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Getting children to eat vegetables is a challenge for nearly every parent. Children who just naturally gravitate to vegetable eating are a rare breed. If you've got one, appreciate and encourage him or her! As for the rest of us, here are a dozen tips and tricks that might help.

1. Start early with the baby and don't give up. Mix a little with favorite foods. Squeeze a spoonful in between other foods. Add a little fruit juice to them. Whatever it takes to get the child accustomed to the taste.

2. Set a good example by eating your own vegetables. Put sprouts on your sandwiches, chomp on those tiny carrots, drink an occasional V-8, and order side salads at the fast food place. Children take their cues from you.

3. Make casseroles that contain vegetables, or shred cabbage, carrots, zucchini, and onions into your spaghetti sauce. Put corn in the chili and shred carrots into the taco meat. Don't miss an opportunity to add a vegetable, or hide a vegetable in any dish or snack.

4. Serve vegetables raw with dressing or dip. Fill the celery with cream cheese or peanut butter. Make curly-cue carrots and radish roses. Put spinach in the dip. Maybe the finger foods will catch on.

5. Try some fried vegetables from time to time. Corn fritters, fried sweet potatoes, okra, or squash might substitute for French fries. Fried green tomatoes or eggplant are probably not so likely to be a hit, but you never know until you try.

6. Make a rule: Two vegetables before dessert. Give plenty of choices for vegetables but don't let anyone get by with breaking the rule, including the adults!

7. Find dessert recipes that contain vegetables. Make carrot cake, rhubarb pie, or sweet potato brownies for dessert. You can find these recipes by entering "vegetable desserts" into your search engine.

8. Add Cheese sauce, butter sauce, garlic sauce, sweet and sour sauce, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, mushroom soup, gravy, spaghetti sauce, or what ever they like. If nothing else they may eat it because it's weird and disgusting!

9. Reward consistent effort. Make it a game with a prize. Can your kids find and eat 1/2 cup of 30 different vegetables in 30 days? You'll probably need to take them vegetable hunting, or make a trip to the farmers market. And you'll need to look up a recipe for some of the weird vegetables you've never cooked before. It'll be a whole family project when you try out a new recipe for eggplant, okra or parsnips. You might even discover some new favorites. A reward such as a trip to

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