You can tell a child handwashing is good for him but that doesn’t stop him from coming to the table with dirt under his nails.  Tell him vegetables are good for him and he’s likely to turn up his nose.

Tell him vegetables taste great–especially when paired with some of his favorite foods– and he may just try them.

Children develop food preferences at an early age. While children are drawn to certain foods early on, vegetables can be a different story. A good way to introduce children to veggies is to serve them with their favorite foods. Research has shown that children are more likely to develop a taste for veggies when they are offered with foods they know and like.

A recent study published in the March Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reports that pairing veggies with something a child already likes can be an effective way to get her/him to eat more vegetables. Researchers at Arizona State University introduced preschoolers to Brussels sprouts served with cream cheese. The findings? The children were more likely to say that they liked the sprouts and ate more of them, even when the sprouts were served later without the cream cheese. According to the researchers of this study, such a flavor-pairing strategy can work, not only for Brussels sprouts, but for other bitter vegetables as well.

This concept may be difficult for parents, who often struggle to balance flavor with nutrition, thinking that they surely must be mutually exclusive.  Parents may ask, “Isn’t plain steamed cauliflower better for kids than cauliflower with cheese sauce?”  And child nutrition experts respond, “Maybe, but not if they skip the plain cauliflower entirely.”  One author tells parents to think of dips, sauces and seasonings on vegetables like training wheels on bicycles. They teach us to appreciate the real thing, but make the learning so much easier to take.

Chefs know that bitterness in vegetables is mellowed by a bit of fat and by adding salty, sour or sweet flavors.  No wonder cauliflower tastes better with cheese and spinach is so much more delicious when sauteed with bacon and garlic.

Young children have a natural aversion to bitter flavors, so many vegetables don’t top their list of favorite foods. My own children were no different– when they were young they frowned on many plain vegetables, but when the veggies were prepared in delicious ways, they ate them up.  Plain carrots- no, glazed carrots- yes. Plain Swiss chard, thumbs down.  Chard sauteed in a garlicky Italian pasta dish, thumbs way up. Rutabaga in beef stew? The kids ate it up without even knowing it was there, because it tasted so good!

If your child is a picky eater and doesn’t seem interested in trying veggies, combine them with familiar favorite foods. For example, try serving broccoli with a tasty dip. Research has shown that offering a dip with vegetables increases veggie consumption in children by 80%. (Kids also like celery sticks paired with peanut butter!)

Liking vegetables can take time. In the early  years, my kids took bites so small they were almost invisible to the naked eye. Then, one day, I added Swiss chard to a simple Italian skillet meal and they both said, “Mom, this is delicious!” Now, as they reach adulthood, the conversion is complete.  Last week when my daughter got home from college, I offered her tater tots or roasted sweet potatoes to accompany lunch — and she chose the sweet potatoes. (Yes, my work here is done.)

Helping children learn to like vegetables takes patience, like most other parenting tasks.  It also takes resisting the urge to force your children to eat vegetables, which usually backfires and creates power struggles.  It takes preparing vegetables to taste really good– paired with dips, seasonings, sauces or whatever “training wheels” you like. It takes cooking vegetables the way you like to eat them so your kids can watch you eating and enjoying them.  Watching their parents enjoy vegetables makes a lasting impression and sets kids up with the expectation that, even if they may not like them much now, they will eventually grow up and like to eat vegetables, too.

For more kid-friendly ideas for vegetables and fruits, see the Ten Tips series from ChooseMyPlate.

Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.