By Parents and food experts shared the following strategies on how to get finicky children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

If a fussy eater loves pasta, add shredded carrots and zucchini or other finely chopped vegetables to the tomato sauce and serve it over a favorite noodle.

Add mashed sweet potatoes into your bran muffin batter or extra vegetables to alphabet soup.

Let children choose produce from the grocery store or farmers’ market. Teach them how to sauté vegetables or have them assemble a simple pizza with ready-made-crust using the vegetables they selected.

Change the way you prepare vegetables. Children who cringe at limp, pale broccoli may love chomping on crunchy, raw florets. They may prefer the juicier and sweeter taste of peas uncooked.

Use vegetables in wraps, which hold better than traditional sandwiches.

Make fruit fun. Mix fruit into flavored gelatin and mold it into fun shapes or individual servings.

Create animal-shaped sandwiches with cookie cutters.

Try wrapping strips of steak or chicken in lettuce leaves for finger snacks.

Keep a basket of fruit out on the kitchen counter to encourage fruit as a snack. Keep a variety of vegetables washed and cut up in your refrigerator for snacks.

Make a salad “palette.” Arrange a small portion of lettuce, deli- sliced chicken or steak strips, peeled mini-carrots, croutons and a side of salad dressing on your child’s plate.