Well, it's all about the dips and the presentation, isn't it? If you cut the fruit OR the veggies and set them up on a table, most everyone will just start snacking. Add a delicious dip to them and how can they resist? There a dips, dressings and hummus recipes that are raw and delicious and the kids will power them down. My NOT Tuna recipe is my favorite with kids and in that recipe alone, they are eating raw onions, dulse, red or green peppers, and celery!
It's about masking things, sweetening things or making them so beautiful that people (kids included) can't resist. Raw food is so colorful, beautiful reds, greens, purples, oranges - they are so dreamy.
Fruit is MUCH easier to mask than veggies, in my opinion. And with fruit, all I really need to do is just cut it up and put it on the table. It seems that even the idea that the kid has to peel something to eat it is too much sometimes! hahaha I make a lot of things like the NOT Tuna, the raw cheeses, things like my Chick-UN salad and the kids will eat them. I make sandwiches with them so they gobble them right down. With kids, you know, you can't get too spicy or use too many strong flavors (not unless your kid shows favor in that way.)
Letting kids help in the food preparation can help with some kids and it may not be such a great idea with others. My daughter was drinking green smoothies until she saw that I was putting kale in it. Then she stopped for a while. She'll have them now but I guess it depends on the kid. Some kids feel a sense of pride in making something and then will try it. Others see what you are putting in it and go OH NO! NOT ME, I'M NOT EATING THAT!
We also found that in the school setting, most of the kids were pretty open to trying new things. But this depended on majority rule. I saw that if the majority of the kids were favoring to go YUM! then it smooth sailing but the converse happened as well.