If the only vegetable your child will eat comes fried and in a sleeve, you're not alone. It seems the harder parents try to instill healthy eating habits in their offspring, the greater their affinity for junk grows. Short of starving them out, however, parents often think their hands are tied when their little ones refuse to eat healthful choices placed in front of them.

Relax! There is a better way. No, it doesn't involve force-feeding them peas either. If you want to get your kids to eat healthier, you need to think more like they do. Kids like things that are crunchy, salty, greasy or sweet. Their favorite tastes are typically quite bland and they don't necessarily appreciate all the spices or even condiments you do. Make it too hot, too peppery or too rosemary filled and they are sure to turn up their noses. While their tastes are likely to change as they grow older, little ones as a general rule like their food served up sort of plain. This is why greasy fast foods that come off as tasteless to you seem like gourmet adventures for them.

With that said, you're probably wondering what it is exactly you can feed them that won't turn them into rotund little couch potatoes, right? Here are some healthier choices that appeal to what might be classified as a typical child's four food groups – crunchy, salty, greasy and sweet.

Crunchy – Sure they refuse to eat cooked broccoli, carrots and even celery. Remember, mushy isn't necessarily one of their food groups. Serve these same things up raw with a peanut butter dip or a touch of low fat dressing or salt and the whole picture can change. Other ideas to appease their need to crunch include apple or pita chips, homemade tortilla chips (lightly fried and lightly salted) and even crispy, crunchy whole grain English muffin pizzas.

Salty – As it is for adults, too much salt is not a great idea for kids. There is a way around this. Consider using salt alternatives to make those crunchy vegetables taste better. Or, sprinkle just a light dashing of the stuff on their favorite lean meats or corn on the cob. Lightly salted pretzels, peanuts and unbuttered popcorn can also satisfy their hankering for salty and crunchy without wrecking a healthy diet.

Greasy – If they have to have their fries done right once in a while, consider handling the job yourself. Instead of heavy based grease, use lighter, healthier peanut oil. They won't know the difference, but you will.

Sweet – There are an incredible amount of ideas that fit this bill without busting a healthy eating routine. If sweets are an absolute must, fresh fruit can work very well. If this doesn't quite do it for them, try adding low-fat yogurt or pudding to the mix. Other options here include a tiny touch of low-fat whipped cream, low-fat ice cream or sorbet, flavored gelatin or even little dashes of cinnamon sugar on toast or over cereal.

Getting kids to eat healthier is not an impossible undertaking. When you learn to think like they do and make healthy substitutions along the way, your efforts can pay off – at least on most days!

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You may also enjoy this Are You A Foodie article or go back to our cooking article page.