DD1 won't eat potatoes or meat, DD2 won't eat bread. Ideas please

[Babyblue2]

Both are good eaters really, DD1 (3.4) likes some veg, loves salad but won't eat meat (cept cumberland sausage, bacon and ham) and really won't eat potatoes. I've tried, boiled, new, mashed, chips, smiley faces, alphabites, croquettes etc. She tries them but won't swallow them. She'll eat rice n couscous but potatoes kinda goes with most things whereas rice doesn't. DD2 (1.4) will eat most things but not bread (nor crackers) which makes sandwiches pretty tricky. These aren't major problems but they're frustrating ones as they're staple foods. If I put potatoes (form of) out for DD1 and she doesn't eat them, she's technically 'not finished her tea' and therefore I can't really give her anything else, but it was my fault for putting them there in the first place (IYKNWIM. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do?

[catrin]

DD doesn't like bread either, but will sometimes eat a bit of melba toast or pitta bread. Have been trying flattening a slice of bread so it is really thin, which does work for a couple of mouthfuls.Would that work?
My mother persevered with potato eating when I was little and even now I can make myself vomit with the thought of eating them! No help at all I'm afraid!

[Babyblue2]

I've tried the flattening bread thing and you're right it does work for a couple of mouthfuls but it means its a bit of a waste of a sandwich. I find that a plateful of sandwich filling looks a bit daft. I mean its not sandwiches every day but that is what people generally have for lunch and toast type things for breakfast.

[SoupDragon]

DS2 prefers sandwich filling plus separate toast.

I often serve plain wholemeal pasta as the carbohydrate for a meal.

[lazycow]

I use rice, cous cous, potato and pasta pretty much interchangeably as a basic carb for a meal. Even if it is plain meat & veg, there is no reason that rice or cous cous can't be eaten instead of potato. Cous cous particularly is so easy you could give dd this instead of the potato everyone else has.

Or you could give dd bread instead of potatos when you make them for everyone else- no extra work for you and no fights over 'you haven't eaten everything'

I know you probably don't want to make different meals but if your dd eats mosts things quite well then I think giving her an alternative to the potato (that is easy for you) seems fair enough to me

Would Pasta (just plain or with maybe a bit of butter and cheese added) work instead of a potato for some meals?

The bread thing is more difficult as it tends to rule out the easy sandwich/something on toast meals we all like to do sometimes - maybe someone else might have a suggestion for this -.

[meowmix]

cous cous, bulghar wheat for us. Also pasta instead of potatoes quite often. Sometimes DH gets rice cakes instead of bread which he quite likes.

[lazycow]

Also for breakfast - ds doesn't like toast or bread much (though he will eat eggy bread) so I tend to give fruit, cheese, ham, etc cut up for him to eat along with milk or juice and sometimes cereal (though he isn't keen on that either)