This may seem like a strange statement, but picky eaters can certainly cost you some money. Between wasting food while attempting to get them to try new things and limiting yourself to buying only the food that they’ll eat, you could be spending more than people without picky eaters in the family. Not to fear, however. Don’t give up until you’ve tried these creative methods, courtesy of Mint Life:

• Enlist a Sous Chef: kids (or adults too) will often take a sense of ownership over the food if they have something to do with the preparation. Little helpers might be more inclined to try the food that they helped cook.
• Play With Your Food: make a little “broccoli-forest” to make a broccoli more enticing. Make a friendly spider (great for Halloween!) out of a round slice of cucumber and eight pepper strips. The sky’s the limit.
• Tweak Favorite Dishes: incorporate new foods into dishes that you know your picky eater likes. For example, add some eggplant to pizza, or chicken and broccoli in macaroni and cheese.
• Incorporate Dips: you can make new food items into the dip itself or the item that gets dipped to make the food more fun.

For more great tips, head over to Mint Life’s 11 Tips for Turning Picky Eaters Into Foodies.