Surely a 2 year old should enjoy some foods by now?

[PseudoBadger]

DD is 2 years 2 months. She eats breakfast (porridge, yoghurt, scrambled egg, toast, Weetabix - not all at once!), she eats fruit (bananas, apples, satsumas, tinned peaches, grapes, blueberries), she has a small cookie with milk at bedtime, and that is where my understanding of her ends! Oh and rice cakes with butter.
The other meals are a nightmare.
She might eat a bite of pitta with a bit of hummus, a bit of pepper, cucumber or carrot. She eats a small potion of pasta with maybe tuna mayo or bolognese. She won't eat pizza, meat, eggs that aren't scrambled, sandwiches, oven chips etc etc. I can't really afford to dish up thing she won't eat every day, and if she turns her nose up at lunch (one of the 'approved' dishes above) she is then hungry and a complete tyrant.
What do I do??!

[BadFam1]

Watching with interest! I have a similar situation with my ds who seems to live on toast, fruit, fish cakes and baked beans!
I keep being told to preserve and keep offering additional foods but he just turns his nose up! I'm hoping it's a phase and as he gets older he will be open to trying new things

[BadFam1]

*persevere not preserve! Poxy phone!

[MingZillas]

Watching with interest too! bloody kids

[MingZillas]

Ooops sorry, I've killed the thread again

cheeky bump

[amysmummy12345]

I've learned the hard and expensive way to not pander too much and to serve up whatever adult meal we're eating. I was fed up of preparing a separate meal for dd and it being chucked in the bin time after time. DD is 28 months now and still only picks at most meals but does snack on good stuff at other times. I supplement with vitamins in case she's lacking in anything xx

[Wishful80smontage]

My dd is nearly 3 now and got slightly better.
She wasn't great with fruits and veg so I would sneak that into food she would eat - purée fruit in yogurt or weetabix and mashing broccoli/carrots in with her mash.
I've been added a new thing to dishes she would eat so cucumber sticks on side of sandwiches Etc.
the biggest help was when she started pre-school and saw the other children eating from the snack bar and deciding she would try apples etc too- so I started doing new snack when she was having play dates with friend's kids that I knew ate well and if she sees them eating it she will copy :)
That's all been over a period of last year but she eating more varied diet now and lot less fussy.

[Artandco]

I would also just offer a bit of what you have. So if your having a casserole just give her a spoon of that, leave her to eat or leave without comment whilst you eat your own. Same with everything.

Do you think she likes more mixed in stuff like risotto/ casseroles/ fish in sauce with rice etc, as many things you list she doesn't like are rather dry and seperate ie oven chips/ pizza/ plain pasta with tuna. Mine wouldn't eat any of that and I would say are unfussy.

[Fraggled]

My almost 2 year old is the same OP. I feel your pain! No additional advice just sympathising.

[StubbleTurnips]

Same here!

DD sounds identical in her meal choices, she is pretty good if you let her have some bread (cut into soldiers) as she'll make her dinner into sandwiches and eat something

Most days she wants jacket potato & beans.

[PseudoBadger]

Reporting in with a mixed day here, breakfast ok as usual, rejection of lunch (pitta/hummus/pepper/cucumber as requested by DS) and ate about a 3rd of a portion of M&S spag bol for dinner
I will definitely try wetter, saucier meals for her and see how it goes.

[BentleyBelly]

My dd is exactly the same but prefers dry food rather than wet ie plain pasta, rice, sausages, pastry. It used to really stress me out and i dreaded mealtimes. I now always give her whatever we are having but make sure there is something on the plate that she will definately eat. It's no hassle really to boil a bit of pasta or rice or put some bread and butter on the table. She is better if we sit down as a family and eat all together. The more attention you give her and the more you talk about food the worse she is so we try to keep mealtimes fun and chatty and relaxed. Sometimes she tries what's on her plate, sometimes she refuses it. Over the course of a week her diet is balanced ish so I try not to stress about it anymore, if we have a bad eating day she inevitably makes up for it by stuffing her face later in the week!

[Julieb85]

My DS is exactly the same...used to eat so well. I've started making mini kids bento boxes for his meals - cheese, bread, cold meats, fruit. Let him chose which parts he wants to eat and reuse what he didn't for the next meal, with maybe something hot (like mince or chicken). He loves having a selection and seems to prefer his food segregated! 🙈

[Julieb85]

If you have Instagram, follow eatsamazing...

[Lindorballs]

I was a very fussy eater as a child and my mum initially pandered to it. I was determined not to make the same mistake. My DD (same age) gets the same foods as we eat on the whole. If she doesn't eaten I tell her there's nothing else and get her down from the table. If she seems really hungry and grumpy after refusing a meal I give her plain toast and butter a couple of hours later so she doesn't associate meal refusal with getting an alternative. If she eats most of her meal in an unfussy way (ie tries a bit of everything on the plate) she gets a small yoghurt for pudding. I also don't give her any snacks between meals. If she's hungry when she comes to the table she very rarely refuses even things I know aren't her favourites.

[lilywhite32]

My DD has just turned two her appetite is woeful I don't know how she keeps going. So far today she ate one spoon of porridge before telling me it was all gone and refused anymore. She had a half slice of toast and is nibbling on a fish finger right now. She also had a yoghurt earlier. She keeps asking for milk so is obviously filling up on that but I worry I I don't give her milk she'll fade away on me.

[YeOldeTrout]

She eats fruit??? And some veggies??
omg, she eats such a huge variety of food compared to DS at same age.

[2ndSopranosRule]

I think she's doing pretty well! I'd be tempted to give her what you eat - you might need to 'adapt' some recipes (thinking of very spicy meals for example).

Jacket potatoes were something that my very fussy dd2 liked (she's nowhere near as fussy now). I'd put the topping on the side and she could then choose how to eat it.

[Mrstumbletap]

I think it helps to think they need very little and won't starve themselves. I would say my DH is a good eater but it may be I am just very relaxed and don't really worry if he eats his dinner or not. He isnt going to waste away.

So for example today he has eaten

• breakfast 2 weetabix
  
• snack Apple
  
• lunch sandwich (1 slice of bread) and a few twiglets
  
• dinner roast chicken, bread. (Didn't want any salad or potatoes)
  
• snack chocolate as its Christmas
  
• drinks are milk or water
  

This isn't a great day in terms of fruit and vegetables but I will just make sure tomorrow he has an orange, banana, corn on the cob for dinner etc.

I read a book I think it's called 'my child won't eat' and it totally relaxed me in terms of their eating.

[ilovehotsauce]

Lillywhites

DD is the same today she had 1 Yorkshire pudding, some cashew nuts, some of my crisps half an apple. I would jump for joy if she eat the things on op list!

Today she was served
Cheerios
Half a banana
Bread with honey on

Egg & toast ( egg placed next to the toast)
Satsuma
Apple

Chicken
Mash
Yorkshire puddings
Red cabbage
Peas

Its making me crazy

[Eminado]

Placemarking!!