It's a rather inspired marketing plan I was struck with a few years ago. And – it has to be said – it led to many veggies going down the hatch of many kids (big and small), over the years.

The eureka moment!

It all happened after I served dinner to my six year old son and 12 year old nephew. I stood back waiting for the inevitable negative reactions that usually followed food hitting the table in our house.

I mean can 'boring' be used more in a single sentence? (Moms – you know what I mean – don't you?)

So it took me a moment to digest the "Wow" that came out of my nephew.

"Now, this is yummy" continued my nephew, "Can you teach mummy to make it? She makes such boring food and according to Calvin, 'Food should be both nutrition AND entertainment'."

"This looks like intestines in monster blood." (Spaghetti in spinach sauce)

For the uninitiated Calvin, is the the main protagonist in Calvin and Hobbes, the popular comic strip written and illustrated by Bill Watterson.

He is also my nephew's hero (God help us!) which is why dining table conversation is often decorated with Calvinisms such as "When birds burp, it must taste like bugs." And like Calvin's fellow diners we go through a gamut of reactions from disbelief to total repulsion as well, which is why he was dining with us that night as opposed to accompanying his parents to a wedding dinner.

BUT the plates were wiped clean... TWICE!

That's when I came to the conclusion, that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Photograph: A still from the Disney Pixar movie, Ratatouille