Any parent knows getting you children to stay off the sweets and eat healthily can be a real chore. All around the world, parents have tried to come up with imaginative ways to get their kids to eat their greens, but now a new invention could make dinner times a lot more relaxing!

Known for their wide range of canned vegetables, HAK recently turned their attention to finding a way to encourage the children of the Netherlands to eat all their vegetables. The company has unveiled their “intelligent vegetable plate” for children - which they have named the Helpende Bord (“helping plate").

How can you get your children to eat their vegetables?

It's a common occurrence: the family gathers around the dinner table, ready to dig into a delicious meal. But the younger members of the family refuse to eat their greens. And sometimes, no matter how much the parents try to encourage them, nothing can be done to change the kids' mind. 

According to their research, children generally eat a maximum of 73 grams of vegetables per day - far below the recommended 100 to 150 grams. Furthermore, 40 percent of kids eat vegetables less than five times a week. 

In an attempt to combat this, HAK collaborated with Wageningen University, looking into the role crockery can play in the presentation of food and the influence a simple plate has on our eating experience. They, therefore, came up with the Helpende Bord. 

The intelligent vegetable plate: The Helpende Bord

The plate was developed on the basis of five scientific principles:

• Mirroring: Children love to copy what their parents and the adults around them do, and so the plate is large, round, ceramic, and plain in colour, resembling a typical “adult” plate instead of a more colourful and plastic children’s plate.
• The Delboeuf illusion: The plate is larger, and so the portions look smaller than they really are. 

• More = more: If you dish up a larger helping, you will automatically eat more. By using a hidden bowl within the plate, parents will be able to dish up more veggies - with the true size of the portion concealed - and children will therefore eat more vegetables.
• A tasteful colour: The plate’s white colour serves to make the food on it look even more vibrant and appealing. In addition to this, the hidden bowl part of the plate is an even starker white, making the vegetables look more appealing in comparison to the rest of the meal. 

• The path of least resistance: Food that is placed closer to you is easier to eat - and so by placing the hidden bowl with the vegetables closer to the child, they will automatically eat them.

What do you think, something new to try with your kids? Let us know in the comments below!

Images via HAK.