According to a new study by Texas A&M University, children keep on cribbing to have vegetables and prefer having more of unhealthy food, which is good at taste but doesn't have any nutrition. The study found that parents should place on tables less pleasant food than vegetables so that children eat greens and avoid unhealthy food.

An analysis was done at schools to see how much food is wasted by children. Many schools participated in this National School Lunch Program. It was found that when the greens were served with the dishes which children like the most, such as burgers and chicken nuggets, they were left untouched. Whereas when the children had a choice between the greens and the dish they hate the most, they preferred the former.

Dr. Oral Capps Jr., researcher, said in a press release, "Our study shows that optimizing entrée-vegetable pairings in schools which results in eating of vegetables more".

Children favor starchy vegetables like fries and tater tots more than non-starchy ones. But starchy vegetables do not have any nutrition. The Washington Post notes that paring food is not the only route parents should follow but at times they should serve only the greens itself.

"Normally, vegetables will lose the competition that they're in - the competition with all the other delicious food on your plate. Vegetables might not lose that battle for everyone, but they do for most of us."
"We've actually tested this in a lot of ways. And it works unbelievably well. We tested it with kids in school cafeterias, where it more than quadrupled the amount of vegetables eaten.