Many kids don’t eat the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day, a fact that won’t come as a surprise to parents and carers who despair over their flagrant displays of food neophobia. This reaction is natural, however, and access to all-too-tempting processed, sweet and fatty foods can make getting kids to eat well even harder. The key is patience, persistence (rather than bribery – don’t worry we’ve all been there) and knowledge. These tips and recipes should pique their interest.

Adding fruit and veg into smoothies, sauces, soups, dips, pesto, ice cream, pancakes, quiche, muffins, cakes and juices is a perfectly acceptable way of introducing new flavours to children. As kids become accustomed to these new tastes start to incorporate small chunks, building up as they get used to it.

There are lots of ways to get children actively involved in the food they eat. Take them grocery shopping and let them choose different fruits or vegetables; go fruit picking; grow vegetables at home; and ask them to help with prep – they can shell peas or edamame, remove the husks from corn or top and tail produce.

Buying interesting pasta shapes, such as ‘bowtie’ farfalle or alphabet pasta, making edible outlines on top of soup or stews and using cookie cutters to shape rice are just some of techniques you can use to capture a child’s attention and make mealtimes fun. Also, many kids find sectioned food highly appealing, so try compartmentalized plates, bento or lunch boxes that enable you to construct balanced meals.

As kids get older you’ll be doing them a great service by passing down kitchen skills. Show them how to peel, dice, grate and slice fruit and veg, and how to prepare salads and dressings.

If you regularly snack on biscuits and crisps children will want what you have. If you eat a varied, balanced diet and talk positively about food but don’t deny yourself the odd treat kids will follow suit. Be aware that if you’re vocal in your dislikes they may follow. Try to sit down for family meals when possible and encourage healthy items. Keep offering, too; on average children will reject a food a dozen times before eating it.

Adding humour and colour to meals distracts little diners from eating food they may otherwise reject. Fry an egg and surround it with grated carrot for clown hair, cucumber slices and half a tomato for a hat, a slice of red pepper for a smile, and green pepper bits for eyes. Finish with a tomato and carrot bowtie.

Traffic light sandwiches are a clever idea for making brightly coloured vegetables enticing. Remove the crusts from the sides (not the top or bottom) of a slice of bread and cut in half. Using a small cookie cutter make three holes in one side of the bread. Butter the other piece and put a little spinach at the bottom, some sweetcorn in the middle and half a cherry tomato at the top. Lay the bread with holes and serve with cucumber and carrot people and a ‘road’ of grated cheese.

Crunchy and fried on the outside, soft and comforting on the inside, Annabel Karmel’s veggie patties are full of flavour and goodness. For further appeal dress the buns up like cheeky monsters.

Sweet potato crisps are a great alternative to packets of crisps – they offer crunch and savouriness without any added flavourings or preservatives. Thinly slice sweet potatoes (washed but skins on) and toss in olive oil. Lay, not touching, on a baking tray and bake for 15–20 minutes in an oven heated to 200°C/180°C fan/390°F/gas 6, until crisp. Placed in a bowl lined with kitchen paper then serve with mayo or ketchup, or both.

These open sandwhiches are an easy win and a useful way of getting kids acquainted with the taste of fresh herbs. Spread slices of crusty farmhouse bread with a mix of cream cheese and finely chopped herbs then decorate with slices of cucumber for eyes, a parsley stalk or slice of green pepper for a mouth, and berries for pupils and cheeks.

Packed with goodness, these homemade granola bars are an excellent, natural source of energy. With coconut, nuts, seeds and oats (and just enough dried fruit to hide the taste of new ingredients) they’re a superior alternative to processed options.

It’s often easier to get your kids to eat vegetables if they’re mixed in with cheese and eggs. Try blending broccoli, cheese, egg and breadcrumbs then shape into patties and bake or fry until crisp.

This is a simple, kid-friendly meal that adults will also enjoy. Children will like the bowtie pasta while everyone will appreciate sweet peas and salty bacon.

If your kids tend to turn up their noses at fruit, divert their attention. Ditch the maple syrup and decorate pancakes with satsuma segments and banana slices. The segments make a lion’s mane, while the banana slices make up features, including the ears, which are spread with Nutella for an added treat.

Because avocados have a creamy mouthfeel they’re ideal in ice cream. Although this recipe uses cream and sugar the avocado is a big nutritional hit. The kids will love the unusual shade of green and be none the wiser.

Baked potatoes with lashings of butter and cheese are such a popular choice with kids they’ll barely even notice the small florets of steamed broccoli and chopped fried mushrooms you’ve mixed in.

Freshly prepared homemade smoothies are a nourishing boost to children’s health, especially if there’s veg in the mix such as spinach, kale or, as in this recipe, beetroot, which is a good source of folic acid and fibre. The result is vibrant and colourful and because it’s mixed with orange and pomegranate juice the taste isn’t a turn-off.

This is a healthy, easy pud. Parents will be happy with the fruit content while kids will get their treat fix from the butterscotch sauce and allsorts.

For cheese sandwiches worthy of happy faces take a slice of bread, add a slice of cheese, then a lettuce leaf, then a slice of tomato cut in half to create a ladybird’s wings. Add half a cherry tomato for a head, decorate the wings with sliced black olives, and create eyes with cream cheese and capers. Antennae can be formed from parsley stalks.

If you’re a family of waffle-lovers invest in waffle iron that creates shapes such as animals, hearts (or even the state of Texas, as the picture shows) try incorporating sweet potatoes into your waffle mix. Suggested toppings include sliced avocado or Nutella, nuts and banana.

If your kids moan about the same old dips then adding a pepper octopus might just change their minds. Cut a pepper in half and use half to create a head (using olive slices and cream cheese dots for eyes). Slice the rest of the vegetable into arms. Rest on a bed of soft cheese or hummus (or try this beetroot dip recipe for extra colour).

Most children love pesto so it’s a common fallback ingredient. Shop-bought is fine, fresh is better, and homemade better still. This ‘pesto’ recipe goes one step further by incorporating nutritious peas with a little crème fraîche for creaminess.

It can be notoriously tricky to persuade children to eat root vegetables such as swede and turnip but this recipe has the answer – ice cream!

While potatoes are still vegetables, sweet potatoes, courgettes and aubergines are more nutritious options, so consider making alternative vegetable fries and watch the kids lap them up.

Food writer and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall knows his vegetables. The earthiness and colour of beetroot in his brownie recipe work beautifully with chocolate and the veg adds extra flavour and moistness.

Here’s a well-balanced meal for autumn, especially Halloween. Fry meatballs or vegetable patties and place on a bed of ketchup, using pepper slices for arms to fashion a spider. Cut out pieces of carrot with a pumpkin shaped cutter and steam, and make mashed potato ghosts with green pea eyes.

Popular in Japan, tempura is fried vegetables or seafood in a light batter. For kids the crunchy texture is a distraction from the veggie content. Coat raw slices of whatever veg you choose in batter and fry – serve hot with mayo.

In this fun invention there’s no raw fish in sight. Instead, one side of a banana is spread with Nutella or caramel sauce, then sprinkled with nuts and seeds. Slice then the young ‘uns can have a go at developing their chopstick skills.

If you find that kids never eat the vegetable crudities on offer at parties they’ll get some nutrition from the inclusion of courgettes in these cute fairy cakes.

To make salad more interesting mould an animal shape, such as a spider, coiled snake or turtle, out of dough or pastry, cover with an egg wash and sesame seeds and bake. Spoon in a tossed green salad, vegetable rice or crudities – the kids will appreciate the effort, if they can bear to break your masterpiece apart.