Watch them closely

I have learned as a mom to NOT trust my kids.  Most parents feel this way, it just took me a little longer, because I thought my kids were "perfect".  HA!  Gotta love reality!
When asking if they ate everything, and they say, "Yes!" it usually means everything THEY wanted!  So, the question is, do I force them to eat their veggies, or try to sneak them in, making them feel like they won?  There has to be some middle ground here.  As they are guests in our house, they must adhere to SOME rules.  So, what do you do???
I have actually found, that when I give them a choice AHEAD of time, they tend to feel more empowered about making wise decisions.  And I have also found, it is in the WAY you ask them what they want that makes a huge difference.
First, don't ask Yes/No questions.  The bottom line here is that I WILL get my way, but I'm willing to let YOU give input so we can compromise.  When asking which veggies they want, I leave it open ended;  "WHICH veggies do you want tonite?"  My children aren't perfect, but they aren't unreasonable either.  However, one is kind of stuck on Carrots Only!!!!!  So, I'll be doing my best to work on a way to expand her tastes by having her at least TRY new foods.  But as I have seen with my older daughter, this does come in time. As long as I KEEP RE-introducing items to them.
Recently, I offered them fish; to which they both said NO!!!  But by the end of the night we all found ourselves LITERALLY standing at the stove eating the remnants out of the pan.  All it took was me standing there saying, "OH MY GOSH, I can't believe how GOOD this turned out".  Curiosity got the best of them, and we all benefitted.  (well, except I got less than I was going to because the munchkins dove in). 
So to be honest.  It isn't about coniving, cajoling, bribing (though sometimes this does work), my children to eat what I want them to eat; sometimes, it's as simple as saying, "how are you willing to meet me half way?"  Children change when you actually give them a voice.  But as parents, sometimes we forget to do that, because we think WE KNOW BETTER!!!  And though that may be true sometimes....well....ya know!?