“Both my children take after me: They are very picky eaters, Jason especially. It is very hard to get him to eat veggies. He has a strong sense of smell, so he is easily turned off by anything that has a smell. He tends to eat more raw vegetables (like spinach, carrots, cucumbers) than cooked. I basically tell him he has to try the vegetable — most of the time he doesn't like it, but at least he made an effort. If he balks at a vegetable that I know he will eventually eat, then I bribe him with dessert or Wii time or a play date. Bribery usually works. And I remind him that if he doesn't eat his vegetable at supper then he will have to eat it at breakfast. This also works because breakfast is his favorite meal. Hopefully one day he will learn to like more vegetables like I do now!

“Mealtime was never fun when I was younger. My sister especially was extremely picky. She would eat green beans though. She had to pretend that each bean was a family member, cousin, friend, pet, etc. The bean would dance, hop, and skip across her plate into her mouth. After sitting at the table forever she would finally finish. And she still eats them today!

“Here is a tip that my mom used for me: I liked her homemade lasagna, so when she made the sauce, she would blend up vegetables into it. She would also save the juice from any vegetables she boiled and use them in the sauce too. I never knew. And I loved that lasagna. But since my kids don't, I can't use that trick on them.”

                                                           –Monica, Durham, North Carolina