This was the rule in our house, too: you can have more of the starchy thing if you eat all of the vegetable. It has worked great for us! Spinach became not the “hard thing” to eat before the “delicious” mac ‘n’ cheese. My kids now seriously leave piles of the mac ‘n’ cheese but willingly eat the spinach every time.

This is what I did with my stepson (27, who I met when he was 8) and now my kids (8 and 10). They all love vegetables now and ask for them and prefer them over other foods! From Day One, I was insistent that they eat some vegetables at every meal. I tried to make the vegetables especially delicious (Asian or Italian,…

I insist that my kids try everything that I make and have done that since they were little. I did not shy away from confrontations. I make the vegetables absolutely delicious (ginger, garlic, sweet soy sauce; and many other flavor combos), or absolutely plain (no salt, no butter), and they like them many ways. Both of…