Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you and many parents earnestly strive to ensure their children eat them every day - sometimes with little success.

Here are some tips to make vegetables more appealing to youngsters.

• Add grated or chopped vegetables to store-bought foods or to those you already prepare.
• Set out a plate of raw vegetables or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables before the meal - the time when your child is hungriest.
• Keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes or baby carrots in the fridge for a quick and handy snack. (Be mindful that these foods can be potential choking hazards for young children.)
• Serve raw or lightly steamed vegetables with salad dressing or cheese sauce for dipping.
• Make mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, since sweet potatoes contain lots of vitamin A.
• Let your child make her own taco with shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, cooked mince and a little reduced-fat cheese.
• Serve foods with tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes often.
• Try not to overcook vegetables to preserve their taste, bright appearance, and valuable vitamins.
• Help make your child familiar with vegetables; serve them everyday.
• Prepare meals together (e.g., younger children can wash and older ones can chop vegetables for stir-fry dishes and salads).
• Let your child help choose fresh vegetables when you're shopping.
• Plant a vegetable garden with your child or even just put a small cherry tomato plant in a pot in a sunny spot in the yard.

Most importantly, set a good example. Remember that your actions will speak louder than words. Besides, parents need their vegies, too!

Helpful additions

If your child turns up her nose at a lot of vegetables, try adding them to things she already likes.

• Making muffins with your child and adding pumpkin, zucchini or shredded carrots to the muffin mix.
• Tucking in a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice or carrot curls into meat or cheese sandwiches.
• Adding chopped spinach or a handful of frozen vegetables to soups, stir fry, noodles, spaghetti sauce or lasagne.
• Adding chopped tomato, grated carrot and zucchini to tuna, chicken or pasta salads.
• Cooking frozen mixed vegetables according to the directions and then adding them to store-bought potato salad.
• Making pizza with your child and adding fresh vegies.
• Adding chopped broccoli or extra carrots to canned or dried chicken soup.