”!

Don’t forget that salsa served with chips counts as a vegetable serving, and so does the pizza sauce on that pizza.

Make dipping veggies fun by making a game out of it and using a dip that the kids like.

Be sneaky and hide the vegetables in casserole dishes, in your sauce, or by putting them in soups.

Try a variety of cooking methods and you might be surprised that the kid who won’t eat carrots raw may love them cooked. Try shredding vegetables, or adding a topping they like such as cheese to make the vegetable more appealing.

Did you know that the best way to get kids to eat vegetables is to allow them to watch you eat and enjoy them!

Don’t give up, try something new everyday and always serve vegetables at every lunch and dinner. Serve 2 to 3 different vegetables each meal and allow the kids to sample each one on their plate. Do not give too large of a serving size, let them ask for more.

Try using flavoring and spices in your vegetables, or even a little butter and salt to season butternut squash and mashed potatoes.

Try these fun tips for getting kids to eat their vegetables and you might be surprised at the success you will notice. If all else fails try letting someone else serve the kids vegetables several times a week like a babysitter, or grandparent. Sometimes kids will eat vegetables just because someone else is serving them, go figure!

I knew a three year old who flatly refused to eat vegetables at dinnertime with his parents but would gobble them up at lunchtime in my daycare home. His mom was stunned one afternoon when she arrived early to pick him up and actually watched him happily eating his vegetables.