How To Sneak Five-A-Day Into Your Child's Meals

Are your children perfect angels at the table and munch down everything put in front of them, or are they fussy little blighters who can sniff a vegetable at 100 metres and instantly refuse to eat it or anything that might have even touched it?

A survey by Green Giant Sweet Corn has found that most parents are having to resort to stealth to pack those 5-a-day fruit and veg portions into their children's diets.

I'm sure most of you will recognise the top three tactics used by mums and dads at mealtimes:

1. Disguise - hiding fruit and veg in sauces or other foods

2. Blackmail - if they don't eat their vegetables there's no pudding

3. Superpowers - spinach gives you muscles, carrots help you see in the dark

I'm guilty of all three charges, but if it gets results who cares? With the stress that can often be felt at mealtimes, I go with a 'whatever it takes' attitude.

It would be great if our children could be trained into loving fruit and veg, but the reality is they either like eating them or they don't. The more you push it, the firmer they dig in their heels.

The good news