Trying to get more vegetables into your children's diet can be a challenge. To tackle one of parenthood's toughest problems, Subway Corporate Dietitian Lanette Kovachi, MS, RD, has tapped into her experience as both a mother and dietitian and has created a series of tips designed to encourage kids to eat healthier.

Her nutrition column and accompanying video, titled, "Help! My Children Won't Eat Vegetables!" can be found on the Expert Advice page at www.Subway.com, and includes suggestions such as:

• Provide Veggie Fun Facts: let kids know that veggies have super food powers! Remind them that spinach has beta-carotene, which is good for your eyes, and that peppers are rich in vitamin C, which helps the body fight colds better and keeps skin healthy.
• Make Snack Time Veggie Time: have cut-up veggies out and ready for the kids before they have a chance to raid the kitchen cabinets.
• Load their Sandwiches with Veggies: if you add veggies like romaine lettuce, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, or thinly shredded red cabbage, you can pack on the nutrients and fiber, as well as make the sandwich colorful and crunchy!
• Always Make Veggies Part of your Dinner Menu: use a variety of vegetables and experiment with different preparation methods to make it interesting.
• You Need to Eat your Veggies too – kids learn from their parents, and if you don't make priority to eat balanced yourself, they won't either. So eat healthy together as a family!

"Trying to get more veggies into your children can be a challenge," says Lanette, who has served as corporate dietitian for the Subway brand since 2003. "One of the most frequent comments I get from other parents is that their kids simply don't want to eat them. So I've put my parental and dietitian know-how together and come up with some tips to help get the little ones to eat their veggies."

Lanette's new column is accompanied by nutrition advice from experts Carol Kur , MS, RD, co-founder of Personal Training Institute, and Celebrity Health & Nutrition Expert JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS, creator of the Weight Loss Resistance Revolution. All three provide educational and motivational tips to help people start – and maintain – a healthy lifestyle.

The Subway brand's commitment to provide expert nutritional information and recommendations to consumers is part of its continuing platform to offer better alternatives to traditionally fatty fast food.

Over the years, the Subway chain has introduced a line of sandwiches and salads containing six grams of fat or less, as well as the FRESH Fit meals for kids and adults that include a low-fat sandwich paired with "better for you" sides and drinks, such as apple slices, yogurt, low-fat milk, and bottled water.

Subway bread has been fortified with both calcium and vitamin D, so now all 6 inch servings provide the equivalent calcium level of a glass of milk. Additionally, each sandwich, when made to standard formula, provides two full servings of fresh vegetables, essential nutrients vitamin A and iron, and is free of artificial trans-fat and is rich in complex carbohydrates. When made on 9-Grain Wheat or Honey Oat bread, each sandwich contains at least 20 percent of an individual’s daily value of fiber.

The Subway brand is a proud national sponsor of many American Heart Association initiatives, such as Start! Walking at Work, Jump Rope for Heart, and the American Heart Walks.