Let’s face it: most kids don’t love vegetables. Even though I am a registered dietitian, my kids are as picky as anyone else’s. When they started eating solid food, I successfully offered them many different veggies, but as they grew and began developing a taste for other things, it became more challenging. The good news is that kids need a lot of calories to meet the demands of their rapidly growing bodies, so there are plenty of opportunities to continually introduce new foods.

Here are a few tips that have helped my kids eat more veggies. It took me some time, though, so if these methods don’t have your kids eating a salad the next day, don’t worry. Just keep working at it.

1. Lead by Example
This is as basic as it gets. If you never eat the right things, your kids won’t either. That’s why whenever I want to snack on veggies, I sit next to my boys on the couch where they can see me. If we are in the kitchen, I place the open container on the counter. My three-year-old kid now likes to take one bite of each celery stalk and carrot and put it back. But hey, I’ll take it.

And being a good role model is not only about being visible. It is important that you also demonstrate a healthy, positive relationship with the foods you are eating. Having vegetable snacks on the counter will only help if you pair them with the right attitude. That means not complaining or speaking about your healthy food choices in an emotionally overcharged way.

2. Make Veggies Readily Available
Whole vegetables piled up in the produce bins of your fridge hardly feel accessible. Take some time a day or two after shopping to slice up veggies like carrots, celery, or cucumber, and store them in the fridge where your kids can easily see them. Because berries are always in demand in our house, I try to rinse and slice the strawberries as soon as I can and put them right at eye level in the fridge. They are usually gone before I even get a chance to eat any!

3. Involve Your Kids in the Preparation
I know. Letting kids help in the kitchen can be a little scary. But there are plenty of ways to safely involve them without putting them in the way of dangerous knives or boiling water. Even just helping you get out the ingredients and do some basic mixing can be exciting for them. It piques their curiosity and helps them feel more personally invested in what you prepare.

4. Offer Healthier Options First
Like most active, growing children, my boys are always hungry. I have learned to adjust my approach from What can I get you? to How about some carrots or apple slices? It’s working great so far—they will often pick one of the healthy options I give them. On the other hand, if I were to offer them the same options after they snacked on unhealthy foods, they would much likelier resist.

5. Try a Smoothie
What better way to sneak in some veggies than to mix them with delicious fruit? This is a great tactic for spinach especially. Because it is milder than most greens, spinach mixes beautifully with fruit and liquid to make a smoothie. It has gotten to the point where my son insists he will only drink light green smoothies. Just be mindful to not overdo the smoothies. While they are good for an occasional treat, and certainly healthier than eating no fruits or vegetables at all, there are numerous reasons to instead chew your fruits and vegetables.

6. Try Them Frozen
One day, I was listening to the radio when they started discussing ways to get kids to eat more veggies. I turned up the volume and tuned in. One thing they mentioned that I hadn’t tried is to offer the veggies frozen instead of cooked. It sounds crazy, I know. But I figured, what the heck? So I started offering my youngest son frozen peas, which he loved. For the next two weeks, it was all he asked for.

7. Cut Them into Different Shapes
Another piece of advice that may sound crazy but really works is cutting your veggies into different shapes. One day a few weeks ago I was spiralizing some yellow squash, and the idea popped into my head to offer them to my oldest son. He refused to try, but I didn’t give up. Knowing he used to eat a lot of cucumber, I spiralized some of that instead. He couldn’t get enough. I have since discovered he likes it when I cut the cucumber into longer stalks, even though he won’t touch them when they are sliced into circles. So weird.

Have you used any of the methods above to get your kids to eat more veggies? Do you have any other favorite strategies that I haven’t mentioned here? Let us know.